Voltaire

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VoltaireCandide
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• Voltaire was born Francois Marie Arouet on
  November 21, 1694 in Paris. He received his
  education at Louis-le-Grand, a Jesuit college
  in Paris where he said he learned nothing but
  Latin and the Stupidities. (His disdain for
  religion becomes apparent in his later writings.)

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• After dropping out of school, Voltaire became
  quite popular among the social circles of Paris.
  In 1717, he wrote a scathing satire about French
  authorities and ended up in prison for eleven
  months.

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• While in prison, Voltaire wrote his first
  theatrical success- Oedipe. In 1726, Voltaire
  insulted a powerful and influential nobleman,
  Chevalier De Rohan, and was given two options
  prison or exile. Voltaire opted for the latter
  and moved to England. While in England, he
  studied and became influenced by John Locke and
  Sir Isaac Newton. He also loved and began writing
  about the idea of a constitutional monarchy,
  which the French government saw as criticism, and
  in 1734, Voltaire was forced to leave Paris again.

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• Voltaire moved to Luneville in eastern France
  with his married mistress, Emilie du Chatelet,
  where they lived for fifteen years. During this
  time, Voltaire began a correspondence with
  Frederick of Prussia, finally moving to Potsdam
  in 1750. Eventually, Voltaire and Emilies
  relationship ended and he began a new affair with
  his recently widowed niece.

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• At first in Prussia, Voltaire and Frederick
  shared many similar ideas however, because of
  their strong-minded tendencies, eventually
  conflict arose. In March 1753, Voltaire leaves
  Prussia on poor terms and settles in Switzerland.
  His choice of a city, Geneva, was interesting
  because at the time the city was populated with
  Calvinists- a group who was very pious. Not
  surprisingly, Voltaire again found himself at
  odds with the government leaders.

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• On November 1, 1755, Lisbon, Portugal was
  destroyed by an earthquake that killed fifteen
  thousand people in six minutes with another
  fifteen thousand mortally wounded. Voltaire
  contemplated on the disaster and began to think
  if Alexander Pope (a famed Optimist) would agree.
  Pope once wrote that Whatever is, is right.
  Voltaire began to question the Optimist
  philosophy and knew there must be an inherent
  flaw in a philosophy that believed this
  devastating earthquake to be the best of all
  possible worlds.

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• After leaving Geneva, Voltaire finally settled in
  Ferney, France where he wrote Candide in 1759.
  Voltaire considered his book to be a literary
  response to the philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm
  Leibnitz who attempted to establish a philosophy
  that merged a scientific explanation of the
  universe with a belief in a just God. Voltaire
  disagreed with Leibnitzs assertion that of all
  possible worlds that God could have created, this
  must be the best, for God would have chosen the
  best and set out to satirize what he perceived
  to be a dangerously naïve outlook.

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• Voltaire was attacking the three main beliefs of
  optimism
• 1)Humans can transcend their selfishness
• 2) A final accounting balance of good and evil in
  the world is achievable
• 3) Human philosophies bear some sort of direct
  relevance to human behavior

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• Voltaire believed that an acceptance of the
  Optimist philosophy would lead weak thinkers to
  complacency and acceptance of evil as a natural
  course of things. After the publication of
  Candide, the philosophy was never again as
  credible or as popular.

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Characters of Candide

• Candide- main character, whose origin is unknown
  and irrelevant. The book focuses on his
  adventures and his transformation from an
  innocent, candid young man to a cynical adult.

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• Dr. Pangloss- tutor of Candide whose catch-phrase
  all that is is for the best is representative
  of the philosophy of Optimism.
• Cunegonde- Candides true love the object of his
  desire and all of his searches and journeys. She
  is raped, sold to several men, and eventually is
  sold as a slave until Candide buys her freedom.

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• Cacambo- Candides valet and eventual travel
  companion throughout South America
• Don Fernando dIbaraa, y Figueora, y Mascarenes,
  y Lampourdos, y Souza- a nobleman whose name
  parodies the ridiculous of titles he takes
  Cunegonde as a lover
• The Old Woman- daughter of a pope and a princess
  Cunegondes travel companion

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• James, the Anabaptist- only person who helps
  Candide in Holland Voltaire uses this character
  to point out the hypocrisy of many Christians
• Paquette- a servant who gives Pangloss venereal
  disease and eventually becomes a prostitute.
• Cunegondes brother (the Colonel)- never given a
  name hes based partly on Frederick the Great
• Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh- master of the castle
  who kicks out Candide

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Tools of Satire

• Ridicule description intended to cause
  contemptuous laughter.
• Irony The contrast between what is stated
  explicitly and what is actually meant.
• Caricature (burlesque)A representation in which
  the subjects distinctive features are
  deliberately exaggerated for comic or grotesque
  effect.

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• HyperboleA figure of speech using deliberate
  exaggeration or overstatement. Hyperbole can be
  used for either comic or serious effect
  Hyperbole often produces irony at the same time.
• Sarcasm From the Greek meaning, "to tear
  flesh," sarcasm involves bitter, caustic language
  that is meant to hurt of ridicule someone or
  something. It may use irony as a device, but not
  all ironic statements are sarcastic.

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• Wit In modern usage, wit is intellectually
  amusing language that surprises and delights. A
  witty statement is humorous, while suggesting the
  speaker's verbal power in creating ingenious and
  perceptive remarks. Wit usually uses terse
  language that makes a pointed statement.
• Innuendo An indirect intimation about a person
  or thing, especially of a disparaging or
  derogatory nature

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• Understatement -- The ironic minimizing of fact,
  understatement presents something as less
  significant than it is. The effect can frequently
  be humorous and emphatic.