When Our Garden is Nothing but Dry

          Although Voltaire truly wanted to transmit the message of optimism throughout his novel, my understanding was quite different. The significance of Candide's supper with miserable kings was that all misfortunes are equally grave. ''...Pangloss and Martin, 'seemed to me to have done much better for himself than those six kings we had the honor of supping with." (Pg. 143) There are no worse diseases, worse deaths, worse wars or worse lives. All tragedies deserve the same amount of dwelling. It's all a matter of perspective.

 One may decide to look at Tsar Ivan's situation positively or negatively. The morality of Candide is: forgive, forget and more on. Its just a matter of how one can look at the situation, which in the case of Voltaire is: "cultivate your garden." (Pg.144) Or in other words: "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." Candide could not have ended more wrongly, however each individual was able to compromise with their failure in their own way. Perspective is the lit door to survival. Count Pococurante portrayed how a person who does not posses perspective only see what's good, only bad. Lack of perspective is like having dark sunglasses on, which enables one to see only darkness where their is light. "You must admit that there is the happiest man alive, because he is superior to all he possesses.'" (Pg. 123)

    Voltaire intends to demonstrate that not is only optimism Nothing could have ended more wrong. The Baron and Pangloss return to the picture, Candide is no longer wealthy and Lady Cunegonde has turned as "ugly as a witch." (Pg.138) Their life revolves around the cultivation of a garden. Although all went wrong, they settled, they compromised.


"'When man was placed in the Garden of Eden, he was put there "to dress it and to keep it", to work, in fact; which proves that man was not born to an easy life.'" (Pg, 143)  

   The utopia that God created for humans (The Garden of Eden) was perfect because of its imperfection.