Voltaire

Throughout the novel Candide, Voltaire satirizes and mocks many aspects of the

Enlightenment period. Just to name a few, he often makes criticisms towards the military,

the church, and cruelty to human beings. The world of the miltary during the

Enlightenment was full of evil, cruelty, and suffering. The church insisted that it was the

only source of truth and that all who lived outside its bounds were damned. Many people

were against the beliefs of Voltaire but based upon the happenings in the militrary and the

church I believe that his criticisms were justified.

Powerful members of the nobility start wars, but common soldiers and subjects

suffer the consequences. Neither side of the conflict is better than the other, and both

engage in rape, murder, and destruction. During the Enlightenment the military nor

those who were governing them did not care for the safety or care of their soliders. They

were both equally corrupt. In the novel, Canide is conscripted to serve in the Bulgar

army, where he suffers abuse and hardship as he is indoctrinated into military life.

When he decides to go for a walk one morning, four soldiers capture him and he is court-

martialed as a deserter. He is given a choice between execution and running the gauntlet