Satire in Candide by Voltaire Essay example

Voltaire is considered as one of the greatest Enlightenment writers in France for his extensive use of literary elements to convey his message. Voltaire satirizes different aspects of society to expose their absurdity in most of his writings. In Candide, Voltaire, by employing situational irony, mocks the blindness of society, magnifying the narrow-minded human nature.

In his work, Candide, Voltaire uses satire as a means of conveying his opinions about many aspects of European society in the eighteenth century.  Voltaire successfully criticizes religion, the military, and the philosophy of optimism.

Voltaire successfully uses satire as a means of conveying his opinions about many aspects of European society in the eighteenth century.  He criticizes religion, the evils found in every level of society, and a philosophy of optimism when faced with an intolerable world.

Pangloss?s philosophy explains in a superficial way why so many bad things happen to Candide and other characters in the story. Because "everything is for the best of all possible worlds," the bad and evil eventually lead to something good and are necessary for the good to happen(p.519). Pangloss points this out to Candide at the end when he explains:

Voltaire’s Candide portrays an exaggerated image of human cruelty and suffering in the world. Specifically, Voltaire criticizes people’s lack of willingness to prevent suffering, and their tendency to accept the idea that there is nothing anyone can do about human outcomes. He upholds his belief that practical ways of solving problems generate improvement. He believes that human indifference and inaction cause suffering to carry on. Voltaire’s believes that naïve optimism, absolute pessimism, cruel indifference, and lack of reason hinder positive and constructive change.

Enlightenment philosophers wanted concrete, tangible proof to back their ideas. Pangloss, Candide’s friend and teacher, is a character that depicts the metaphysical side of the Old Regime. He is an optimist who believes that there is no effect without a cause and that everything is made for a reason and with a purpose. Voltaire portrays Pangloss as naive. Pangloss finds himself in trouble for studying and exploring the world before he becomes sure of himself and his ideas. Even after Pangloss’s troubles, he still refuses to stray from his thoughts and would rather believe his ideas than face reality. Another character that is depicted as naive and optimistic is Cacambo, Candide’s servant. Cacambo consoles Candide after his loss of Cunegonde. Cacambo claims that God takes care of all women and that they will never be at a loss. But Candide knows the sufferings that Cunegonde and the Old Woman have experienced. Cunegonde was bought, sold, and objectified throughout the novel, along with the Old Woman, who was beaten, raped, and treated with

Voltaire’s satire contains a strong sense of witful irony and parodies meant to elicit disgust at the topics he is criticizing. “Candide’s” sense of satire is largely derived from the Juvenalian satire which was created by the Roman satirist Juvenal. By using absurdist and ironic images of characters, satirists intend to invoke disgust or laughter at a topic to the point where it is rejected a legitimate. Thi is the point with Voltaire’s mockery of optimism in “Candide”.

The brand of philosophical optimism depicted and mocked in Candide was popularized by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a German mathematician and philosopher(CITE). Leibniz 's version of optimism basically states that all is for the best because out of all of the possible worlds, the one we live in is the best one. Dr. Pangloss is a parody of Leibniz’s version of optimism in Candide. No matter how horrendous the circumstance, Dr. Pangloss never fails to parrot the mantra that “all is for the best” (Voltaire 3) thus creating a caricature of Leibniz and his philosophy. Apart from Dr. Pangloss’s delusional assertion that “everything is right” (21) despite everything indicating that the opposite is true, his use of the non sequitur logical fallacy is yet another example of Voltaire depicting

Pangloss, a philosopher is depicted all through the novel as an idealistic mastermind who lives by this logic. Candide, who is mentored by Pangloss aimlessly much of the time addresses this reasoning at snapshots of hardship over the span of his life, lastly rejects it, picking to trust that in spite of the fact that the world is not the best of all possible worlds but,“we must cultivate our garden” (Voltaire 365). Different characters in the book likewise can 't help contradicting Pangloss ' ideals. Jacques who went to Lisbon with Pangloss isn 't strong of these ideals. Jacques says “ humankind has corrupted its nature a little, for people were not born wolves, yet they have become wolves. God did not give them heavy cannon or bayonets, yet they have invented them to destroy each other” (Voltaire 309). The book recounts the account of Candide, as he goes through life and endures numerous hardships on account of others. Candide not only suffers, but the people he surrounds himself with suffer the same fate as well. The book does a good job at outlining human suffering that provoked enlightenment ideas to not only challenge it, but to really show their true selves. Each time something bad happens Pangloss shares his idealistic perspective as to why it occurred. The way Candide points these things out, causes the reader to disagree with Pangloss’s

In a way, Pangloss is Candide’s “father-figure”. As no physical father is present in Candide’s life, Pangloss’s teachings install order and opinion in his world. Whenever introduced to something new- terrible or grand- throughout this novel Candide’s first thought is always about Pangloss; what he would say about it or how he would react. Pangloss physically bounces in and out of this novel, infrequently, but in reference he is in the entire book. Page four in chapter one, while setting up the background for Candide, Voltaire includes an educational and philosophical speech by Pangloss in which he ends by stating, “...all is for the best.” This direct quote continues to influence Candide throughout his quest. This quote initiates an optimistic attitude in Candide which will encourage him throughout his adventures.

On November 21, 1694, Francois-Marie Arouet, otherwise known as Voltaire, was born in Paris. The youngest of five, son to Francois and Marie Arouet, Voltaire grew

Satire. According to dictionary.com it is “the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues”. During a time when going against the common mindset, which at the time was philosophical optimism, was rare and often looked down upon, using satire in order to not only communicate one’s beliefs but also mock those who shared the mainstream train of thought was key. The use of satire in Voltaire's Candide aids in the exhibition of his pessimistic mindset towards the social, religious, philosophical, political, and scientific beliefs that were favored during the Age of

In Voltaire’s Candide, we are taken by the hand through an adventure which spanned two continents, several countries, and to a multitude of adverse characters. The protagonist, Candide, became the recipient of the horrors which would be faced by any person in the 18th century. But Candide was always accompanied with fellows sufferers, two of which our focus will lay, Pangloss and Martin. In equal respects, both are embodiments of different philosophies of the time: Pangloss the proponent of Optimism and Martin the proponent of Pessimism. Each of the two travelers is never together with Candide, until the end, but both entice him to picture the world in one of their two philosophies. Throughout the story there is an apparent ebb and flow

The narrative techniques, features of language and context Voltaire used when writing Candide tells us a lot about this book and what Voltaire was trying to achieve in writing it. Candide is told by a third person narrator who is not a main character in the book and is completely outside of the storyline. The title page of Candide implies that the book was found and translated by Doctor Ralph who is our narrator. This is a fiction created by Voltaire to distance himself from the book and to help the reader to understand the satirical nature of Candide.

Pangloss, Candide’s mentor, to represent the illogical beliefs of Leibniz and his followers. Dr. Pangloss teaches Candide that they are living in the “best of all possible worlds” and “there is no effect without a cause”. Candide, very naïve and impressionable in his youth, regards Pangloss as the greatest philosopher in the world, similar to the way many of Leibniz’s followers may have acted. Voltaire then creates the character Martin, a pessimist, to accentuate the flaws in this ridiculous philosophy. Martin tries to convince Candide that there is little virtue, morality, and happiness in the world. Candide begins to believe this after encountering one terrible disaster after another, such as the brutalities of war and the injustice of religious groups. One way Voltaire illustrates the irrationality of Pangloss’ philosophy is when Candide is reunited with the diseased and dying Pangloss, who had contacted syphilis. Candide asks if the Devil is at fault. Pangloss simply responds that “the disease was a necessary in this ‘best of all possible worlds’, for it was brought to Europe by Columbus’ men, who also brought chocolate and cochineal, two greater goods that well offset any negative effects of the disease” (17). Candide begins to realize the ludicrousness of what Dr. Pangloss is saying and eventually abandons his belief in optimism. At the end of the book, when asked what is optimism, Candide replies, “Alas…it is a mania for saying