What was Voltaire asking (what was his main question) in Candide?

In
,is questioning whether the philosophy of optimism is a viable perspective
on the world, given all of thethat occurs every day. Voltaire satirizes this philosophy in his
novel, mostly through the character of Pangloss, who is a caricature of Leibniz, proponent of
optimism during Voltaire's time (Age of Reason). The philosophy holds that we live in the best
of all possible worlds and that everything is for the best; everything tragic that happens is
not a result of a malevolent god but rather a natural product of human free will. Every tragedy
is part of something bigger, and whatever is bigger is ultimately for the greater good. Having
witnessed catastrophic events like the Lisbon earthquake and the Seven Years War in his
lifetime, Voltaire simply could not believe in this philosophy. 

In Candide, Voltaire answers the question of whether optimism is a
viable philosophy by exposing how ridiculous it is that a person can hold this perspective in
light of all of the destruction, death, pain, and loss in the world. At the start of the novel,
we see that Candide, a naive young man, has obtained all of his education from Pangloss, his
tutor and a philosopher who uses any twisted or exaggerated logic he can to justify his
optimism. At the end of Chapter I, Candide gets expelled from Westphalia and embarks on a quest
on multiple continents in search of this "best of all possible worlds" that Pangloss
has taught him exists. Candide repeatedly finds that there is endless corruption and suffering
in the world. Voltaire usesthroughout the text to emphasize that it is impossible to feel
optimistic under the circumstances he has his characters endure. It takes him a while, but
eventually, Candide gives up on Pangloss's philosophy and instead embraces pragmatism; at the
end of the novel, Candide simply wants to tend his garden, or immerse himself in practical work.
Upon finishing the novel,  the reader should see that Voltaire believes optimism is not a
logical philosophy; those who continue to cling to it are set up for ridicule
in Candide.