##taire, Candide, And Nicolas Toussaints, The Noailles Revolution

← Doyle, William. The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. 2001

Just about any country that one can name has some history of civil unrest, class issues, rioting in the streets, and outright warfare. These patterns of behavior are common denominators for most civilization in the world. The names, faces, and places may change, but the motivations are generally the same, because of the need for change and the willingness to do whatever is necessary to achieve it. In contrast to the United States, which was in the process of freeing itself from British colonial rule, France was working to free itself from royal absolutism. This period is historically known as the French Revolution. Many scholars do not agree on the chronology of the French Revolution; some scholars suggest that the Revolution took place between 1789 to 1799 while others feel that it did not end until Napoleon lost power in 1815. To better understand the history of the French Revolution it is necessary to discuss the causes, major events, significant figures, and the outcomes associated with these political developments. Without this uprising, that changed the face of the entire country and influenced local political life in many countries in Europe, in all likelihood the France we know today would never have existed.

The French Revolution was a time of period where social and political was a disruption in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799. This time of period affected Social Structure of France prior to the French Revolution. The factors that caused this revolution was due to having a bad government system, weak superiority, and inequality of the classes of people in France during the war. In this research, I will define and explain how Social Structure contributed to the French Revolution Resentment of royal authoritarianism. The three estates that social structure consists of are first estate which are the clergies, second estate known as the Nobleman, and third estate which are the Bourgeoisie, peasants, and workers. The Revolution did not omit sharp distinctions among the social groups, neither did it alter the distribution of wealth. This caused them to divide into these three groups called as estates.

The topic that I will be writing about is the French Revolution and how it affected France as a nation. The book that I read was "The French Revolution, A tale of Terror and Hope for Our Times", by Harold Behr. This book gave a very large and broad overview of what transpired during the French Revolution, which occurred during the years of 1789-1799. Though the book covered a lot of material that happened throughout those years, I will be covering the main topics, such as what were the events leading up to the revolution, how the revolution affected the people of France, how the revolution affected the country as a whole, how the revolution affected the world, and whether or not the revolution in the end helped or was more detrimental to the country. All of the topics will be covered from my point of view and how I interpreted the author, there is another point of views on the revolution but this will be from what I felt the book meant to me.

In document # 3, literacy in France was examined by social groups and classes; the dates compared were again 1680 and 1789, i.e. French Absolutism as opposed to the days of the French Revolution. Overall, three social groups were examined. The first groups were the nobles and professionals: interestingly enough, these two groups were on opposite sides at the time of the French Revolution. Whereas the vast majority of the powerful nobility mostly sided with the Ancien Regime, resisted attempts to reform, and defended its privileges, the highly educated bourgeoisie became revolutionary when it realized that political representation of its vested interests was not possible in Old Regime France, and political change was prevented by the First and Second Estate. Only then did the bourgeoisie desire to overthrow the French medieval state and replace it with a modern state that would truly represent the interests of the French bourgeoisie.

Question 2: If there is one art the French people perfected, it is the art of ennui. While this is diluted with every new generation, the French people still seem to be perpetually uninspired by their political system. Today, this ennui results in little more than complaining, but historically, it has led to unrest. The paramount result of this is the French Revolution. Before the Revolution, French society had been highly divided by class lines and the Third Estate struggled while the First and Second Estates enjoyed prosperity. After the French Revolution, however, the French did everything they could to distance themselves from this system.

The French Revolution of 1789 was inarguably a significant turning point in the history of Europe. However, there have been historical debates over the major contributing factor that had caused the French Revolution. Many historians have argued that the French Revolution was sparked by the emerging new age ideas of Enlightenment in the 18th century, which encouraged people to think logically and critically about their society. Many notable writers such as Diderot and Voltaire began to publicly criticise the social structure and the governance of France. (Darlington et al., 2004, p.25) But other historians argue that ideas affected the way people saw

For my book review, I have read and evaluated Sylvia Neely’s history book entitled A Concise History of the French Revolution published in 2007 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Neely’s purpose is to gives an overview of the French revolution with the most important events, the most prominent people and the essential terms. We can see that the author proved her thesis by explaining the background causes of the revolution such as the ancient regime with Louis XVI. Also she described all important events in chronological orders which made it easier for the reader to understand. Neely’s book is at the same time an history book, but also an kind of encyclopedia because she included all essentials terms which were use during that time period, such as “dérogeance”, which means the loss of nobility.

In addition, Voltaire takes shots at elitism, undercutting noble pride in their high ranking and supremacy. This is exemplified as Candide, son of the Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh’s sister, was considered illegitimate because his father had been able to prove only seventy-one quarterings and therefore was unfit to marry his mother, who had seventy two. As a result of Voltaire’s obvious bias throughout the novel, readers should be slightly skeptical as they read his work and work to separate bias from fact in order to best comprehend the novel. The messages in his work are over exaggerated and no conflicting points to Voltaire’s ideas are given.

50). Candide's love for Cunegonde was clearly not accepted by her family. When Candide expresses his desire to marry Cunegonde to her brother, the Baron strikes him across the face for suggesting "such a hot-headed notion," (Voltaire, p. 67). To the Baron it is completely absurd that Candide, who is of lower birth, should think of marrying his sister, "who has seventy-two quarterings in her coat of arms," (Voltaire, p. 67).

Before the composing of Le Mariage de Figaro and Le Nozze di Figaro, the aristocratic society was in full swing. In early eighteenth-century France had a very defined “political and social order known as the ancien régime.” This meant that France was an absolute monarchy which was fostered by King Louis XIV by showing the divine right of Kings. This was accomplished by building an extravagant palace where nobles would live with the royal family, and draw in people that would have normally been adversaries to the throne, and then turned them into allies by the draw for a luxurious life in court. As anyone can imagine, this made the division between upper and lower class even larger and more distinguished.

The nobility of the Kingdom of France has been evaluated by various scholars of history. There is something to be said, however, for those who chronicled their impressions while living them in the 17th and 18th centuries. The excerpts of Charles Loyseau’s A Treatise on Orders, written in 1610, and Isabelle de Charriere’s The Nobleman, written in 1763 provide two very different glimpses on the French nobility from differing time periods. From these two accounts, it is clear that there was a marked shift in the way some viewed the nobility and their role in the operation of the French state. While Loyseau praises the nobility nearly wholeheartedly,

Liberté, égalité, fraternité was the cry of freedom that countless people used to propel them through, and to the end of the French Revolution. This long period of social, political and economic change in France lasted 10 years, starting in 1798 and ended with Napoleon Bonaparte. The French Revolution greatly affected all of Europe at the time and continues to represent the embodiment of revolution to this day. This constant struggle between the heavily taxed, burdened, and unrepresented third estate and those higher created an environment of monumental change for everyone. In the years leading up to the French Revolution, new beliefs and ideas were reaching every corner of Europe creating the thought that men should live free of oppression. However, in France the leader Louis XVI lead like a tyrant leaving the people impoverish and angry. Through the analysation of numerous circumstance present during the Ancien Régime, such as an inferior fiscal leadership, massive debt, and the forthcoming of new ideas during the Enlightened period, it can be concluded that the means for this revolution were justified as it is in our essence to revolt for a change.

Candide is a French satire published in 1759 by Voltaire, who was a philosopher during the period of Enlightenment. Voltaire wrote Candide to mock the old order and what people believed in at the time. Voltaire believes that bad things do happen, and they happen without being apart of a greater good.

The Revolution in France, during the 19th century, gave power to the people for the first time in France. French citizens now had faith that they could form a strong, independent country; but what they did not realize was that there must be some form of financial or monetary backbone present for a country to excel on its own in the modern world. This gave way to the rise of capitalism and all its follies, debaucheries, and mainly the exploitive nature it excites in people. Two authors, who were writing and observing these changes during this time in France, Honore de Balzac, and Gustave Flaubert, exemplify the demoralization of a people caused by the onslaught of