Examples Of Satire In Candide

In Candide, Voltaire uses a wide range of literary devices to portray satire. The main character, Candide has lived in the castle of Thunder-ten-tronckh in Westphalia, where money is no issue and everyone inside the castle has a pretty happy life. Candide’s mentor and tutor, Pangloss teaches optimistic principles without any troubles. Candide has stayed pretty sheltered living in Thunder-ten-tronckh and doesn’t have to concern himself with wealth or other hardships of the outside world. But after he was caught by the Baron, who found him kissing his daughter, Cunégonde, he was banished from the castle. He then goes on a journey to get back his love and her freedom. Throughout the novel, Candide comes across many religious figures. These figures

who supposedly puts a holy God above everything could be depicted as hypocrites. This leads Candide to believe that it is hard to put faith in a such a God. This is shown when a Grey Friar, stole all of Cunegonde's money and jewels, when Brother Giroflee, a monk, pays for Paquette’s services as a prostitute, or when Don Issachar, a wealthy Jew, purchases Cunégonde and makes her his mistress. Voltaire is clearly making fun of these figures not acting in the way that they should.
Candide had to deal with so much in his life after his banishment.

From having the love of his life taken away from him, to facing beatings, attacks, drowning, and earthquakes. Yet he still remained positive that everything was "the best of all possible worlds,” which was learned from Pangloss’s teachings. Problem after problem, Candide believes this is the best solution that can occur to him. Nothing works in his favor, even if he may think so. This mocks the Leibnizian theory, which stated that the world is the best that God could make it and that because God is perfect, then his creation, the world, is perfect as well. Pangloss has been known to be the symbol of this ideology of absolute optimism. Even with all of the suffering he sees through his travels with Candide, he asserts that all of the evils in the world are needed and that in the end, everything will be worth

it.
Money plays a big role in showcasing satire throughout the entire novel.

In Chapter 17, after Candide and Cacambo run out of food and their horses die, they run into the city of Eldorado. Here Candide gets a lot of money and his belief that everything happens for a reason is in full effect. But even with all of this money, he is unhappy without Cunégonde and decides to leave and continue his search for her. The arrests and beatings he gets, boosted Pangloss’s philosophy. But this is tested when Candide’s money ends up in the hands of crooks such as Vanderdendur, who steals one of Candide’s jewel-laden sheep in the nineteenth chapter. This shows that money seems to be creating more problems than what people had originally

expected.
At the end of the story, readers can sense Candide’s transformation. From the wide-eyed and innocent protagonist to a mature and thoughtful hero. He marries Cunégonde even though she lost her attractiveness and his love for her had faded. He does this because she reminds him of his promise to her right after he was banished and Candide didn’t want to go back on his word. They, along with Martin, Pangloss, Cacambo, and the old woman spend their days unhappy even though they are all together. They are met up with a sorrowful Paquette and Giroflee who are both miserable even after Candide had given them money. To cure their unhappiness, Pangloss, Martin, and Candide decide that working on their farm is the only way to live without idly arguing about the true meaning of life. This leads Candide to no longer follow Pangloss’s optimistic outlook on life and decides to put all of his thoughts into the small garden he acquired. The end of “Candide” symbolizes what Voltaire tried to portray to his readers throughout the novel. Absolute optimism cannot overcome the evil and negative social order European society was troubled with. And with the use of reasoning and rationale, one can promote their own will to live.