Question

read the following passage from erich remarques all quiet on the western front and answer the questions.
the front is a cage in which we must await fearfully whatever may happen. we lie under the network of arching shells and live in a suspense of uncertainty. over us, chance hovers. if a shot comes, we can duck, that is all; we neither know nor can determine where it will hit.
it is this chance that makes us indifferent. a few months ago i was sitting in a dug-out playing skat; after a while i stood up and went to visit some friends in another dug-out. on my return nothing more was to be seen of the first one. it had been blown to pieces by a direct hit. i went back to the second and arrived just in time to lend a hand digging it out. in the interval it had been buried.
it is just as much a matter of chance that i am still alive as that i might have been hit. in a bombproof dug-out i may be smashed to atoms and in the open may survive ten hours bombardment unscathed. no soldier outlives a thousand chances. but every soldier believes in chance and trusts his luck.
what is the significance of the phrase every soldier believes in chance and trusts his luck?
a. it symbolizes the soldiers emotional detachment in the face of war.
b. it implies that the soldiers feel invincible and unaffected by danger.
c. it implies that the soldiers have lost all physical vitality and are lifeless.
d. it suggests that the soldiers have completely abandoned any sense of hope.

Explanation:

The passage emphasizes the randomness and uncertainty of war (e.g., the narrator's experience with the dug - outs being destroyed). The phrase about soldiers believing in chance and trusting luck is in the context of this randomness. Emotional detachment is shown as soldiers are indifferent (due to chance) - they don't get overly attached to outcomes because they know it's all chance. Option b is incorrect as the text doesn't imply invincibility (they know they can die, just by chance). Option c about physical vitality is not related to the text. Option d is wrong as believing in chance (even if it's a form of coping) is not the same as abandoning hope.

Answer:

a. It symbolizes the soldiers’ emotional detachment in the face of war.