Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Voltaire is a savage
Voltaire is the greatest savage of the 18th century. He attacks virtually every group of people he can think of. He calls the native people "Biglugs" as a way of referencing their earrings. However "biglugs" also sounds gross. It makes them sound fat. At the time, Europeans thought they were better than everyone, especially native peoples. He also attacks the aristocracy. He tells a story of a slave and the suffering this slave has endured to produce sugar to export to Europe. He tries to prove that the Europeans are cruel to other people has long as they get what they want. He also can't forget about his savage "division of booty pun."
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I agree with Savannah, that Voltaire uses Candide to criticize many of his own enemies. Pangloss, a major character, is a prime example. Voltaire displays Pangloss as being annoying and somewhat delusional in order to criticize Leibniz and his philosophy. Voltaire also shows the Jesuits in a bad light by the way he portrays the Baron and often makes references to their corruptness and homosexuality. Voltaire goes all out in chapter 25 when he uses Pococurante to undercut some of the great works of history and call highly renowned people from history, such as Rafael and Homer, overrated. Voltaire uses Candide to take out many of his own personal vendettas and criticisms of the events surrounding Europe and other philosophies besides his own.
Voltaire really does roast everyone and every society of the time. What makes him so good at this is that he says things that actually have some truth. Like when he refers to Frederick the Great as a bulgar. Frederick was actually reported to be gay. Although a minor detail of Frederick's reign, still a major dig at him.
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