Voltaire's+Style

=Style =

One of the most typical characteristics of Voltaire I found throughout Candide is that he uses passive voice to describe tragic events. Examples follow:

“While he was reasoning thus the sky darkened, the winds blew from the four corners of the earth, and the ship, already within sight of the port of Lisbon, was assailed by the most terrible storm” (15).

“’The kingdom in which we are now is the old fatherland of the Incas who, leaving it very imprudently in order to subjugate another part of the world, were finally destroyed by the Spaniards’” (57).

“In the midst of this discussion, a cannon shot was heard” (70).

“’But what is even more sad is that she has lost her beauty and become horribly ugly’” (106).

This shows that Voltaire sees misery as something that is uncontrollable; the people cannot control these unfortunate events and circumstances.