When I think of a Garden State, I imagine a community that resembles a garden. A good garden wouldn't be something exceptionally big, so the community would be fairly small. Gardens are supposed to be maintained and tended so there wouldn't be any weeds, or in the case of a community, no evils or negative values. And all gardens are taken care of by something, so this community has a government that actuals cares for the people. To me, a Garden State is any community where people get along and live happy, simple lives.
What I got from Candide is that a Garden State is a place where people work constantly for the sole purpose of staying occupied. Because there is no specific end goal and everyone has their own roles, there is no competition, jealously, anger or as the old man put it, "boredom, vice, and need" (pg. 98).
I don't know if I agree that this lifestyle is the right way to live. The fact that everyone just works to fulfill their roles seems repetitive and boring. Maybe because I live today's society, I believe that challenges and goals add to a well rounded and happy life. I think that accomplishing something gives people happiness, and I don't see a problem with competition.
On the other hand, in earlier and more primitive human lifestyles, people hunted and gathered or farmed. They just worked, worked, worked, and worked. The work created roles for everyone in the community, and going by the philosophy of Candide's ending, these people had happy, negative-free lives. I don't know if Voltaire's believes in the Garden State portrayed in the book, but I can't believe it. I think people are too complex to just sit as plants do, repeat the same tasks everyday, and still have happy and fulfilling lives.
I think this makes a lot of sense and it is another way of looking at it that I hadn't thought of. It is as if Candide was so set on finding his perfect world that he stripped it down to what the basics should be and focused on finding that. But you can't get happiness by fulfilling the qualifications of some textbook definition and so Candide's garden state seems to be more of a false idea than an actuality.
ReplyDeleteThe garden state is where people take different tasks in order to succeed in cultivating the garden, but you make me consider if leaving El Dorado was worth this simple life.
ReplyDeleteI agree that living with only one, repetitive role would get old. Maybe I'm just afraid to commit to one responsibility for the rest of my life, but I definitely don't think living in the garden state would be a satisfying existence. I like how you explained your interpretation of what it means and how it can be perceived negatively.
ReplyDelete