What is the novel's portrayal of fate versus free will?

• A. Characters feel they shape destinies, but fate is predetermined by external forces.
• B. Characters believe they shape destinies, but choices are influenced by internal desires and external pressures; fate appears in consequences.
• C. Fate is entirely random.
• D. Free will exists without influence.

Answer: (B)

The question examines how the novel balances choice with circumstance. You can see characters trying to steer their own paths—pushing for courage, status, and belonging—yet their options are constantly shaped by inner motives like envy and fear, plus outer pressures such as competition, peer expectations, and the war atmosphere. The best answer captures that tension: they believe they shape their destinies, but their choices are colored by internal desires and external pressures; the consequences reveal fate at work through outcomes that feel larger than any single decision. In this light, agency exists, but it operates within forces that steer what happens.

Why the other views don’t fit as well: fate isn’t shown as entirely predetermined by external forces, since the characters do make significant choices; fate isn’t portrayed as random without pattern, because events unfold with cause and consequence tied to the characters’ actions and pressures; and free will isn’t depicted as free of influence, since inner motivations and external pressures clearly guide decisions.