Act 3, Scene 3

Bravo!

What a terrible ending. What could I expect? The weak plot couldn’t have finished with a strong conclusion. The worst part of such a terrible ending is that it leaves the concept of the best of all possible worlds sort of unanswered. The question seams to be redirected with the revival of all the characters. I am not sure if the absurdity of resurrection is to expose that a world where dead loved ones come to life or resurrection itself. The fact that the book seams to end similarly to how it started is strange. The mirroring however doesn’t include happiness, all the characters are miserable at the conclusion. “Cacambo, whose job was to work in the garden and sell vegetables in Constantinople, was quite worn out with toil, and cursed his lot.” Pg 139

There are however some great concepts in Candide’s ending. Happiness for example is looked into. The whole ending that characters hoped for and it isn’t a happy one. All the main characters find themselves unsatisfied. Aside from the characters the Turk and the six kings of Europe are a comparison between being rich and poor in terms of happiness. “‘That old fellow,’ said he, turning to Pangloss and Martin, ‘seemed to me to have done much better for himself than those six kings had the honor of supping with.’” (Pg 143) Although the kings were unhappy because they were betrayed, I would think Voltaire is playing with the concept of happiness. The kings had everything but so much power brought problems and that is why the Turk (the old fellow) was so happy. He was living at peace.

“‘You are quite right,’ said Pangloss. ‘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.’”

The final concept of cultivating your garden is quite simple. In a way it answers the theme of the book. Things must run their course and you must work with what you were given, your garden.

Is it the best of all possible worlds?

From the start, Candide’s theme is the best of all possible worlds. Dr. Pangloss taught Candide that indeed it was the best of all possible worlds. However a few chapters later we find the main character’s life completely destroyed. To pile on his beloved Pangloss is hanged. So the question throughout the horrible events that happen during the book is: is this the best of all possible worlds?

“ ‘To think of Pangloss and my dear Cunégonde, and all that has happened to them! What do you make of this world of ours?’ ‘I find it senseless and detestable piece of work,’” Pg 110

Questions like these frequent the book with no end. This theme, I would say also ponders people’s lives today. How can the world be best when so much suffering and injustice occurs every day? As Voltaire I have conclude that the world just is the way it was made. It is the best of all possible worlds because there are no other worlds! That is how I think Voltaire incorporates Eldorado. He invents it to show that only imaginary places are perfect. Wherever there are people, problems will occur.

“Candide’s melancholy increased, while Martin kept proving to him that there is little virtue and little happiness in the world, except perhaps in Eldorado, where no one could go.” Pg 113

As you can see, Voltaire clearly believes that there is no way everyone could be happy in the real world. However the prevailing question in this last part of the book has gotten sadder and sadder. Martin, Voltaire’s friend is like the little devil that always appears on cartoon’s shoulders in the movies. They convince the cartoon character of evil and make them pathetically sad. Martin looks like such a character but is actually of a very reasonable man. He always seams to be a realistic and quite rational, he always thinks of the worst of people. This character is a great addition to the book because of the realism he entails. With Martin we are able to understand how absurd and dumb is our beloved Candide. Having so much money in diamonds and gold from Eldorado, why would he track down a woman when he could easily get another?

“ ‘What a pessimist you are!’ exclaimed Candide. ‘ That is because I know what life is,’ said Martin