Chance

"Over us, Chance hovers...It is this Chance that makes us indifferent. A few months ago I was playing skat...It is just as much a matter of chance that I am still alive as that I might have been hit" (Remarque 101). This idea of chance, of coincidence, in war appeals to me because I wrote a paper on coincidence because I am baffled by how complex and yet how simple chance really is. Paul survived death simply because he was in the right place at the right time, but why did he get that dumb luck? It's terrifying to think about, especially in war, that one's chances of survival could depend on sheer luck as opposed to months of training.

The link below delves deeper into the topics of chance and fate, fortune and misfortune. For Paul, nearly escaping Death by Chance was clearly a fortunate stroke of luck. It's excruciatingly difficult for humans to grasp the concept of chance because there are no facts or reason for it; chance is uncontrollable and unpredictable.

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