Criticism of Enlightened Beliefs Through The Eyes of Candide Voltaire, one the Enlightenment's greatest leaders was well known for his use of satire to expose and criticize vices of the 18th century. Through his writing, Voltaire successfully uses irony and parody as a means to satirize what he believes is wrong with 18th-century life. In his novel Candide, Voltaire focuses on many topics, specifically the pitfalls and dangers of optimism, the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church, and political