Satire: Best of All Possible Worlds and Candide
Satire uses the techniques of parody for an agenda of social commentary. It “mocks some aspect of vice or frolly.” Throughout the course of the novel, satire has been represented in many situations. Three situations that have shown themselves as important representations of satire include Candide’s expulsion from the castle, the shipwreck and earthquake and finding Cunegonde. In the first chapter of Candide, candied gets expelled from the castle where he was living in. Candide was caught kissing the barons daughter and was literally kicked out of Thunder-Ten-Tronckh, which was the castle of the baron. This situation is an example of deflation. It shows deflation because Candide went from living in a very high regarded castle to being kicked out vigorously by the baron himself, into the street. Candide was the baron’s sister son, and was very respectable and to see him thrown out of the castle made him look ridiculous. Now Candide was homeless, had nowhere to go, and couldn’t be with his love, Cunegonde, anymore. Another example of satire that has been portrayed in Candide, is when the shipwreck and the earthquake occur in chapter 5. The first satirical device that is shown in this event is when the Anabaptist rescued the sailor that was falling overboard, but then that same sailor threw the Anabaptist over board and let him drown. This is a form of situational irony because no one would have suspected that the sailor that almost died and was rescued would have killed his rescuer. Another element of satire that is expressed in this chapter is grotesque. For example, “sick humor” is shown when the earthquake hit the city and while everyone was panicking, the same sailor that killed the Anabaptist found the first street walker and paid her for her services. This is grotesque because everyone is panicking and screaming about, this man was “partying”. One last satirical element that was represented was inflation. The earthquake is a real event, but when described