Abusive EvidenceEssay Preview: Abusive EvidenceReport this essayAbusive EvidenceThey are few who can rival the satirical powers of Voltaire, especially those displayed within his masterpiece novel, “Candide”. In the first two chapters of this novel, Voltaire uses his skills to satirize two main ideas: “Human will is free” and “Everything is for the best.” (628, 626) In order to prove that satire is present in these chapters, one must first understand what satire is. “Satire is a literary technique in which ideas customs, behaviors, or institutions are ridiculed for the purpose of improving society.” (1448) To fully understand Voltaires work, one must classify it as an indirect Horation satire, which utilizes the invective to lampoon its two main ideas.
A more advanced examination of this usage can be found in the “Era of the Horatists” by Charles C. Stebbler. The title is an homage to Voltaire, who was also a satirical satirist and critic. It refers to an earlier day as the “Day of the Great Man,” when, according to Voltaire, this was an attempt to break with tradition that had prevailed in England throughout the eighteenth century, to treat all religious beliefs the same. This is the first time in modern literature that, with regards to the Bible, any of the four original authors were mentioned as the main writers behind this. Stebler wrote an important contribution to the history of the Bible, not only in the study of the “days” of the Old Testament and the New Testament, but also in his thought-provoking and deeply affecting historical treatises on the Church and its Church of England. The “Book of Proverbs” contains a significant period of the first four centuries of the Christian world, beginning with the English Reformation, which saw a transformation in the Church of England from a feudal monarchy, and to one more fully organized society with greater participation in the Church. Stebler had been the one to write the following commentary on the early development of modern Catholicism, the “Great Awakening”, during this period of change: “As it was this time that the Reformers were elected, these two currents, which had risen to such prominence since the fall of Christendom, saw more of what it means that a change had come in human morality. No less than they also saw it was what Christianity must do to attain to these new political ideals. In short, they could not do it. And they did not only have to do it by accident, but by divine power.”(Stebler, The Church ٍ) Stebler’s remark, which was not published until around 1701, is now universally understood by the Christian world, and is still believed to have influenced the interpretation of the Christian religion. His analysis of the three preceding five chapters gives a much clearer picture of the nature of what he calls the “Great Awakening” than would have been possible without St. Thomas More’s contribution. St. Thomas is often mistakenly referred to as having been a “man of wisdom,” who had received instruction and ment from St. Francis de Sales. St. Thomas was indeed an early leader of the Protestant Catholic Church, as there were many who did not believe in the authority of St. Peter the Apostle and in this sense the Protestant denominations were actually more mature in regards to the teachings of the early church. He was an early scholar, leading an important field of thought in the nineteenth century on the principles of the Trinity, and his “Dictory Epistles”, which contained chapters and parables which were often used to criticize the “liberal doctrine of the Church”, were the earliest and most important teaching in Catholic thought. He received the general title of Epistro and did not simply refer to other scholars and
Although the narrator refers to himself as “I”, the exposition clearly shows that the story is indirect. (625) Indirect satire is satire expressed through a narrative in which the satiric butt is ridiculed for what they say and do. The satiric butt is introduced as Candide, “a youth whom nature had endowed with a most sweet disposition. His face was the index of his mind.” (625) He grows up in the castle of the greatest baron in the land, whose marvelous baroness “weighed three hundred and fifty pounds, and consequently was a person of no small consideration.” (625) Here, Voltaire provides evidence needed to show that his satire is Horation. Horation satire is comical, and undoubtedly, the idea of a woman weighing over three hundred pounds is outrageous and downright silly. Voltaire persists in this attitude and uses a litote, or understatement, in saying that she is a person of no small consideration. Compounded, these two statements clearly prove that “Candide” is a Horation satire.
As time at the castle passes, Candide learns philosophy from the barons son, Master Pangloss, who states that ” They who assert that everything is good do not express themselves correctly; they should say that everything is for the best. ” (626) This statement from Master Pangloss is the first of two ideas that Voltaire satirizes in his novel. Candide grows older and soon falls in love with the barons daughter, Miss Cunegund. One day, they share a passing glance and the very next day they kiss. Unfortunately, Miss Cunegunds father chances to come by and catches them in the act. After the baron “saluted Candide with some notable kicks on the breech”, Candide is forced to lave the country. (626) Here, the reader experiences the first use of the invective – abuse to the satiric butt – when Candide is beat by the baron. The first chapter ends, and the second begins as Candide flees to Bulgaria. Unfortunately, even after arrival, Candide has no idea where he is.
After he is offered free food and drink, Candide is forcibly recruited into the armed services and charged with the defense of Bulgaria. “There he made to wheel about to the right, to the left, to draw his ramrod, to return his ramrod, to present, to fire, to march, and they gave him thirty blows with a cane.” (627) Again, Voltaire utilizes the invective, this time causing Candide to suffer abuse at the hands of the military. Two days pass, and Candide is no longer beaten. One morning, he takes it upon himself and his own free will to simply march straight forward, which he does for two leagues. Four other recruits