Candide: Or Optimism (Penguin Classics)
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Candide Study Guide

by Voltaire

Candide Quiz 1

1. As a philosopher, Voltaire embodies most the values of

  • Neoclassicism
  • Puritanism
  • the Enlightenment
  • the Renaissance

2. The etymological root of the word "candid" implies which of the following other meaning(s)?

  • spotless
  • uncorrupted
  • white
  • all of the above

3. The persecution of a Protestant family in the Calas affair led Voltaire to

  • give a passionate speech in their defense before the National Assembly
  • leave France in solidarity with the Calas family
  • convert himself to Protestantism in admiration
  • write Traité sur la tolérance

4. Voltaire's Lettres Philosophiques contended that

  • divine intervention did not influence the outcome of historical events
  • royal censorship was a threat to free philosophical reflection in France
  • only a written Constitution would ensure the liberty of men
  • there were fewer barriers to occupation in England than in France

5. Candide was originally presented in January 1759

  • in the form of an opera at the Garnier concert hall in Paris
  • with a dedicatory epistle to Frederic the Great
  • by the acting troupe of the Comédie française
  • under a fake preface and attributed to an anonymous author

6. Voltaire received his primary education

  • in a Catholic monastery before attending the Académie française
  • at a private school in Switzerland before emigrating to Germany
  • at a working-class vocational school on the outskirts of Paris
  • at a Jesuit college, then enrolled in law school

7. Which of Voltaire's following books was banned and forced him to leave France?

  • Oedipe
  • Traité sur la tolérance
  • Lettres Philosophiques
  • Histoire de Charles XII

8. The Enlightenment can best be described as a philosophical movement that

  • sensitized the common man to the oppressive conditions of existence
  • sought to elevate human consciousness above daily preoccupations
  • rejected organized religion as delusional and antiquated
  • put faith above all in science, progress, and rationality

9. What is the alternate title of Candide chosen by Voltaire?

  • or, Destiny
  • or, Free Will
  • or, Optimism
  • or, Misery

10. Pangloss traces his bout of syphilis back to

  • the King of the Bulgars
  • Christopher Columbus
  • Paquette
  • African pestilence

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