Question

view passage 1
this passage is from the short story \second variety\ by philip k. dick. the story takes place after a nuclear war has turned the world into a wasteland.
the boy fell in beside him. hendricks strode along. the boy walked silently, clutching his teddy bear.
\what’s your name?\ hendricks said, after a time.
\david edward derring.\
\david? what—what happened to your mother and father?\
\they died.\
\how?\
\in the blast.\
\how long ago?\
\six years.\
hendricks slowed down. \you’ve been alone six years?\

o. there were other people for awhile. they went\
questions 5 through 9 refer to this passage.
this fictional passage is from a short story by phillip k. dick.
which is the best definition of the word \fatalism\ as used in the paragraph that begins, \hendricks glanced down\?
○ an inability to feel joy, anger, or other emotions
○ an inability to talk or communicate with others
○ an overwhelming feeling of terror
○ a belief that humans have no control over events

Explanation:

To determine the definition of "fatalism" in the context, we analyze each option:

• The first option refers to emotional flatness (like alexithymia), not fatalism.
• The second option is about communication impairment, irrelevant to fatalism.
• The third option is terror, while fatalism is about control over events, not a feeling of fear.
• The fourth option matches the definition of fatalism: the belief that events are predetermined and humans have no control over them. In the post - nuclear war wasteland context, the boy's situation (losing parents, others leaving) could reflect a sense of events being out of human control, aligning with this belief.

Answer:

D. a belief that humans have no control over events (assuming the options are labeled A - D with D being this option; if the original options had different labels, adjust the label but keep the text: "a belief that humans have no control over events")