English language and literature studies

¶ … social problems or customs from the period and choose a piece of literature that reflects those problems or comments on them and explain how the piece you've chosen reflects the social values or customs.

One of the most challenging social problems of the 18th century was the question of what was the appropriate role of religion in society. Voltaire's Candide mercilessly satirizes the corruption of the Church and pious people in general, as when the heroine Cunegonde is simultaneously the mistress of both a Jewish man and a member of the clergy. The optimistic philosophy that this world was the best of all possible worlds (because it was created by God) is satirized in the persona of Pangloss, who meets horror after horror, and must desperately rationalize away the plain evidence of evil in the world.

Another concern was the role of the subjects in relation to the sovereign. Despots, religious and political, throughout Candide are shown to be evil. The only clear-sighted characters are individuals such as the cynic Martin, who takes a dim view of both authority and the prospects for happiness in the world. The only truly happy people are the residents of El Dorado, because they are not dominated by a power-hungry sovereign, and because their political system has no use for money.

A final concern of Voltaire was that of the role of women. While Voltaire supported women's rights, he also took a dim view of depicting women as more frail and moral than men. Cunegonde is willing to sacrifice her virtue to survive, even though Candide persists in seeing her as a traditionally 'wronged' heroine until the very end of the tale. Only after she has lost her beauty does Candide see her clearly.

Q2. The purposes of satire

Three common purposes of satire are: 1. To morally reform people through social criticism; 2. To enact political change; 3. To make people laugh at their own follies. One common technique used in satire is hyperbole, particularly in political satires. This can be seen in Jonathan Swift's a Modest Proposal. Swift was outraged at the dire conditions present in Ireland. However, rather than writing angrily about the Irish famine, Swift instead wrote a Modest Proposal, suggesting that the Irish should eat their own children to solve both hunger and overpopulation. Another example of hyperbole is found in the character of Dr. Pangloss in Voltaire's Candide. In Candide, Voltaire satirizes idealistic philosophy. Dr. Pangloss is such an absurdly idealistic philosopher, he insists that everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds, even when the characters confront horrific fates, like being nearly burnt to death by the Spanish Inquisition.

Another common technique used in satire is irony, where the author says one thing but means another, particularly as a method of making people laugh at their follies. In Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock," Pope uses an epic style to describe a minor society incident, in which a pretty girl's lock of hair is lopped off. While the style of the poem suggests that the reader should take the events seriously, Pope's deliberately ironic contrast between tone and subject matter suggests the opposite. Similarly, Cervantes' Don Quixote ironically depicts a mad knight's quest to relive the chivalry of the Middle Ages as an epic struggle, even when the knight is obviously foolish, as when he attacks a series of windmills like they are charging horses.