Candide by Voltaire is an incredibly captivating novel with real world influences that help establish the work’s core themes. The trail of destruction left by the earthquake in Lisbon was of cataclysmic proportions; Candide and Pangloss were in awe as they were surrounded by death and devastation. I interpret this event as essentially, one of the first of many turning points in Candide’s attitude. More specifically, the earthquake forces Candide to replace his absolute optimism with a questioning doubt about the world he lives in. The Interactive Oral helped to develop my understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of Candide as I learned about the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and how it served as a primary influence for Voltaire’s
