Candide

Candide or Optimism (1759) written by Voltaire the shining star of the French Enlightenment is a biting hilarious and frequently outrageous satire that pokes philosophical fun at -- of all things -- the doctrine of optimism. Candide is a naïve youth stubbornly adhering to the notion that all is for the best in this the best of all possible worlds despite being cast into a flood of misfortunes and picaresque misadventures that take him around the world. Whether Candide and optimism itself emerges unscathed in the end hinges upon his own deceptively simple words: let us cultivate our garden.