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Compare the satire in Guilder’s Travels & Candied Satire means irony. People use satire to expose folly or vice. Interestingly, in Voltaire Candied and Swifts Guilder’s Travels, they both use satire to express their profound observations. They have some similarities; such as they both criticize the human weakness. They also have many differences between them. In “Candied”, Voltaire offers sad themes by Jokes and criticism. The story itself presents a distinctive outlook on life through author’s satiric tone. Candid’s experiences reveal to us that the world is a terrible place.
Human beings are born to suffer in this world. On the other hand, Swift has continuously criticized the human race. He has never mentioned one of the good qualities of the human beings. Compare to the Homophony ? A horse society that the mall character Gullible admires the most, Swift satirized the bad characters and behaviors of the human beings. In “Candied”, Voltaire presents a story of his innocent, naive hero Candid’s adventure life. By describing how Candid travels around the world and encounters different circumstances, Voltaire uses his critical tone to reveal to us that the world Is cruel place.
Candied is an optimism man. He always remembers his teacher Pangolin’s doctrines “cause and effect”(P. 25) and “everything was for the best in this world” (P. 28). Contract to this theme, Candid has gone through so many misfortune experiences. At the beginning of his adventure. Candied Is thrown out from the castle when found kissing the baron’s daughter, Condoned. On his journey, he faces many misfortunes. He is tortured during army training. He has met his teacher, Pompanos several times. The first time, Pompanos looks like a beggar and his health is in devastated condition. (P. ) The second time, Pompanos tells Candied that he Is almost hanged, and then dissect, then beaten. Ironically Pompanos still believes that everything is for the best in the world. Later Candied reunites with Condoned. An older woman with Condoned tells them her sad story. At the end of their conversation, the older woman tells them “prevail upon each passenger to tell his story, and if there is one of them all that has not cursed his existence many times, and said to himself over and over again that he was the most wretched of mortals, I give you leave to throw me head-foremost into the sea” (P. 41).
This illustrates the author’s position that world is a cruel place and men are born to suffer. As the story continues, Condoned Is taken away from Candied again. Candied has gained his wealth a short time. A few years later, he finds his beloved Condoned, but now she is fat and ugly. His wealth is all gone. Throughout Candid’s adventure, we see how life is full of struggles. Voltaire uses Ironic tone to describe Candid’s life. Indeed, Voltaire criticizes Pangolin’s ridiculous theme that Candied carries with him all the time. Contrast to “world is for the best”, life is filled with difficulties, danger and buffer. Softener, deceive and all the bad things in the world though Guilder’s travel experience. After Gullible comes to a strange land, he first sees a kind of disgusting animal “yahoo”. Yahoo is one kind of brutal animal in the Homophony’s world. It is the animal that consists of disease, cheat. Compare with the rational being Homophony, yahoos are so ugly not only in their appearance, but also in their behavior and mind. In fact, every contents of yahoo are disgusting. Later, Gullible gradually finds out that he is a yahoo. He disappointed about this finding. He refuses to accept the truth that he is a yahoo.
Swift uses his tone of mockery to explain how the human and yahoo have in common. But human such as Gullible even has more disadvantage than yahoo. Gullible describes to his master the reason of war in humans world, “our neighbors want the things which we have, or have the things which we want; and we both fight, till they take ours or give us theirs”(P. 305). His master tells him how yahoos behaves “you throw among five yahoos as much food as would be sufficient for fifty, they will, instead of eating peaceably, fall together by the ears” (P. 313). This explains that human and yahoos have the same nature.
They are both greedy and fight for no reason. Yahoos are filthy, irrational figures. Gullible hates them from the first time he meets them. Ironically later he finds out that human beings are even worse than them. Because his master reminds him that Gullible differed from yahoos for the worse (P. 303). As a human, Guilder’s nails were of no use either to his fore or hinder- feet and he was not able to feet himself, without lifting his fore-feet to his mouth (P. 303). Gullible fells so shame that he is one of the yahoos. By Guilder’s experiences, Swift is saturating the society in which Gullible comes from.
Swift shows the weakness and ugliness of the human race. Voltaire “Candied” and Swifts “Guilder’s Travel” are two successful novels. They have something in common because two authors use stair to criticize the society in which they live. Their differences are also significant. Voltaire emphasizes the life that is fill with struggle. More importantly, humans experience is suffering. On the other hand, Swift reveals the human weakness. He illustrates his main theme that he dislikes his world. Stair, Joke and criticism make these two novels more interesting. It helps two authors emphasize their points.