Satire In Voltaire's Candide
Voltaire – Candide In Voltaire’s Candide, he makes his views on society very clear and obvious. Using satire, Voltaire pokes fun—for the lack of a better word—at the views and philosophies of his time. Voltaire uses different characters to represent different ideologies and their reactions to events in the story to represent ways in which their ideologies fail to effectively solve problems; as a satirical strategy, Voltaire exaggerates different parties’ reactions and encourages the reader to laugh at the irrationality of, for example, the Inquisition. In some cases, not only do their fault in logic not solve these problems, but also can create an even worse situation. This paper argues that Voltaire disagreed with most philosophies of the
…show more content…
One of the many interpretations of the satire of Jacques’ death in Chapter 5 is that Voltaire could be poking holes in the logic of Christian faith. Since Jacques tried to save the sailor from going overboard, Jacques died in the storm. After doing this out of Jacques ideology to help those in need, the sailor then uses his money to drink and solicit prostitutes. Leaving the good person dead and the twisted one alive. In chapter 11, the reader finds out that the old lady is the daughter of Pope Urban X. This is critical because the Pope is sworn to celibacy; Voltaire uses this as a satire of the hypocrisy of the religion. Also, the Pope proves that he is not a reliable father after he is unable to protect his daughter. In chapter 8, the Grand Inquisitor tries to buy Cunégonde from Don Issachar, and when he refuses, the Inquisitor threatens to burn Don Issachar alive, an auto-da-fé. Voltaire uses this satire as an attempt to reveal how absurd the grand inquisition is. Not only were they burying people alive for the slightest acts of heresy, but in Candide they threaten to do this to someone for not selling them a woman. An exaggeration used to show how primitive Voltaire thought the Inquisition was acting for using religion to do this. When the Franciscan steals Cunégonde’s jules in chapter 10, Voltaire is essentially showing how ironic it is due to the Franciscan order requiring the members to take a vow of
One of the many interpretations of the satire of Jacques’ death in Chapter 5 is that Voltaire could be poking holes in the logic of Christian faith. Since Jacques tried to save the sailor from going overboard, Jacques died in the storm. After doing this out of Jacques ideology to help those in need, the sailor then uses his money to drink and solicit prostitutes. Leaving the good person dead and the twisted one alive. In chapter 11, the reader finds out that the old lady is the daughter of Pope Urban X. This is critical because the Pope is sworn to celibacy; Voltaire uses this as a satire of the hypocrisy of the religion. Also, the Pope proves that he is not a reliable father after he is unable to protect his daughter. In chapter 8, the Grand Inquisitor tries to buy Cunégonde from Don Issachar, and when he refuses, the Inquisitor threatens to burn Don Issachar alive, an auto-da-fé. Voltaire uses this satire as an attempt to reveal how absurd the grand inquisition is. Not only were they burying people alive for the slightest acts of heresy, but in Candide they threaten to do this to someone for not selling them a woman. An exaggeration used to show how primitive Voltaire thought the Inquisition was acting for using religion to do this. When the Franciscan steals Cunégonde’s jules in chapter 10, Voltaire is essentially showing how ironic it is due to the Franciscan order requiring the members to take a vow of