candide
In Candide, Voltaire uses many writing techniques which can also be found in the works of Cervantes, Alighieri, Rabelais and Moliere. The use of the various styles and conventions shows that, despite the passage of centuries and the language differences, certain writing techniques will always be effective. One common literary technique is the author's use of one or more of his characters as his 'voice' to speak out the authors views on a certain subject. For instance, in Moliere's Tartuffe, the author uses the character of Cleante to speak out against religious hypocrites Nothing that I more cherish and admireThan honest zeal and true religious fire.So there is nothing that I find more baseThan specious piety's dishonest face.In Candide, Voltaire makes use of several characters to voice his opinion mocking philosophical optimism. On page 1594, Candide is asking a gentleman about whether everything is for the best in the physical world as well as the moral universe. The man replies:...I believe nothing of the sort. I find that everything goes wrong in our world; that nobody knows his place in society or his
The times and issues may be quite different, but the writing style works just as well for him as it did all the way back to the twelfth century. In Don Quixote, the would-be knight-errant sets out with his sidekick Sancho Panza on an adventure too; determined to right wrongs and save damsels in distress. Another technique Voltaire uses in Candide is that of taking actual people and events and weaving into his work of fiction. Compare chapter three of Don Quixote, "Of the amusing manner in which Don Quixote had himself dubbed a knight. Alighieri uses this method in The Divine Comedy as well,although on a much less descriptive level. While Cervantes may have been poking fun at this method by useing it in such an exaggerated manner, both he and Voltaire use it effectively to keep the reader's attention and make him want to read on to findout what happens next. In much the same manner Alighieri, in The Divine Comedy, has placed many of his enemies in various circles of Hell. More outlandish examples of exaggeration can be found in Gargantua and Pantagruel, such as the size of Gargantua's mare (as big as six elephants) or the weight of his dumbbells (each one is eight hundred and five tons). In Candide, the story is written such that the main character and usually one or more companions have set out on a great journey filled with adventures. By having this character take on such a pessimistic tone, he directly contradicts the obviously over-optimistic tone of Candide. It is in this journey that Candide's outlook on life is challenged; he is forced to become less optimistic about this world being the best of all possible worlds. " In each of these examples, the character chosen by the author comes across as a reasonable and respectable person, making the author's point of view seem just as reasonable and respectable. Later, Candide is sentenced to receive a flogging for having deserted the Bulgar army. He ridicules their use in that it takes Gargantua so long to learn simple tasks such as memorizing the alphabet.
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