This paper is on the topic of satire, and specifically, this paper will focus on Voltaire's 'Candide' and on Moliere's 'Tartuffe' . These are both by French author's of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and both works critically present the social customs and the values of their age. Specifically, it can be argued that while Voltaire's 'Candide' is concerned with making fun of some of the ideas of the enlightenment (which will be examined), it is the case that Moliere's 'Tartuffe' can largely be seen as a critique of the social customs of the aristocracy or the 'decadence' of the rich or wealthy. 5 pgs. 8 f/c. 5b.
