Deviance involves a degree of stigmatization of a sub-population by the majority population on the basis of some difference, a difference that sets the sub-population apart and that is emphasized by the majority population in identifying the deviant population. Different theories have been offered for why and how the deviant population is identified and marginalized. At any given time, there are deviant conceptions and categories which determine who is and who is not to be identified as deviant according to behavior, status, or some other dimension. Social observers provide acts with meanings and so indicate whether the acts are deviant or nondeviant. At different times, certain behaviors may be removed from the deviant categories and so alter the picture of crime and deviance in society, just as behaviors might be added and accomplish much the same thing. As Thompson and Hickey note,
At least four essential elements are involved in the process of defining deviance: norms, acts, actors, and an audience. Similarly, deviance is relative to time, place, situation, and culture (Thompson and Hickey 173).
The concept of deviance evolves through time, and an analysis of fictional representations of deviant behavior can serve to show how society has viewed the issue over a historical period. This analysis shows, however, more clearly what the authors view as deviant than how society may view the issue. Indeed, the authors often serve as the real audience, while the society they depict is their idea about what a societal audience would be.
This is evident in Voltaire's Candide. One of the major themes in literature is the relationship between the individual and society, developed in terms of contrasting individual rights and responsibilities in a social setting. This theme is expressed in different ways by different writers and even in different eras. Sometimes the individual is celebrated over society, and at other times...