Exaggeration is something that Voltaire Candide, anonymous writer of Song of Roland, and Jonathan Swift "A Modest Proposal" have in common. In Voltaire's Candide, Candide travels through Europe and South America to understand the meaning of "the best of all possible worlds." In the end Candido decides that the most beautiful thing in the world is to "cultivate your own garden". The Song of Roland talks about how Ganelon betrayed France which led to the Battle of Roncesvalles. A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift is an essay about how children at the age of one should be sold to butchers as meat. Societies have always been ignorant, greedy and corrupt in some way. The three authors use exaggeration to show their society's problems related to ignorance, greed and corruption. Ignorance is the lack of knowledge or understanding. In the Song of Orlando when the pagan said "Truly I must marvel at Charlemagne, who has been gray and white for more than two hundred years from what I hear" (199-200) This quote is the perfect example of ignorance and exaggeration. Charlemagne is no more than two hundred years old nor does he come close to that age. The pagan said this to show that Charlemagne is very old and grey. The pagan quote also shows ignorance because of the word "what I feel." Usually, when people hear things from other people, they can often be inaccurate or lack understanding, which is ignorance. Another quote with ignorance is when Ganelon tells King Marsilion "and no more wars for the rest of your life." (226) Ganelon cannot prove that King Marsilion will not have to tolerate war for the rest of his life. In A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift ignores the fact that mothers love their children and would most likely not abandon them even if they were in poor conditions... middle of paper... poverty is the definition of what is greed and the corruption it is. Finally, in Song of Roland examples of greed and corruption are when: Roland refuses to play the olifant for help, thinking he sounds like a coward, Ganelon becomes a traitor to France, and Ganelon accepts a gift of five hundred pounds of gold from King Marsilon. The three authors use exaggeration as a way to clearly show their society's problems related to ignorance, greed, and corruption. Works Cited Corcoran, James and Burton Beers. Prentice Hall Literature: World Masterpieces: Song of Roland. Trans: Fredrick Goldin. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1991. Print.Corcoran, James and Burton Beers. Literature Prentice Hall: World Masterpieces: Jonathan Swift: A Modest Proposal. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1991. Print.Voltaire. White. New York: Dover Publications, 1991. Print.