We Must Cultivate Our Garden Analysis

While the ending of Candide was relatively inconclusive, I found it satisfactory as a reader that the author practiced what he preached. Voltaire ridiculed Leibniz for constantly theorizing, never offering solutions. On the contrary, Voltaire debunked Leibniz's theory throughout Candide, and offered a resolution of how to deal with reality; cultivate the garden. To cultivate your own garden put simply is to do what is best for you, through logic and reason, without dwelling philosophically. The advice from the dervish and old man is sound advice, to render life bearable it is wise to work with what you are given, rather than contemplate the purpose behind everything.
It speaks volumes that throughout the entire book, there was only one conversation involving a person who could be described as

The farmer claimed ingnorance to the matter of which Candide was speaking, and declared “in general those who meddle in public affairs perish...they deserve it”. After this interaction the band of friends concluded the best way to live; “we must cultivate our garden ...Let us work without theorizing”. While the phrase “cultivate our garden” may be interpreted in many ways, most definitions would incorporate the idea; the less thinking, the better. Exemplary by how the old man did not know what was happening, he was not dwelling on what did not affect him. He only cared about what he had to do, and was occupying his mind so that he was not bored, and not overthinking. This strategy seemed to work in his favor, as Candide reflected upon, stating “that man seems to have made a better life than the six kings”. The idea of living simplistically, not thinking, as Candide implies at the end, is one answer of how to lead a life without misery. The practice would have fared well for the majority of the characters throughout their troubles in the story. For example, Candide may have not been as