Comparing the Social Criticism of Voltaires Candide and Samuel Johnso

Comparing the Social Criticism of Voltaires Candide and Samuel Johnsons Rasselas Samuel Johnson and Voltaire were both writers of enormous social conscience in the eighteenth century. It is not surprising then to discover that both men wrote short tales dealing primarily with criticism of the human condition. Ironically, these books were written and published in spite of appearance weeks of for each one other in 1759 (Enright 16). Johnsons Rasselas and Voltaires Candide are strikingly similar in their use of the episodic and romantic picaresque motifs. The underlying purpose within each authors criticism, however, allows many differences in the two tales to surface. The authors intentions diverge beyond superficial similarities and each bet develops a unique vantage point from which to observe humanity. Neither work can be accused of being a realistic tale. These moral fables are set in a fantastic, utopian, and ludicrous adult male. The distance from the reader in each tale is quite different, however. Johnson places realistic characters in an unrealistic world. He remains on the same level with his characters, describing the situations and environment in which they find themselves. In this manner the reader can identify with and feel empathy for the characters in Rasselas. They are thinking, caring, fallible human beings equal to the reader and the author. Voltaire creates a chasm between humanity and the world of Candide. The reader laughs not only at the situation or environment, for the characters are just as ludicrous as the world in which they live. It is possible that Voltaire wants his hearing to assume a position of moral superiority when reading the tale. The reader cannot take characte... ...liography Enright, D.J. Introduction. The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia. By Samuel Johnson. capital of the United Kingdom Penguin Group, 1976. p.12,16. Hill, G.B. Introduction. The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia. By Samuel Johns on. Oxford Clarendon Press, 1887. p.17. Johnson, Samuel. The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia. Ed. Enright, D.J. London Penguin Group,1988. p.43,45,65,103 Johnson, Samuel. The Rambler No.184. Rpt. in Enright, D.J. Introduction. The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia. By Samuel Johnson. London Penguin Group, 1976. p.32. Maurois, Andre. The Sage of Ferney. Voltaire. New York D. Appleton & Co, 1932. Rpt. in Candide. Trans. Bair, Lowell. New York Bantam Books, 1988. P.6-7. Voltaire. Candide. Trans. Bair, Lowell. New York Bantam Books, 1988. p.73,120.