Voltaire’s Candide (1759) uses the travels of its title character to provide a profound critique of society and human nature. As the story ends, the line “cultivate our garden” represents a practical outlook that contrasts sharply with Candide’s tutor Pangloss’ upbeat outlook. This allegorical garden symbolizes a place of accountability and doable action.
Candide and his companions decide to labor in a concrete, constructive way by tending to their garden, indicating a change in perspective toward a more grounded view of reality. This shift in viewpoint is crucial because it signifies a departure from conjecture and toward active participation in the real world. Its directness and simplicity make this response to Candide’s experiences with violence and despair so striking.
The atrocities and oddities that Candide sees while traveling—from social injustices to religious persecutions—highlight the frequently brutal and irrational nature of people. Growing a garden becomes a protest against the senselessness of the outside world in this situation. It represents a choice not to let the world’s more substantial problems overwhelm one and instead concentrate on what can be changed and controlled in one’s surroundings. This strategy aligns with the concepts discussed in Maimon and Yancey’s book (2024), highlighting the value of direct action and practical engagement in tackling challenging problems. Given this perspective, tending a garden becomes a practical undertaking and a symbolic representation of fostering inner fortitude and clarity in turbulent circumstances.
Furthermore, the concepts in “The Norton Anthology of World Literature” align with this philosophy, as the latter frequently emphasizes the importance of human agency and the consequences of one’s decisions in a complex environment (Puchner & Levine, 2018). Voltaire supports a grounded approach that puts one’s well-being and moral behavior ahead of aspirational but unachievable ideals in the face of life’s injustices and absurdities. This meaning of “cultivating our garden” alludes to a busy, meaningful life that acknowledges the world and works to make a meaningful living.
References
Maimon, E. P., & Yancey, K. B. (2024). A writer’s resource: A handbook for writing and research (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Puchner, M., & Levine, C. (2018). The Norton anthology of world literature (4th ed.). W. W. Norton.
Voltaire, M. (1759). Candide. Cramer, Marc-Michel Rey, Jean Nourse, Lambert, and others.