Satire in Candide Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Satire in Candide - Term Paper Example After revealing that the profound distrust of Voltaire of rationalist theology and metaphysics gave him an image of being inescapably ‘anti-Leibnitzien’, it reveals that, oddly, Voltaire, just like Leibniz, was committed to enlightened, open-minded, and liberal political rule which could mitigate suffering and poverty, create educational and scientific traditions, scorn religious discrimination and fallacy, and choose happiness and fortune over violence and war (Levine, 1999, 249-250). This paper explains how Voltaire satirizes the philosophy of optimism as well as other institutions of the day in his work ‘Candide’. Satire is defined as a literary device whose goal is to improve society and the human condition by poking fun at individuals and various institutions with the goal of bringing awareness and reform. Satire can be grouped into three categories, Horatian (mild, good natured, tolerant and sympathetic), Juvenalian (vituperative, biting and filled with moral indignation), and Menippean (attacks on mental attitudes instead of specific individuals). Candide contains both Horatian and Jeuvenalian elements of satire. There are various types of satirical devices among them being, hyperbole, irony, allusion, parody, oxymoron, and understatement. New ideas, fresh interpretations, and original thought characterized the period known as the Enlightenment in the eighteenth Century. Scientific discovery was flourishing which brought new discoveries that challenged the traditional power of religion. Influential writers and philosophers of this age, Voltaire being prominent among them, sought to better the human condition and advance human thinking through truth and humorous criticism. Voltaire employs scathing satire to ridicule the ideologies of the Old Regime by criticizing most of the political, social, and religious ideals of his time. More specifically however, Voltaire chose as