Voltaire and Saunders

     Upon reading In Persuasion Nation, I was reminded of one of the great satirists, Voltaire, and especially his most famous work, Candide.  If you have not read it (I highly reccomend it), the book is on the whole a critique of Leibniz' optimistic philosophy which was very popular around the time.  The story centers around the title character, and follows him through trials and tribulations throughout the world, and his journey away from his naivete at the beginning.  He encounters many horrible events, as well as his lover, Cunegonde, and rest of the characters in the story.  It was the biting satirical attack mixed with hyperbolic violence which really made the connection.  Voltaire parodied the Seven Years' War, religious hypocrisy, blind optimism, aristocracy, and just about everything relevant to the time; Saunders parodies commercialism, the modern lack of sympathy, hypocrisy, and everything else relevant to our time.  

     In "Brad Carrigan, American," Saunders makes fun of American television programming, with its increasingly stupid and mean qualities, especially reality television and sitcoms, while also proving important points about these shows' impacts on society.  The most important of television programs for this is the news, which shows petty fashion trends in the US and suffering around the globe to reinforce American pride and contentment.  "In Persuasion Nation," deals with the increased commercialism in American culture, as well as the increasing violence and absurdity in commercials.  This is very important when applied to American culture, and their mutual influences.  The violence depicted is somewhat akin to Candide, though the latter is completely based in our world, not a fictional commercial or television world we view.  

     Voltaire makes many of the same critiques Saunders does, for one, that we need more compassion, but also that it is imperative that we try to understand what is happening around the world, and to know the world.  While the end of Candide calls for this, as well as simplicity for happy living, this idea seems present in Saunders' work, for example, with Timmy and the gameboy.  Voltaire wants us to know the world, and Saunders wants to make it better.  In this way the authors have similar, but slightly different aims.  However, I still think they are connected, and I do not believe it was an accident that Voltaire himself is a character in "In Persuasion Nation," but perhaps a nod from one great satirist to another.