Candide - une analyse de l'Eldorado

This PowerPoint provides a detailed exploration of the Eldorado episode in Voltaire’s Candide. Designed to support close reading and thematic analysis, it highlights both the utopian vision Voltaire constructs and the implicit critique of European society in the 18th century.

What’s included:
Introduction: Candide as a conte philosophique and a roman d’apprentissage
Eldorado as an apologue – a fictional narrative with moral and philosophical lessons
The journey leading Candide and Cacambo to discover Eldorado
Literary analysis of the utopian city:
• Exotic and marvellous setting
• Abundance and hyperbolic descriptions
• A world of political freedom, cultural progress, and harmony
Critical perspective:
• Use of exaggeration, humour, and naïveté to maintain reader distance
• Contrast between Eldorado and European monarchies, justice systems, and intolerance
• Eldorado as a temporary stage, not a lasting solution – leading to Candide’s later discovery of the “garden”

Why this resource?
Clear, structured analysis of one of the most important chapters in Candide
Explains both utopia and underlying satire
Encourages critical thinking on Enlightenment values and Voltaire’s philosophy
Perfect for A-level French