Candide ​and Bowman One Pager

In the last episode of ​Candide​, a literary work by author Voltaire, the main character
Candide recognizes that people must focus on their individual life, straying from politics and the
problems within society, and instead concentrating on working towards the perfect lifestyle that
they envision. Throughout the book, Candide travels the world and as each tragic experience is
laid upon him, he maintains his belief that he will simply stumble upon the “best of all possible
worlds”. Evidently, this does not come to pass and Candide and his crew of friends, who have
transformed into refugees and been victimized by humanity's corruption, are forced to accept that
a perfect world is inconceivable. Through these characters and their miserable lives, Voltaire
debunks the philosophy that all things happen for a reason, that everything is for the best, and
replaces this with the belief that it is more valuable to work and toil to improve your own
environment rather than attempting to improve society as a whole. Candide discovers this
through the dervish who bluntly reveals that the best course of action is to “keep your mouth
shut” and the old Turkish man’s lifestyle which “[banished] those three great evils, boredom,
vice, and poverty” through hard work and physical labor (Voltaire 142). Philosophy and
hardwork are juxtaposed here with the latter being beneficial and productive while the first solely
being a waste of time. Furthermore, Voltaire is asking his readers to disregard philosophy and
any endeavors to solve societal problems, and is instead, telling them to focus on improving their
own lives. This is justifiable as it renders life to be, at the very least, bearable and satisfies the
needs of an individual.
Contrary to this theory on Voltaire’s intention, Robin Bowman, a literary critic, discusses
in her essay “Candide’s Garden” the idea that Voltaire was torn between the structural issues
which were constantly deliberated upon in ​Candide​. Rather than Voltaire’s argument being
based on either meliorism or fatalism, Bowman argues that Voltaire was calling his audience to
“devote [their] energies toward improving the world” they live in “ rather than searching for
answers for questions that can never be found” (Bowman 5). Moreover, Voltaire is striking a
blow towards philosophers and challenging them to spend their time repairing society rather than
just preaching what needs to be done. However, Bowman reveals that Voltaire does not desire
people to completely engage in this quietism movement but instead encourages people to “speak
out against injustice,'' call for social reform, and, most importantly, ACT upon these pursuits of
justice (Bowman 4). Although Voltaire “wrestled with the philosophical implications of
meliorism” he was outspoken against the societal injustices in the world and “never stopped
trying to improve society” (Bowman 4). Evidently, despite Voltaire disagreeing with acts of
philosophy, he was willing to put these beliefs aside in order to emphasize the importance of
pursuing reformation and spreading awareness of different societal injustices. This coincides
with Voltaire’s underlying premise in Candide’s last words of the story, “all that is very well, but
let us cultivate our garden”, due to it acknowledging the validity of philosophy yet placing one’s
action to solve a problem over their mere illumination of the issue.
Succeeding the reading of Bowman’s paper, it is evident that Voltaire is not asking his
audience to forsake advocacy for social change and philosophy in its entirety. Rather, Voltaire is
implying that philosophy or advocacy on their own are not enough; action and struggle must
follow a person’s call for change otherwise the world and it’s injustices will forever remain
unbothered. This does not lead to a bearable and satisfying life for an individual; alternatively, it
leads to a fulfilling and valuable life. People need to concentrate on striving to improve their own
lives and reconstruct the world in such a matter that it is revolutionary for the lives of people
around them.