Candide

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/candide

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who wrote Candide?François-Marie Arouet
2. What is the original publication date?January 1759
3. What is the philosophical movement critiqued?Leibnizian optimism
4. What is the story of Candide about?Candide is a boy who thinks the world is perfect, but he goes on a wild adventure that shows him all the bad things that can happen, like wars and natural disasters.
5. Why does Candide leave his home?Candide is kicked out of his home for a small mistake, and this sends him on a journey where he sees many kinds of suffering.

Picaresque: A genre of fiction featuring a roguish protagonist who travels through various social strata, experiencing episodic adventures.
Theodicy: A branch of theology and philosophy that attempts to justify the goodness of God in the face of evil and suffering in the world.
Enlightenment: An 18th-century intellectual and cultural movement emphasizing reason, individualism, and skepticism towards traditional authority.