1. In an overall way, how would you define the Enlightenment? What was so different about this new world view? 2. What is satire? How did Voltaire use satire in Candide to attack European society of t

1. In an overall way, how would you define the Enlightenment? What was so different about this new world view?

2. What is satire? How did Voltaire use satire in Candide to attack European society of the 1700s? Can you think of a comparable use of satire in American popular culture/media? Why is satire a more effective way to convey critic than just a straightforward editorial?

3. What were some aspects of European society that Voltaire criticized in Candide? Discuss one of the aspects that Voltaire was critical of in some detail.

4. Voltaire used Dr. Pangloss and Martin to critic other world views. What was the world view of Dr. Pangloss? What was Martin’s? Why did Voltaire not want people to follow these world views?

5. What solutions for the problems of Europe did Voltaire put forward in the utopia of El Dorado. Remember that El Dorado was an ideal place rather than a reality.

6. What did Candide’s statement at the end of the book, “but we must cultivate our garden” mean? How was that Voltaire’s more concrete plan for making the world a better place?

7. In your own view, was the Enlightenment a better or worse world view than the global world view that came before it? Do you define yourself as enlightened?