Examples Of Satire In Candide

In Candide, Voltaire uses satire to criticize philosophers, the military, the treatment of women, and the Catholic Church while also providing the audience with comic relief. One way in which he does this is by parodying well known Biblical passages/figures such as genealogical lists, The Good Samaritan, and John the Baptist to enhance his ability to criticise the Catholic Church as well as Catholic leaders.

One example of how Voltaire uses satire to both criticize religious figures and bring comic relief is in chapter three as he is writing about the contraction and spreading of syphilis. In this passage Pangloss tells Candide that he contracted this disease from Paquette and then traces the disease back to five more people before stating

This passage starts by Candide approaching a Catholic minister, who had just spoken on charity, to ask for food and a drink. The minister, instead being charitable to Candide, tells him that he does not deserve to eat and then hits him over the head with a pot (27). A man named John the Anabaptist witnesses this event so, “he brought him home and washed him, gave him bread and beer and a couple of florins, and offered to apprentice him” (27). The audience of this novel can correlate this passage to the parable of The Good Samaritan found in the Gospel of Luke. In this parable, a man is beaten by thieves and left on the side of the road and three people pass him: a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. Neither the priest or the Levite stopped to help the man; however, the Samaritan did. Knowing this parable allows the audience to see the connection that Voltaire is making. He is comparing the Catholic Minister, who represents the leaders within the Catholic church, to the thieves, the witnesses, who represent members of the Catholic Church, to the Levite, and James the Anabaptist, who represents Protestants, to the Samaritan. He is ultimately saying that people of the Catholic Church are more focused on helping each other than helping people outside of the church while Protestants are doing the