Summary of Candide by Voltaire

Candide is a story of a boy who lived in world of little to no troubles and how his entire perspective of the world was changed when he was placed in the real world and forced to face conflicts in which he had never faced before. His tutor, Pangloss, taught him Leibnizian optimism but you can see this mindset slowly deteriorate throughout the novella. Candide lived in a castle with his illegitimate uncle, a German baron; the baron’s daughter, Cunedonde; Pangloss, the tutor; and a few other family members. When Candide falls for Candide and consequently kisses her, he is kicked out of the castle by the baron. He is then captured and enlisted in the Bulgar army where he is whipped, almost executed, and witnessed and participated in two major battles. Candide escaped the army and went to Holland where he meets and is taken in by an Anabaptist named Jacques. After living in Holland for a while Candide runs into Pangloss, who is now a deformed beggar, on the street. Pangloss tells Candide that he contracted syphilis from the chambermaid of the baron’s castle and that the baron and his fa...