Comparing A Modest Proposal, Tartuffe, And

The Enlightenment era was a time when writers and philosophers spread their ideas to enlighten people using reason. These writers and philosophers believed that humanity would be able to work towards a perfect future when following their philosophy. Some of the stories told to spread ideas of Enlightenment were A Modest Proposal, Tartuffe, and Candide. In the three stories we have read, each writer uses satire to push their message onto their reader, without directly stating what they actually want to stay. In Swift’s satire, A Modest Proposal, Swift uses irony to talk about the economic inequality by proposing such a ridiculous idea. When Swift says “I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as
This proposal is considered to be part of the enlightenment ideas because it uses logic and reason to prove a point. Although it may not sound like Swift uses logic to come up with his proposal, he mentions many problems that this proposal solves and uses math to further prove his
The first time this idea is seen is in chapter 1 when Voltaire says “Master Pangloss taught the metaphysico–theologo–cosmolonig-ology. He could prove to admiration that there is no effect without a cause; and, that in this best of all possible worlds...” Time and time again, it is shown that this philosophy is not the case. This story is a series of unfortunate events that leads to an ending where not one character is happy. Voltaire wrote his story like this to be satirical, but to also disprove a belief that many philosophers at the time believed. Many people believed that since God created the Earth, the it must be created in his perfect image. Voltaire uses the character of Pangloss to poke fun at these beliefs and to show that the world does not work like