Candide

Candide grows up in the castle of his uncle, a German baron, along with his optimistic scholar, Pangloss, and his young, beautiful cousin, Cunйgonde. When Candide falls in love with Cunйgonde and his uncle sees them kissing, Candide is thrown out of his home and enrolls in the Bulgar army. After being beaten for wandering from camp, Candide flees to Holland and runs into an ugly beggar, who he is told to be Pangloss. He tells Candide that Cunйgonde and her family have been murdered by the Bulgar army. A kind Anabaptist named Jacques to travel to Lisbon, but a storm destroys the ship, and Jacques drowns. Once Candide and Pangloss arrive in Lisbon, they see it destroyed by an earthquake and under the control of the Inquisition. Pangloss is hanged, and Candide is beaten. An old woman helps Candide with his wounds, and then takes Candide to Cunйgonde. She tells Candide that she is a sex slave owned by Don Isaachar and the Grand Inquisitor of Lisbon. Both owners arrive while Candide is speaking with Cunйgonde, and he murders both of them. Afraid of the consequences, Cunйgonde, the old woman, and Candide travel towards South America. When they arrive in Buenos Aires, the governor proposes to Cunйgonde, ruining Candide's plan of marriage. Candide hears that people are looking for the murderer of the Grand Inquisitor, so he flees a Jesuit territory with his new valet, Cacambo. Candide learns that the Jesuit commander is Cunйgonde's brother, who tells Candide that Cunйgonde would never marry someone like Candide. Candide is furious and kills Cunйgonde's brother. He and Cacambo run into the wilderness, and days later, find themselves in El Dorado, where valueless gold litters the streets. Candide wants to return to Cunйgonde, so after a month, he and Cacambo travel to Surinam. Candide sends Cacambo to Buenos Aires to purchase Cunйgonde from Don Fernando. Vanderdendur, a cheating merchant, steals a great deal of Candide's fortune, which angers Candide to sail to France with his carefully chosen companion, Martin. When a Spanish captain sinks the dishonest Vanderdendur's ship, part of Candide's fortune is recovered. Candide and Martin leave France to go to Venice, where Cacambo is found to be a slave of a Turkish monarch. He tells Candide that Cunйgonde is in Constantinople, and is no longer beautiful. Martin, Cacambo, and Candide leave for Turkey to buy Cacambo's freedom, and on the way he purchases Pangloss and the baron from a Turkish gang. The baron, who cannot accept Candide's proposal to Cunйgonde, is sent back to the gang. Candide, Cunйgonde, Cacambo, Pangloss, and the old woman start a new life on a farm, where they grow a garden with all of their time and energy.

Castles, ships, and stone-covered roads sound like the setting of a fairytale, but in the mid 1700's, it was the way of life. The upper-class lived in refined castles, while the middleclass and lower-class lived in smaller homes. People would trade items, such as diamonds and gold, for other items. Stone-covered roads and trails were the main paths of travel, but people did not always take the roads and trails; travelers would also toddle through fields and woods. The setting shows that the people were still trying to develop simple but effective ways to live: instead of walking, people would ride in carriages. Material items--expensive clothing, enormous castles, and striking horses drawing embellished carriages--helped the upper-class stand out from the average, lackluster, lower-class.

Candide is portrayed as a character whose life depends on traveling to find love and happiness. When Candide goes to Lisbon, an earthquake had destroyed the city in entirety. This earthquake, though spoken of in a work of fiction, actually occurred in 1755. Many of the actions performed by the characters relate to the history of the time. Candide represents a person who almost continuously travels, as many people in history do. Procedures