Candide ou L'Optimisme (2001)


The great philosophical satire

Candide, written in 1759, makes a mockery of the optimistic idea that "all is for the best of all possible worlds." It is a famous work of the Enlightenment period.

Nonstop catastrophe provides the element of comedy as Candide meets adversity all over the globe. He runs for his life from the Bulgarian army, survives a great earthquake, narrowly misses being killed by the Inquisition, and finds riches in the gold-lined streets of El Dorado -only to lose them. Eventually he catches up with his beloved Cunégonde and proceeds to lead a rough and rustic existence, but his worldview is not as cheerful as it was before.

This retelling of Candide has been specially adapted and abridged for intermediate French-language students. This new edition features prereading sections that encourage students to use their prior knowledge and critical thinking skills to make their own connection to the story. Each section is followed by comprehension questions that ensure student understanding, including Travail de réflexion questions that promote lively classroom discussion. In addition, footglosses define unusual terms that have been collected, along with other words, in the French-English Vocabulaire at the back of the book.

This adaptation reproduces the key episodes of the original version, so that students can gain a full appreciation of why Candide continues to be a great work of world literature.

ISBN: 0-658-00551-0

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