Essay on Satire in Voltaires Candide -- Candide essays

Use of Satire in Voltaires Candide Voltaire successfully uses irony as a means of conveying his opinions about life. In his novel, Candide, Voltaire satirizes the philosopher Liebnitzs philosophy that this is the best of all possible worlds. In the novel, the perpetually optimistic and naive character, Candide, travels slightly the world, having various experiences that prove, at least to the reader, that evil does exist. In one particular passage, Voltaire uses explicit diction, exaggerated details and manipulated syntax in order to contrast the optimists romanticist view of battle with the horrible reality that is war. Voltaires grossly exaggerated details give a somewhat comical description of an otherwise horrible event. The cannons batter down about... ...between the ridiculous ideas of the optimist and the truth that only the realist could see. His choice of syntax leaves the reader with unforgettable images of war that will have a lasting effect. Through his crafty sat ire, Voltaire urges the reader to be more practical rather than happily ignorant Work Cited Voltaire. Candide. Trans. Bair, Lowell. New York Bantam Books, 1988.