This text will concern itself with the use of satire in Voltaire’s ‘Candide’ and Swift’s ‘A Modest Proposal.’ Writers have in the past employed satire in an attempt to not only criticize, but also expose the wrongs in society. In essence, the utilization of satire has been mostly with reference to the political class in an attempt to criticize the political leadership’s follies. In this endeavor, writers routinely make use of ridicule, exaggeration, irony, as well as humor.
Voltaire makes significant use of satire in ‘Candide.’ Essentially, the satirical novel follows a young man by the name Candide as he explores the world gaining a great deal of knowledge about the various hardships and suffering people go through (Cronk, 2009). It is important to note that in addition to sarcasm, Voltaire has also extensively used other literary devices in the satirical novel. Some of the subjects Voltaire has variously satirized include the human nature and formal social systems. For instance, with regard to formal social systems, Candide satirizes class hierarchies by way of, amongst other things, mocking aristocracy with references to physical descriptions as well as titles. For example, in reference to the Baron of Westphalia, there is clear understatement in the following sentence: “the Baron was one of the most powerful lords in Westphalia, for his castle had not only a gate, but windows” (Voltaire, 2017, p. 117). The fact that windows, in addition to a gate, can qualify an individual to be very “powerful” amongst peers is clearly satirical.
It is also important to note that ruler ineptitude and hypocrisy, as well as political hypocrisy is well satirized in the satirical novel. For instance, in seeking to refer to the pride and...
References
Cronk, N. (Ed.). (2009). The Cambridge Companion to Voltaire. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Rosner, L. & Theibault, J. (2015). A Short History of Europe, 1600-1815: Search for a Reasonable World. New York, NY: Routledge.
Swift, J. (2012). A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works. New York, NY: Dover Publications.
Voltaire (2017). VOLTAIRE: 60+ Works in One Volume. Mason, OH: Musaicum Books.
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