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Candide Beauty Queens Analysis

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For years, one of the single greatest techniques available to writers has been a sense of satire and dark humor. Former satirist, Voltaire, have motivated modern day writers like Libba Bray to create what some might consider thoughtful laughter with in a satire novel. Voltaire and Bray unique style from different eras both share a common goal of targeting an intended audience through diction, exaggeration, and invectiveness. By analyzing Candide (Voltaire) and Beauty Queens(Bray) by the “true test of comedy” you will see in each novel it is expressed by it diction and tone. Candide was more sarcastic while in Beauty Queens it was more direct and straight forward. In Candide, Voltaire choice of words was for the more educated class of citizen in order to understand what he was voicing. For example, “The university of Coimbrahad pronounced that the sight of a few people ceremoniously burned alive …the authorities of that country could find no surer means of avoiding total ruin than by giving the people ad auto-da-fe(Candide p.36).” In Chapter 15 of Beauty Queens “Of course, it’s not right for girls to behave this way. Sexuality is not meant to be this way…No. Sexual desire is meant to sell soap. And cars. And beer. And religion.” Looking closely at each quote Voltaire wrote in the style of his generation while Bray’s choice of words was direct …show more content…

This main technique is the foundation of the book’s purpose because it states it purpose and what they are trying to accomplish by mocking the intended targets. In Candide, Voltaire target was toward religion, philosophical optimism and greed. Libbra Bray is satirizing identity, gender stereotypes, media and survival. Once the reader find the authors purpose, the audience and techniques of what is being satire it sparks the “thoughtful” in the laughter while

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