A novel written entirely in satire, Candide. Written by the famous writer, Voltaire, Candide tells the story of a young man, Candide, and his close friends' misadventures around the world. Voltaire, a French enlightenment writer believed in freedom of speech and to express his belief he wrote a novel dedicated to mocking life itself. The enlightenment, a period that occurred during the eighteenth century, was a time of refinement and understand. During this period people began to use science and logic as a way of thinking, instead of religion. Voltaire mocks issues such as cruel punishment, women's rights, and corrupt governors by using satire to portray an exaggerated event. However, these exaggerated events lead to an intellectual understanding of the irony and stupidity of these occurrences. Cruel and unusual punishment is a powerful issue that Voltaire mentions several times in Candide. He writes about these issues in either a comedic way or an exaggerated way. When Voltaire talks about how Candide was forced “to run the gauntlet six and thirty times through the whole regiment, or to have his brains blown out with a dozen musket-balls" (Chapter 2). He adds small details like, "six and thirty times," to make fun of the punishment. He also gives Candide the option of being shot by a dozen …show more content…
In Candide women are raped, sold, enslaved, and mistreated. Voltaire accurately portrays this incredible issue by talking about how often women are raped. He creates satire when Cunegonda was raped, more than several times, she just becomes okay with it. Women are mistreated so often, that the women in the book just deal with, and that is what makes this issue satirical. In the enlightenment people became more aware of natural rights and women began to become more respected. Mary Wollstonecraft, a powerful and intelligent enlightenment thinker, strongly believed in women's rights and their right to be