Ideas And Criticism In George Orwell's Candide

Throughout each society there exists a piece of literature that critiques the people and the ideas in it. The 1940s had George Orwell’s 1984, the 1860s had Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, and the 1750s had Voltaire’s Candide. Voltaire, also known as Francois-Marie Arouet, wrote the novel Candide as a critique and satire of the society in the 1750s. In doing so, Voltaire mocked religion, social order, war, and the aristocracy. This mockery led to an irate noble class and Catholic church, but also led to an important enlightenment piece of literature being created. Voltaire disregarded the idea of offending people which allowed him to write on any aspect of how society he wanted to. One of the more ambitious aspects of this enlightenment writing was the portrayal of religion in society. The topic of religion and the negative affects of the …show more content…
The mockery is seen throughout the novels, for example, when Candide talked to the kind old man in Eldorado. Candide and the old man begin to discuss how the people of Eldorado do not have monks which leads to Candide asking, “You have no monks who teach, argue, rule, plot, and burn people who don’t agree them?” (cite). By saying this, Voltaire comes against the clergy due to him implying that the church can sometimes be harmful and unnecessary to the people of society. Since the church is a big aspect of daily life, coming against the church is an enormous statement to make and might end up getting someone killed. The aforementioned harmful aspects of religion can be seen earlier in the book when James the Anabaptist drowns in Lisbon Harbor. While Candide, James, and Dr. Pangloss are taking a ship, it crashes and consequently throws a sailor