Contemporary Accounting Theory Commercial Transactions

Question: Discuss about the Contemporary Accounting Theory for Commercial Transactions. Answer: Brief history of the IFRS The concept of convergence of international standards was born somewhere way back in 1950s after the World War II. As a part of increasing harmony between nations, cross border trade and exchange was encouraged. This also led to free capital inflows and outflows and as a part of economic and financial integration, for the purpose of commercial transactions, the need for having a common accounting policy and related preparation of financial statements was felt (Gordon et. al, 2012). With the initial efforts targeted towards harmonization, interest in international accounting developed in 1960s. In 1962, the 8th International Congress Meeting for Accountants was hosted by AICPA. Discussions centered around the action to be taken for the development of accounting, auditing and reporting standards on an international basis. In 1966, United Kingdom Canada formed a study group that was active for almost ten years to study the differences between their accounting practices and arrive at co nclusions based on the best practices. In 1967, the first book on International Accounting authored by Prof. Gerhard G. Mueller was published (Wagenhofer, 2014). Since 1970s, the establishment of independent standard setting bodies began and FASB, IASC was formed. The IASC functioned under AICPA which had its presence in 8 countries with a mission of spreading awareness about the basic accounting standards to be followed in the preparation and presentation of financial statements and to achieve worldwide acceptance of the same. As there was initial reluctance, not all countries agreed to follow the international standards but this was just a welcome initiative (Gordon et. al, 2012). The FASB was also working towards the same mission and decided to revise the accounting standard on foreign currency. In this process, the representatives from UK, Canada and a few other countries actively participated and this was seen as FASBs first such successful initiative towards harmonization of accounting standards (Bae et. al, 2008). In 1987, the IASC issued 25 accounting standards. Most of these already existed in different countries but they had alternative treatment options with reference to the specific accounting item under discussion. So IASC wanted to narrow down these alternatives and make the standards more precise rather than allowing options and giving descriptions about the same. As the FASB and IASC were working independently but towards the same objective, the need for their merger was felt and FASB became a member of IASC in 1987. In late 1980s, FASB stressed on the importance of setting up superior international standards that would have the impact of replacement of the national standards. In 1993, FASB and the representative from Canada undertook a joint venture for issuing a standard on segment reporting and ultimately landed up agreeing on the standards that were substantially the same. After this in 1993, FASB and its related counterparts from United Kingdom, Canada and Australia undertook a group research which was popularly known as G4 and published research reports on 11 such issues relating to financial reporting and accounting for leases. This group later on became G4 +1 as New Zealand also became its member (Walker Chua, 2008). In 1994, concurrent projects on Accounting Standards for Earnings per Share were undertaken by FASB and IASC with the objective of eliminating the differences between the same. In 1995, the FASB commenced the activity of comparison between the GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) of USA and the IASC Standards. In 1995, the IASC undertook the task of compilation of what would constitute the core accounting standards across various countries keeping in view the listing requirements in capital markets across nations. The SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) extended their support for the same. In 1996, the enactment of the National Securities Markets Improvement Act required the establishment of a comprehensive set of generally accepted accounting standards of high quality that would facilitate the financing activities among countries and also enhance the ability of the foreign corporations to gain access to listing in USA. SEC also stated that the financial statements of foreign private users would be accepted if it is of high quality, sufficiently comprehensive and rigorously interpreted and applied (Melville, 2013). In 1998, the crisis of Asian markets triggered the World Bank, IMF and G7 countries to quicken up the process of completion and global adoption of high quality international standards. From the beginning of 2000, IFRS saw a wave of acceptance and slowly and steadily lot of countries became a part of the same. By 2013, the European Union and almost 100 other countries accepted to follow IFRS or standards that were locally variant to the same. In the same year, China Japan have also commenced working on convergence of their standards with IFRS. Despite all these efforts over so many years, the worldwide adoption of IFRS still looks like a mystery as there is a lot of criticism against the same. The US GAAP is currently considered to be good and based on the true and fair view of the financial statements. On the other hand, IFRS focuses on Fair Market Value and has financials prepared based on the same. So the very idea is not much acceptable to USA which thinks that the existing GAAP provisions are good to go with (Brown, 2011). Apart from this, the bitterness among countries of the West is burnt out through IFRS. It is reported that the European Union agreed for the adoption of IFRS simply so that it could end the supremacy and legacy of US GAAP all over the world. The political forces in EU were also feared by the changes in German Law which allowed companies to either adopt US GAAP or IFRS or German GAAP and a lot of companies also adopted hybrid models. So to end this, entire EU decided the flat adoption of IFRS without any second choice (Landsman et. al, 2011). IFRS is also considered to be responsible for the bankruptcy of Germany and the EU crisis in the recent years. Hence countries like USA and India still believe that IFRS might not be compatible given the set up and structure of businesses in these countries. It is also believed that there are better ways of improving the quality of financial reporting without converging with IFRS (Meeks Swann, 2009). Thus there are a lot of criticisms against the adoption of IFRS from different parts of the world. Introduction In India, the forms of business organizations are sole trader, partnership business, joint stock companies, trusts, so on and so forth. The accounting for each of these is regulated by independent bodies. In India, the Accounting Standards are formulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India which is considered for review by the NACAS (National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards) of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and upon approval, these standards are notified to the Central Government for publishing in the Official Gazette of the Country which marks the establishment of standards that are both operative and enforceable under law (Northington, 2011). Accounting Standards and Auditing Standards The applicability of the Accounting Standards and Auditing Standards is common to all. Apart from this, since joint stock companies are publicly or privately owned and operated and also involve higher capital than a sole trader or partnership form of business, so the Companies Act, 2013 governs the functioning of the same. This Act also contains sections that require the maintenance of books of accounts in such a way that it gives a true and fair representation of the business transactions. The Companies Act also states that the Accounting Standards should be complied in full in the preparation of the accounts combined with the disclosure and specific reporting requirements laid down in the Schedules of the Companies Act, 2013. The Accounting Policies, assumptions or estimates used in the preparation of financial statements have to form a part of the Notes to Accounts (Maria, 2016). Apart from this the Income Tax Act, 1961 also contains a few provisions such as books of accounts can be maintained by assessee under the cash system or mercantile system, but a hybrid system is not allowed (Spiceland et. al, 2011). There is another section which requires that for the purpose of calculation of profit and gains of business or profession, the valuation of inventory should be done as per the regular method of accounting followed and adopted by the assessee. This amount can be further adjusted to include any duty, tax, and cess or fees actually incurred and paid by the assessee. Thus these are the requirements with reference to the Companies Act and Income Tax Act. But irrespective of this fact, Accounting Standards are equally applicable to all entities (Choi Meek, 2012). The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has also issued Guidance Notes on Accounting Standards in which there are specific case studies and examples showing how to deal with the gray areas or such other complexities. The Guidance Notes also have to be followed wherever applicable (Hegarty et. al, 2014). There are listed companies which have to follow the requirements of the Listing Agreements signed with Securities and Exchange Board of India. A few areas like Related Party Disclosures are given specific importance by the Listing Agreement which states that the disclosure should be completely in compliance with the Accounting Standards on the specific areas (Needles Powers, 2013). Same is the case with Segment Reporting and Accounting for Taxes on Income where the Accounting Standards have to be followed from time to time even with reference to the reporting of unaudited financial results. Corporate Governance Report is also a requirement of the Listing Agreement (Davies Crawford, 2012). There are a few companies like Infosys and Reliance, which can be named among the Top 10 Indian companies. These companies anticipate the adoption of IFRS in India and have already commenced implementation of a few of the IFRS provisions as disclosed in detail in their annual reports (Brown, 2012). Thus the conceptual framework of accounting is India is guided by all the above discussed bodies and standards set by them. S for small businesses like sole traders and partnerships, accounting is fairly simple whereas for bigger corporate and listed entities, compliance with every specific Act and law becomes a mandate (Horngren, 2012). Indias Progress towards IFRS Indian jurisdiction has made a public commitment towards moving to a global platform and following high quality international accounting standards. A few studies have also shown that in emerging economies the cost of capital generally falls due to the adoption of IFRS which could be possibly the case with India. The Preface of the Indian Accounting Standards also acknowledges the urgent requirement of the convergence between IFRS and Indian Accounting Standards (Brown, 2012). Despite this, India has not completely adopted IFRS. Instead India has issued Ind-AS which is a new version of the Accounting Standards but most of the requirements are in consonance with the IFRS. At the end of each Ind-AS, the significant points of differences between Ind-AS and IFRS are also mentioned (William, 2010). Prior to 2013, SEBI had the authority for prescribing the Accounting Standards that listed companies have to follow. SEBI primarily required that the accounts are prepared according to the Accounting Standards issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, but it also afforded an option for large corporate houses with operations in India and abroad to choose reporting as per IFRS if they wished and around 11 companies chose the IFRS option. It needs to be noted that IFRS has provided utmost advantage to the analyst of the countries who have followed it. This has enhanced the information quality (IFRS, 2016) In 2013, the Companies Act was revised which made it mandatory for the companies to follow the Ind AS which is the new set of Accounting Standards issued by the ICAI. The Companies Act, 2013 did not give the option to SEBI to continue IFRS option. Still, companies which were previously following IFRS continued doing the same. In addition to the financial statements prepared as per IFRS, for the purpose of compliance with the Companies Act, 2013 these companies have to prepare separate financial statements in compliance with Ind-AS. Thus as per the current Indian regulations, Ind-AS is to be mandatorily followed, whereas IFRS is not mandatory (IFRS, 2016). It can be concluded that India is one such Asian giant that has come forward voluntarily to adopt IFRS and currently some 7 big corporate houses are preparing Financial Statements according to IFRS as these companies constitute 23% of the total Indian capital market and also these companies can get an appeal from international investors (Brealey et. al, 2011). IFRS adoption provides the passport for almost every capital market in Europe or USA. Ind-AS is not the same as IFRS and a lot of time and effort is required to understand, interpret and implement the same. Though this is a voluminous task, there is unlimited scope for growth and expansion (Brigham Daves, 2012). Conclusion Apart from these factors, the focus of IFRS on Fair Value over historical cost also makes it difficult for companies to adopt the same since the fair values of all the assets and liabilities might not be readily available (Bushman Piotroski, 2006). For these reasons, entities might intend to continue their existing accounting policies and might not shift to IFRS until the Government mandates the same. If the IFRS is made mandatory then it will lead to uniformity and better projection of result. On a closing note, it would be pertinent to say that there are a few carve out from the IFRS which need to be framed according to the Indian context to gain applicability (Parrino et. al, 2012). If this is done then a full transition to IFRS could become a reality. In short, it can be said that IFRS is endowed with immense benefits and helps to improve the capital market. Once IFRS is made mandatory in India it will provide strong development to the overall economy. However, it needs to be noted that along with the implementation of IFRS various political and social factors needs to be taken into consideration. References Bae, K.-H., Tan, H., Welker, M 2008, International GAAP differences: The impact on foreign analysts, Accounting Review, vol. 2, pp. 94-98 Brealey, R., Myers, S. and Allen, F 2011, Principles of corporate finance, New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Brigham, E. Daves, P 2012, Intermediate Financial Management , USA: Cengage Brown, P 2011, International Financial Reporting Standards: what are the benefits?, Accounting and Business research, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 269-285 Bushman, R. and Piotroski, R 2006, Financial reporting incentives for conservative accounting: The influence of legal and political institutions, Journal of Accounting and Economics, vol. 42, pp. 107-148. Choi, R.D. Meek, G.K 2011, International accounting, Pearson . Davies, T. Crawford, I 2012, Financial accounting, Harlow, England: Pearson. Gordon, L. A., Loeb, M. P., Zhu, W 2012, The impact of IFRS adoption on foreign direct investment, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 374-398. Hegarty, J., Gielen, F., Barros, A 2004, The implementation of international accounting and auditing standards: Lessons learned from the World Bank's Accounting and Auditing ROSC Program: The World Bank. Horngren, C 2013, Financial accounting, Frenchs Forest, N.S.W: Pearson Australia Group. Landsman, W. R., Maydew, E. L., Thornock, J. R 2011, The information content of annual earnings announcements and mandatory adoption of IFRS, Journal of Accounting and Economics, vol.53, no. 2, pp. 34-54. Maria, W 2016, The Big Consequences of IFRS: How and When Does the Adoption of IFRS Benefit Global Accounting Firms?, The Accounting Review, vol. 91, no. 4, pp. 1257-1283 Meeks, G., Swann, G.M.P 2009, Accounting standards and the economics of standards, Accounting and Business Research, International Accounting Policy Forum, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 23-44 Melville, A 2013, International Financial Reporting A Practical Guide, Pearson, Education Limited, UK Needles, B.E. Powers, M 2013, Principles of Financial Accounting, Francisco: Mc Graw-Hill Brook co. Northington, S 2011, Finance, New York, NY: Ferguson's. Parrino, R., Kidwell, D. and Bates, T 2012, Fundamentals of corporate finance, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. IFRS 2016, IFRS Application around the world: India, viewed 25 August, 2016, https://www.ifrs.org/Use-around-the-world/Documents/Jurisdiction-profiles/India-IFRS-Profile.pdf Spiceland, J., Thomas, W. and Herrmann, D 2011, Financial accounting, New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin University Press Wagenhofer, A 2014, The role of revenue recognition in performance reporting, OxfordUniversity Press Walker, M, Chua, W.F., Taylor, S. L 2008, The rise and rise of IFRS: An examination of IFRS diffusion, Journal of Accounting and public Policy, vol. 27, pp. 462-473 William, L 2010, Practical Financial Management, South-Western College.

Everglades national park free essay sample

National Park stretches over 1. illion acres and is the largest wilderness in the Southeast. Wetlands and swamps cover half of the land which contains 10,000 islands! The Everglades, called the River of Grass because the area is largely a river sometimes 60 miles wide, is not a marsh or swamp. In the past hundred years, people have been digging canals and building dams in the Everglades so they could take water out of it. They built so many canals and drained so much water that the natural flow is interrupted. Acadia National Park Acadia National Park was established in 1919 by President Wilson, originally called as Lafayette National Park. Acadia National Park is located on Mount Desert and covers half of the island. This park is the first park east of the Mississippi river. 120 miles in Acadia National Park are hiking and biking trails, fishing, rock climbing, and boating. The highest mountain in it is the Cadillac Mountain and the shortest is the Flying Mountain. We will write a custom essay sample on Everglades national park or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Jordans Pond is the deepest lake at 150 feet deep. Acadia National Park is the tenth most visited National Park. A National Park is a park the government takes up the responsibility of. National Parks are built to preserve land and educate people on nature.

Tips to Use Crimson Personal College Essay Samples

Tips to Use Crimson Personal College Essay SamplesIf you are planning to write a college personal essay and want to have a better chance of writing it correctly, then you need to make sure that you get the proper help from personal college essay samples. There are many available in the market which provide you with high quality examples for your essays. However, you should always ensure that you are choosing the right examples, as it will make a huge difference in the quality of your essay. Here are some important tips that you can follow when you are looking for the perfect personal college essay examples.The first thing that you should do is to check the site's offer on a complete sample of the essay. This way, you will be able to see exactly what the essay looks like before purchasing the text. With the complete sample, you will be able to see how it should look and what you should include in it. It is important that you read through the entire article and make sure that all of th e content is included in the essay. A proper essay should always include all the necessary information, along with examples of other examples to add more variety to the essay.Once you have chosen the essay that you want, then you can either use the examples or request for the original work to review it. If you find it to be good enough, then you can choose the original work or start from scratch. You can get the original work by using the personal college essay samples, but you will also need to ensure that you check the examples carefully before you purchase it.Crimson helps to provide you with a wide range of personal college essay samples that you can use to write your essay. The personal college essay samples offered by Crimson can help you write a well-written and interesting essay on a wide range of topics. The examples in Crimson include writing about various subjects and using different style and format in order to help you create the best essay possible. There are numerous examples that you can choose from so that you can have a broad range of subjects to choose from.When you use the examples provided by Crimson, then you will be able to write a very impressive essay. The examples in Crimson will give you an idea of what to write about and how to write it properly. This way, you will be able to make a better and clearer essay that you can show to the world. You can also use the examples for college admissions purposes, if you want to write an essay that will help you out with college admissions.However, you should make sure that you follow the guidelines in writing the personal essay college samples before you purchase them. You should always make sure that the content is appropriate and will add clarity to the essay. You should make sure that the grammar and punctuation of the essay are good and can make your essay look more professional.You can choose the perfect example of the topic you are writing about. The examples are provided by Crimson in ord er to help you write a good essay and make it attractive to other readers.You should always ensure that you are using the personal college essay samples from Crimson, as they can help you write an essay that is full of clarity and creative. You should always make sure that you use the samples in Crimson to help you write the best essay possible.

AmericansThe Colonial Experience Essays - , Term Papers

Americans:The Colonial Experience The Americans: The Colonial Experience America was not believed to be a ground for a utopian society, rather a place for a new start, more freedom, and fewer taxes. The initial group to settle the ?New World? were the Puritans, ?separatists? making a hopeless attempt to try to purify the Church of England by swearing loyalty to the group instead of the king. This all takes place during the 17th and 18th centuries. The following topics that will be discussed are intended to portray all of the different aspects of colonial American social and governmental tendencies. The impression that Boorstin has hidden in the context of the book is that of the portrayal of the ?Old World's? ideas and the influence that those ideas had on the coming of the New World, or better known as America. The Puritans sailed westward across the Atlantic Ocean in 1630. There were fifty-two Puritans that came to the New World to set up the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the governor of the colony was to be John Winthrop, who stated, ?Wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill.? This simply meant that they would be a beacon for the entire world to look upon. This group included many people of substantial wealth and position. The Puritans wished to be ?guided by one rule, even the Word of the most high.? They were ruled by the Bible, which resulted in the special character of their approach to experience. The peculiar character of their Biblical orthodoxy nourished a practical and non-Utopian frame of mind. Anne Hutchinson believed that if the Puritans are going to ignore the non-elect, that they should ignore all of the non-elect. She was put on trial by John Winthrop, however, she knew her scripture very well so she could not be persecuted. She and her followers were banished from the colony. A nother disagreement that took place was that of Roger Williams. He questioned the legality of congregationalism and said that church and state must be separate. Williams believed that the civil government should remain totally uninvolved in religious matters. He was then banned from Massachusetts and later, he founded Providence, which was the only New England colony at the time that practiced religious tolerance. The Puritans were not the only colonists driven by religious motives to leave England. William Penn, the son of Charles II, was given the last large tract of land that the king owned. In 1681, William Penn and his fellow ?Quakers? used this land grant in the founding of Pennsylvania, ?the city of brotherly love?. Penn's Frame of Government in 1682 guaranteed religious freedom to all ?who confess and acknowledge the one Almighty and Eternal God.....and hold themselves obliged, in conscience, to live peaceably and justly in civil society.? William Penn had two goals: set up a religious community ?holy experiment' based on the teachings of George Fox, the founder of English Quakerism; and make some money for all of the troubles he went through. George Fox's teachings were simply, ?that every man was enlightened by the divine Light of Christ,? and he was tried for blasphemy and he warned the judges to ?tremble at the word of the lord?, hence the name Quakers. Penn also publicized the fac t that there are opportunities awaiting the newcomers to the Pennsylvania colony, and convicts were actually given the chance to escape from the prisons and start a new life in the New World. Mary Dyer, a follower of Anne Hutchinson, spoke out against her oaths, and she was hung for sedition. Georgia was founded in 1732 by the British. General James Oglethorpe, an appealing figure of Georgia, despised slavery and he tried to ban it in Georgia. He was an arrogant and tough-minded military man of good will. Britain tried to make Georgia into a utopia, but their basic error was the strictness of their rules for the ownership, use, sale, and inheritance of Georgia's primary resource, land. The London Philanthropists tried to make Georgia into what Europe could not have been, a charity colony. They felt that this colony ought to be a protector of the frontier, a refuge for the unfortunate and unemployed of London, and a source of

College Essay: Thesis - Thesis: How to Write a Dissertation That Really Drives Your Interests

College Essay: Thesis - Thesis: How to Write a Dissertation That Really Drives Your InterestsIf you are a college student, you know that your research paper is probably one of the most important things in your life. It contains the life's details for you, and your future. You need to be very careful when writing a college essay: thesis.Writing a thesis is not always easy because it is such a hard task to achieve. For a college student, this task might be even more difficult than other homework tasks, especially if he/she is working on a full course load. Why? Because a thesis can be very time consuming to complete, and a student will only realize how much he/she actually has accomplished once it is submitted to a college or university.To get the most out of your thesis, there are some tips to follow. Firstly, it should contain some real facts. This means your research should be unbiased and objective.Secondly, your research should help the reader understand the major facts about your topic. For example, if you have researched the major facts about political affairs in China, your thesis will need to have some factual information about how Chinese government and people act.Thirdly, your thesis should not just contain fact facts. Instead, it should also highlight the most significant facets of your topic, by showing how all the different aspects of your thesis can benefit one's interests.Fourthly, you must acknowledge other points of view; one way to do this is to include your own opinion in your research. In doing so, you can find ideas that may contradict your own. If you add your own personal point of view, the reader can see that you believe in something, and in turn you may gain respect from your peers and possibly even some scholarship.Finally, your thesis should end with a conclusion section. This conclusion section should contain your opinion about your project, and perhaps, your plan of actions in the future.Taking these points into consideration, you wi ll be able to write a thesis that is not only interesting but also helpful to the reader. As a college student, you will be much better off if you do.

Online Writing Essay

Online Writing EssayA freelance ghost writer essay assignment is one of the most exciting assignments you can have. There are plenty of areas in which a person can find a great deal of fun and satisfaction from, but nothing beats getting to write for a living. For those of you who aren't familiar with what it means to be a freelance ghost writer, this will help to explain.This job is for people who have many years of experience and perhaps are seeking to enter into ghost writing work. They may be a seasoned professional who has spent years using their knowledge and skills in other venues. In fact, they might even have some sort of degree or training in writing. What makes a great candidate is the ability to work well under pressure and still make an impressive first impression.It's important that you don't think that just because you are a freelance ghost writer, you cannot be at the top of your game. What makes you successful is the ability to use your skills and writing abilities. The most important skill you need to learn is the ability to convince others that what you say is true and accurate.If you have the desire to become a freelance ghost writer, you need to have a tremendous amount of determination, ability to be self-motivated, and the ability to put in a solid amount of work each day. Most importantly, you will need to have the ability to use your head when the going gets tough.This job is not easy for aspiring writers. For one thing, there are several things that you will have to do on a daily basis. You are required to write about subjects that are not too often tackled by others. There are also lots of deadlines to meet, but you are also required to get the job done on time if you want to retain your employment.Oneof the greatest talents that these writers have is the ability to write effectively and to write in a manner that persuades your reader to take action. This is often easier said than done, but with some practice you will be able to make yourself effective. If you want to improve your writing skills, you should try out some of the following techniques. These include practicing, researching, reading material, analyzing other writing, and trying to write more.It's important to realize that most of the advice about writing that we give our children applies equally to the world of freelance ghost writer writing. If you are able to apply these ideas, you'll be well on your way to making a successful career out of this profession.Being a freelance ghost writer isn't easy, but it can be rewarding. With a little practice, you'll be able to get yourself out of bed and produce quality work, which will eventually lead to a full-time living.

Essay Sample on Satire and Its Usage in Literary Works

Essay Sample on Satire and Its Usage in Literary Works The power of literature in determining and affecting behaviors and attitudes of the people behind historically significant change is quite significant. Enlightened philosophe Voltaires Candide in addition to Johnathan Swifts A Modest Proposal and Gullivers Travels were works of fiction that had such an effect. Through the use of the literary device of satire, Voltaire and Swift criticized certain aspects of their European society. Furthermore, they did so to a high degree of effectiveness. While Voltaire was one of the most influential philosophes, his Candide in fact satirized some of the very ideas discussed by his fellow philosophes. To begin, Voltaire’s use of capital letters to suggest the importance of the word he has capitalized is used in a satirical manner, criticizing its importance beneath the surface of the word. For instance, he refers to Candide as being â€Å"endowed by Nature with the most gentle character.† This possibly suggests Voltaire mocking the idea of a person being born with some â€Å"natural† superiority, a common belief amongst the aristocracy at the time. He continues this satirical attack with his suggestion that the baron’s sister would not marry Candide’s father as a result of his inability to prove more than â€Å"seventy-one quarterings,† a method of measuring nobility. In his manner of casually presenting the issue as if it were totally true and exaggerating it, Voltaire underlines the ridicul ous nature of such beliefs. In doing so without outright saying it, Voltaire again criticizes the aristocracies attitudes and allows the reader to see how outlandish they are simply through the use of his words. Voltaire’s next subjects of criticism are philosophes, through the introduction of the character Pangloss. Such criticism can be seen in Pangloss’ study of â€Å"metaphysico-theologo-cosmolo-nigology†, an obvious attempt to exaggerate the methods of philosophes who use great terminology and complexity in order to suggest their own importance and give weight to issues that should perhaps not be afforded such weight. Voltaire attacks such philosophes’ ideas about God and his role in the universe that the world is perfect because a perfect being created it. Satirizing this aspect of European belief suggests that Voltaire thought such philosophes to be blinded by their optimism and thus unable to see things as they truly are. for instance, Pangloss la ter admits that he has suffered, but must maintain that everything was for the best whether he believed that in actuality or not. Voltaire’s satire extends beyond the philosophes and onto the church, state and other such institutions. Candide’s encounter with the Dervish underlines Voltaire’s belief of religious one-sidedness. Instead of listening to Candide and Pangloss’ questions of good and evil in the world and thinking and concluding on his own terms, the Dervish curtly tells them not to consider such things. Voltaire consequently criticizes those in his society that continue to follow such close-minded religious figures by having Pangloss, just rebuked for thinking freely, still be amazed by the very idea that he was able to â€Å"discuss† such issues with him. Voltaire’s apparent solution to such problems with humanity – for it is difficult to detect a note of satire in the author’s tone during Candide’s final words – is to live a practical life, working in the figurative garden. Johnathan Swift similarly uses satire in both A Modest Proposal and Gulliver’s Travels to criticize European beliefs and institutions of the day. A Modest Proposal is a great example of a particularly effective satire as it not only criticizes an idea (in this case, longstanding beliefs in Europe, and especially Ireland, about poverty) but does so in a manner that draws the reader in and allows him to think through the use of satire. The opening passage establishes the poor conditions those in poverty live in, in a sympathetic and reasonable way. By then segueing into the outright grotesque and exaggerated solution for how to deal with such a problem – feed the poor children to the wealthy Swift immediately causes one to take notice of the severity of such uncaring empires and their attitudes. Thus, exaggeration is again an important device. The notion of who is speaking is also important. While the children in question are Irish, the speaker of the piece is an English man. This leads to the object of satire being the tyranny of England and their less than humane approach to dealing with problems such as poverty. The satire is of those such Englishmen being unaware of the cruelty and coldness in their own behavior, thinking only on behalf of how they can efficiently get logistical problems solved. The narrator in this piece this argues that the cure for Ireland’s economic troubles is to just to have the wealthy eat the poor children. The use of the term â€Å"breeders† with regards to the mothers also shows a dark undertone of satire and irony, as the initially sympathetic sounding narrator now equates the mothers with statistics, making him sound rather serious and thus ridiculous due to the eccentric and inhumane idea he has proposed. Such radical ideas, one can conclude, are exaggerations of the types of European attitudes at the time that Swift wished to criticize. In A Modest Proposal, Swift is generally satirizing a great deal of European problems, from the rigidity of government, to injustice to the cold logic of empires without a realistic view of humanity. Gulliver’s Travels takes a different route in the use of satire of European beliefs. Instead of allowing the reader to interpret the degree of ridiculousness in what a particular character is saying, Swift takes a more straightforward – yet equally effective – approach. This time, it is another character pointing out to the narrator, Gulliver, how absurd the ideals of England are when looked at from a critical perspective. The satire is, in this instance, achieved through Gulliver’s oblivious content to be an Englishman in an ironic contrast with the king’s critical questioning of the same institutions and systems that Gulliver seems proud of followed through to a negative conclusion. Thus, the ultimate object of this work’s satire is the people of England. Swift suggests that they, like Gulliver, for the most part foolishly accept the institutions of England passively and self-satisfied. If Gulliver is indeed to represent the typical English man, his naivety in understanding the faults of his own country are to be compared with the benign nature of the people of England, as Swift saw it. Also, Swift aims his criticism at the English government in the king’s questioning of how one is elected to power. He goes on to conclude that the English are quarrelsome people and meddle too far into the affairs of other nations, in a manner suggesting that the king’s thoughts are Swift’s own. The king’s culminating criticism of the English can in effect be credited to the very things Swift is ultimately satirizing: that the entire English system was formed and existed on the worst that cruelty, rage, madness and ambition could create. Both Voltaire and Swift effectively used the tool of satire as a means of exploiting problems in European society, and forcing them to be noticed as the flaws that they were. You can also order a custom written research paper, term paper, thesis, dissertation or essay on satire from our professional custom essay writing service which provides high-quality custom papers. Heres a list of possible essay topics on satire: 1. Satire in Huckleberry Finn 2. Gulliver’s Travels: The British Satire of Society Gulliver’s Travels 3. Satire in Candide 4. Satire Comparison betweeen The Rape of the lock and Gullivers Travels 5. Satire in Connecticut Yankee 6. Satire on Popes The Rape of the Lock 7. Satire in The Emperor’s New Clothes and Inflexible Logic 8. The Satire in Animal Farm 9. Wilmot’s Satire Against Reason and Mankind 10. Targets of Satire in Dr. Strangelove 11. Satire on College Admittance 12. Environmental Satire 13. The Relevence of Satires during the Cold War era A study comparing Dr. Strangelove and Thirteen Days