It is a device used by writers to ridicule people and their institutions, whether social, political, religious, or commercial, in order to reveal their foolishness or vice. The aim of the satire is to comment on the situation, often with an eye toward correcting it by making society more aware of the problem. One example of story with satire is Candide, written by Voltaire. Voltaire uses satire to express his ideas in his works, to suggest topics to the audience, using comedy. .
There are two types of satire. One is Horatian, which is gentle and smiling. This type attempts to correct apparent wrongs by gentle and broadly sympathetic laughter. Another type is Juvenalian. This type of satire can be described as biting, bitter and angry. It points with contempt and moral indignation the corruption and evil of humans and their institutions. Voltaire mostly uses the Horatian type of satire in Candide, because it isn't harsh and cruel, as Juvenalian would be, but more humorous and modest in the way it mocks different aspects of European culture. One example of satire that Voltaire uses is when the king says, "I cannot conceive what pleasure you Europeans find in our yellow clay; but you are welcome to take as much of it as you please, and much good may it do you." This is mocking how invaluable some items are, that people treasure so dearly. This just one example of how Voltaire uses Horatian satire in Candide.
There are a few satire devices, such as irony, burlesque, and stereotypes. The first is irony. This is the recognition of reality different from its masked appearance. Verbal irony is the figure of speech where the meaning is different from the intended words, and situational irony is when events turn out contrary to what is expected or appropriate. Voltaire uses situational irony in Candide. One example of this is when the narrator states, "they entered into a very plain house", which makes the reader believe that this house was plain, and dull, but as narrator continues by saying, "for the door was nothing but silver, and the ceiling was nothing but gold, but finished with so much taste that the handsomest ceilings of Europe did not surpass them.