1. Chapter 1
1.1. Candide's journey begins in Westphalia
1.1.1. Candide is a good hearted person, and also the main character of the novel. After learning that the world is for the best candide goes on to travel the world and undertakes many disfortunes. while his main goal is to follow and find his love Cunegonde.
1.2. Candide lives with the Baron and his family including his wife, his daughter, his son and Pangloss
1.3. Candide falls in love with Cunegonde and the Baron kicks him out of the house for kissing her
1.3.1. “She quite innocently took his hand, he as innocently kissed hers with singular grace and ardor. Their lips met, their eyes flashed, their knees trembled, and their hands would not keep still. Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh, happening to pass the scene at that moment, noticed both cause and effect, and drove Candide form the house with powerful kicks on the backside. Cunegonde fainted and on recovering her sense was boxed on the ears by the Baroness. Thus consternation reigned in the most beautiful and delightful of all possible manners” p.21
2. Chapters 2-4
2.1. Wanders to the next town. Two men find him and feed him back to health. He is forced into the Military by the men and is forced to run a gauntlet. The king finds him and pardons him.
2.1.1. “Since the King was a man of great insight, he recognize from what he was told about Candide that here was a young philosopher utterly ignorant of the way of the world, and granted him a pardon, an exercise of mercy which will be praised in every newspaper and in every age.” p.24
2.2. Candide escapes the military in Holland and is taken in by the Anabaptist who employs him in his factory.
2.3. Candide finds Pangloss, Who is now a beggar. Pangloss tells Candide that the bulgars killed the Barons family. (including Cunegonde)
2.3.1. Pangloss is Candides mentor through the book, he truly beleaves in his life that this world is the best of all possible worlds. even though his life hasn't shown this he still beleaves it.
3. Chapters 5-8
3.1. A storm overtakes Candide's ship on its was to Lisbon. the Anabaptist falls overboard trying to save the sailor, and Lisbon is hit by an earthquake.
3.1.1. "He wanted to throw himself into the sea after the Anabaptist, but the great philosopher, Pangloss, stopped him by proving that Lisbon Barbour was made in purpose for this Anabaptist to drown there. Whilst he was proving this from first principles, the ship split in two and all perished except,Pangloss, Candide, and a brutal sailor who had been the means of drowning the honest Anabaptist." P.33
3.2. The Portuguese hang Pangloss for his opinions. Another earthquake occurs, and Candide questions how this could possibly be the best of all worlds.
3.3. An old woman approaches Candide, treats his wounds, gives him new clothes, and feeds him. She leads him to Cunegonde, who is actually still alive.
3.4. Cunegonde tells Candide about how a soldier sold her to another man to be his mistress. Cunegonde tells the old women to take care of Candide.
3.4.1. Cunegonde is the barons daughter, and also candides love. For most of the book she is very beautiful, however she gets very ugly at the end but candide loves her anyway.
4. Chapters 9-12
4.1. Don Issachar finds Candide and cunegonde together and attacks Candide. Candide kills don and the grand inquisitor. Cunegonde and candide flee with the old woman
4.1.1. "He entered, and saw before him the man whom he had flogged, with a sword in his hand, a dead body lying on the floor, cunégonde frightened out of her wits, and the old woman offering advise." P.45
4.2. A friar steals the jewels from cunegonde. Candide demonstrates his military experience to the general, who makes him the captain. They then sail to the new world with the old woman.
4.3. The old woman tells her story of growing up and the prince that she was engaged to is killed. She then boards a ship that is taken over by pirates and also gets raped.
4.3.1. The old woman who is the daughter of a pope. she has had many misfortunes like rape by pirates and death of a love. She is a very wise and loyal person in the novel.
4.4. The woman continues her story, and a man finds her and cares for her. She finds out that the man worked for her mother. A plague sweeps through which kills the man. The woman gets sold multiple times and ends up as property of the Muslim military leader. She is taken to Russia, and she escapes.
5. Chapters 13-16
5.1. When the ship docks at Buenos Aires, they visit the governor, Don Fernando, who orders Candide to review his company. When Candide leaves, Don Fernando begs Cunegonde to marry him. The old woman tells Cunegonde to marry the governor, as marrying him could make both her and Candide’s fortune.
5.2. Cacambo urges Candide to follow the old woman’s advice. Cacambo tells Candide not to worry about Cunegonde because God always takes care of women. The two reach the rebel guard and ask to speak to the colonel, but the colonel orders their weapons and their horses seized. He gives them three hours to get out. Cacambo informs the sergeant that Candide is German. The colonel agrees to see him. It turns out that the colonel is Cunegonde’s brother. Candide tells him that Cunegonde also survived the attack. The colonel tells his story.
5.2.1. Cacambo is candides vallet when he travels to south america. He is very smart and also rescues candide many times.
5.3. When the Bulgar's attacked the castle, The colonel is thought to be dead, and is prepared to be buried. A Jesuit noticed the colonel’s eyes moving, and immediately made arrangements for the colonel’s care. The colonel then becomes a Jesuit himself. The colonel hopes to bring Cunegonde to Paraguay. Candide says he wishes to marry her. and Candide kills the colonel.
5.3.1. "We shall see about that, you rascal,’ said the Jesuit Baron von Thunder-ten-tronckh; and with those words he struck him across the face with the flat of his sword. Candide instantly drew his own and plunged it up to the hilt in the Baron’s stomach, but as he withdrew the dripping blade he began to weep, and cried ‘O God! What have I done! I have killed my old master, my friend, and my brother-in-law! I am the best-tempered man there ever was, yet I have already killed three men, and two of them were priests’ ” p.67
5.4. Candide and Cacambo end up in a strange country with no roads. Candide and Cacambo hide and they fall asleep. They awaken to find themselves surrounded by a tribe of fierce natives known as Biglugs. Cacambo tells the Biglugs that Candide killed a Jesuit and wore the clothes to escape. The Biglugs accompany them to the edge of their territory.
6. Chapters 17-20
6.1. Their horses die and canoe crashes but they keep moving, they come across a village where kids are playing with jewels, Candide tries to give them back to the teacher but she throws them on the ground. They then try to pay for a meal with two gold pieces they found, and the server refers to them as pebbles. Candide is amazed and thinks this is this best place to live.
6.2. Candide and Cacambo talk with a 172 year old man and he tells them about Eldorado. They meet the king and learns that the kingdom has no problems and also specializes in science and philosophy. Candide wants to leave after a month and asks the king if he can take the Pebbles with him. The king is confused about Candide and gives him the sheep for the road.
6.2.1. “ ‘Do you mean to say you have no monks teaching and disputing, governing and intriguing, and having people burned if they don’t subscribe to their opinions?’ ‘We should be stupid if we had,’ said the old man, ‘we are all of the same opinion here, and we don’t know what you mean by monks.’ ” p.80
6.3. They lose all the sheep except for two, they meet a slave who talks about his life story. Vanderdender cons him trying to get to Cunegonde. Candide then gets a boat with a man to try and help him.
6.4. On the way to Bordeaux, Candide watches two boats fighting, the boat that loses the battle happens to be Vanderdender because he sees sheep in the water. Candide then believes that is punishment for him.
7. Chapters 21-24
7.1. Martin talks about his previous encounters with the French. Candide asks Martin why the world was made and he replies, "to make us mad"
7.1.1. Martin is a scholar, who has also had many misfortunes in his life. he is also much smarter than either candide or pangloss. He is opposite from pangloss because he expects nothing but bad things from the world and pangloss is everything for the best.
7.2. Candide and Martin arrive in Paris. Candide gets sick and they meet up with abbe and play cards. Because of cheating candide loses a lot of money. They then get on a ship to England.
7.2.1. “Candide began to mend, and during his convalescence had some fashionable people to supper, who played cards with him for high stakes. It astonished Candide that he never held an ace in his hand, but martin was not surprised.” p.98
7.3. They witness and admiral being executed. They then find out that England murders admirals to make the rest of the fleet fight harder. Candide doesn't want to step foot in England and arranges to be take to Venice to meet up with cunégonde.
7.4. Candide cant find cunégonde and starts to think that that the world is evil. Candide then meets panglosses old mistress and she tells the story of how she gave pangloss syphilis and became cured of it.
8. Chapters 25-27
8.1. Candide visits count pococurange in Venice. The court banishes candide, candide thinks the court must be genius because nothing pleases him. Martin explains that there is some pleasure in no pleasure.
8.2. They encounter Cacambo, who is now a slave. He explains that cunégonde is in Constantinople and offers the bring candide to see her. Candide and martin talk to a king from a different corner of Europe. Theodore is the poorest king and candide gives him a diamond worth 100 times that sum. The kings wonder about his identity and source of generosity.
8.2.1. “ I have sat upon a throne, and have spent many weary days in a London prison on a bed of straw. I am much afraid I shall receive the same treatment here, though I have come to Venice like your Majesties for the carnival’ ” p.128
8.3. Candide and Martin learn that Cacambo bought cunégonde and the old woman from don Fernando, but the pirate abducted them and sold them as slaves. Cunégonde had grown horribly ugly, but candide loved her anyway. Candide purchased Cacambo freedom. In turkey candide recognizes two slaves as the baron and pangloss. Candide also buys their freedom.
9. Chapters 28- 30
9.1. Pangloss tells his story on how he survived the hanging. The executioner was inexperienced and made the noise poorly. His body was then bought by a serfdom and was cut open and he woke up. He then traveled to Constantinople where he was arrested.
9.1.1. “ ‘It is true,’ said Pangloss, ‘that you saw me hanged, though of course I ought to have been burnt. But you remember that it was pouring with rain when I was to be roasted. The storm was so violent that they gave up hope of lighting the fire, and I was hanged instead, as there was no better alternative. My body was bought by a surgeon, who carried me home to be dissected. He first of all made a crucial incision from the collarbone to the navel. Now, no one could have been hanged more incompetently than I was. The chief executioner of the Holy Inquisition was subdeacon, and a genius at burning people, but he was not accustomed to hanging. The rope was wet and failed to slide properly; it was knotted; so I was still breathing when they took me down.’ ” p.134-135