English 120 E - Candide

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After Candide slays the Grand Inquisitor and Don Issachar, the old woman joins both Candide and Cunegonde as they flee the scene. She reveals to Candide and Cunegonde that she is the daughter of Pope Urban X. Even though this woman is the daughter of a pope, she has lived a miserable life. The old woman experienced many misfortunes including the murder of her husband, her mother, and their maids, being raped by pirates, ending up as a slave, and coming across the thought of suicide several times. This demonstrates that even though the old woman is the daughter of a pope, being a part of a religious institution does not mean that your life will be dandy.

In most satirical literature, some writing is considered humorous or amusing and in others, it is considered bitter and biting. I believe that Voltaire uses both amusement and bitterness. This is my opinion because the main character faces many misfortunes especially with death. Along with Candide, there are also other characters that experience death and near death experiences. Voltaire creates a mordant satire because the novel creates the themes of pain, loss, misfortune, and suffering simply to mock the flaws in the philosophy of optimism.

Voltaire’s satire evokes humor and amusement too. He uses an assortment of comical events and elements to portray his ideas with humor. A prime example of this is the character Pangloss. Voltaire proves that Pangloss is both idiotic and pompous throughout the novel. Pangloss seems to never quit when it comes to his optimist philosophy of “everything is for the better”. Voltaire also utilizes the names of several characters to produce amusement. The behaviors of these characters are usually represented through their names. For example, Candide means innocent and pure. Another example is the irony of Pangloss’ name. Pangloss means all language which translates into all knowing. Pangloss is the complete opposite of all knowing because of his ridiculous perspective of the world.

The elements of satire and the use of bitterness and humor establish the ideas of Voltaire in Candide. Throughout the novel, Voltaire mocks several institutions including the church, warfare, philosophy, and most importantly, the views of optimists. Even though this novel was created for entertainment, Voltaire satirizes and tears apart George Leibniz’s philosophy of “everything is for the best of all possible worlds”. He believed changes could be made to rid the world of all evil, and with the help of satire, he achieved that goal. As a result of Candide, Voltaire is credited as one of the greatest satirists in literature.