Candide

Voltaire attacked the church, the state, philosophy and the governing class. He spent most of his life dodging punishment for his satirical tongue. Voltaire wrote against religious persecution, criticized the powerful individuals and condemned their institutions. Voltaire uses mockery in his book Candide to express his bitterness towards nobility, philosophy, the church, and inhumane cruelty. Throughout the book we come across a lot of characters. One in which is a baron named Thunder-ten-tronckn. An awful …

…from the churches or molesting young child. When we read about the Franciscan who steals Cunegund’s jewelry, it isn’t far fetched. There are both good and evil in this world. Coming from nobility or joining the priesthood, doesn’t categorize you as a good person. Only through ones actions can determine the good of the individual. Again and again Candide suggests that thought alone does not change social conditions. And it doesn’t.