At the end of the book, Candide and his friends embrace the
farming lifestyle. Each of the characters develops a skill and contributes to the cultivation of a garden so that they can survive and to an extent, avoid the
misery of the world. This concept draws back to the story of Adam and Eve as
Pangloss states, “for when man was placed in the Garden of Eden, he was put
there to work it and dress it” (page 93). However, while Adam and Eve’s
troubles begin in the garden as they eat the apple, Candide’s troubles seem to
come to an end in his garden. Throughout the book, Candide sees and experiences
the evils of the world as he is cheated, punished, almost killed, and lost
friends. He realizes that the superficial things in life such as money or power
cannot really bring happiness and that no matter where you go misery will be
prevalent; the garden provides an escape from the superficial and immoral aspects of life. While he doesn’t whole-heatedly give up Pangloss’s philosophy, he
definitely becomes lost, as he doesn’t know what to believe in anymore.
The
garden, to me, symbolizes a place where the characters form a compromise. By
participating in the hard work that comes with cultivating a garden, they get
to escape the three evils, boredom, vice, and necessity, and no longer have
time to truly argue about the true meaning of life and the roles of good and evil.
Candide doesn’t have to examine his own thoughts and ideals anymore; all he has
to focus on is cultivating the garden. This shows that he is done trying to
find out who or what holds the power over everyone. When it comes down to it,
everyone will have his or her own opinion and no one can really be right or
wrong.
I also see the garden as a place where
the characters draw away from civilization. They take this modest path in order
to get away from the misery that reins in the world and form a life that they
can be content with. In a way this ending shows that the best of all possible
worlds cannot exist. Throughout the book, every society seemed to have a
problem. From corruption and greed, to not being able to leave (Eldorado) no
place can be perfect. Candide now accepts this and is ready to settle down in a
place where he can have control over his own life in a way he can be reasonably
happy with.
It is very interesting that you point out that Adam and Eve's troubles begin in the garden while Candide's end in his garden. Maybe the difference is the cultivation of one's own garden, because Candide's original "Eden" (Westphalia) was where his troubles began. I like that you mention in the last line that Candide now has control over his life. Maybe this "garden" is where he can work and not only rely on the will of good or evil.
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