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Satire is defined as a literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit. Candide is a successful satire because it includes the main components of satire, and in writing it Voltaire intended to point out the folly in philosophical optimism and religion. Satire is designed to ridicule a usually serious idea. Because Voltaire was a deist he was more than comfortable deriding religion and philosophical optimism in his …

…Martin have experienced firsthand the severe ups and downs of life, and they end up taking a more somber view of existence than do the optimists. Voltaire strategically placed these characters as the voices of reason to the daft Candide, who frequently took notice of their good advice. Voltaire utilized the tools of satire masterfully in order to express his contempt with religion and philosophical optimism in an attempt to improve humanity and its institutions.