By the end of the story, is there any source of hope? What message (if any) does Voltaire leave the reader with?

The answer
to this is unclear, because 's
is such a pessimistic work overall. It is
very
difficult to find much optimism within it, and the main character, who seems at times to
be
the incarnation of optimism and hope itself, is torn down until he loses
his own positive
attitude. However, the end of the book gives something of a
challenge, which offers hope in the
context of the work.

Optimism is clearly the enemy in Voltaire's eyes. He
embraces cynicism and
encourages his main character to eventually accept that the world is not

necessarily a happy and optimistic place. Most prominently, he seems to be decrying the
majority
of European civilization and the...