Candide

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Candide is a satirical novella by Voltaire that follows a naïve young man’s disillusioning journey through a series of misfortunes, sharply critiquing philosophical optimism and societal hypocrisy.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf novella
philosophical fiction
satirical work
author Voltaire
centralTheme critique of Leibnizian theodicy
critique of philosophical optimism
disillusionment and loss of naivety
satire of political corruption
satire of religious hypocrisy
the problem of evil and suffering
the value of practical work
countryOfOrigin France
criticizes aristocracy
colonialism
philosophical optimism
religious intolerance
war and militarism
famousLine Il faut cultiver notre jardin
firstPublishedAs Candide, ou l’Optimisme
form prose fiction
genre philosophical novella
picaresque
satire
hasAdaptation Candide (operetta by Leonard Bernstein)
hasEnglishTitle Candide, or Optimism
influencedBy Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s philosophy of optimism
literaryMovement Enlightenment
literarySignificance major work of Enlightenment satire
one of Voltaire’s most famous works
mainCharacter Candide
Cunégonde
Martin
Pangloss
the Old Woman
narrativePerspective third-person narration
originalLanguage French
publicationYear 1759
setting Eldorado
England
France
Portugal
South America
Spain
Turkey
Westphalia
structure episodic journey
targetAudience adult readers
timePeriodOfNarrative 18th century

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