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Satire in the works of Voltaire and Swift

The power of literature in determining and affecting behaviors and attitudes of the people behind historically significant change is quite significant. Enlightened philosophe Voltaire’s Candide in addition to Johnathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal and Gulliver’s Travels were works of fiction that had such an effect. Through the use of the literary device of satire, Voltaire and Swift criticized certain aspects of their European society. Furthermore, they did so to a high degree of effectiveness.
While Voltaire was one of the most influential philosophes, his Candide in fact satirized some of the very ideas discussed by his fellow philosophes. To begin, Voltaire’s use of capital letters to suggest the importance of the word he has capitalized is used in a satirical manner, criticizing its importance beneath the surface of the word. For instance, he refers to Candide as being “endowed by Nature with the most gentle character.” This possibly suggests Voltaire mocking the id...

Posted by: Raymon Androckitis

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