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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 7 page essay that discusses how Moliere in Tartuffe and Voltaire in Candide utilized comedy in order to criticize social and political conventions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khmolvol.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
writers were not as free to express societal criticism are they are today. As Enlightenment philosophy began to change the way that philosophers and others perceived societal structure, the social
and political atmosphere became ripe for dramatic change; however, to present these ideas openly was still quite dangerous. Furthermore, to blatantly oppose societal standards that were thoroughly accepted at the
time -- standards that pertained to such sacrosanct institutions as militarism and religion -- was also to invite social and political ruin. Therefore, many writers, such as two primary geniuses
of French literature, Moliere and Voltaire, masked their social criticism in comedy, making stabs at the society of their eras that would have been condemned if they had not made
people laugh at the same time. Tartuffe For example, Molieres classic parody of mid-seventeenth century French society, Tartuffe, lampoons religion and those who put on airs of self-righteousness, as
this play deals with the ramifications of hypocrisy. In this play, Tartuffe is a pious fraud who has used religion to take over the household of a good man, Organ.
Tartuffe employs religious rhetoric to manipulate Organ in order to gain access to Organs bank account. In other words, it quickly becomes clear that Tartuffes principal interests are power and
money, not religion. Organ, a simplistic, but good man, has allowed Tartuffe to come into his home and take dominance over his family. Tartuffe makes his entrance somewhat late in
the play; however, by this point, his character has been thoroughly established via remarks made by the rest of the family members. Once on stage, his character becomes crystal
clear as his first action is to attempt the seduction of Organs wife, Elmire. However, lechery is not his main motivation. Moliere demonstrates that Tartuffe is drive primarily by greed
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