How does the world operate according to the era’s worldview?

• A. It operates according to God’s rules, and through reason we can discover those rules.
• B. It operates by fate alone
• C. It operates by human effort alone
• D. It operates according to chance and superstition

Answer: (D)

In this era, the worldview centers on forces beyond strict human control shaping events. Writers often depict the world as governed by chance, omens, and the supernatural rather than by clear rational laws or by human effort alone. This leads to plots driven by improbable twists, signs or dreams guiding characters, and a sense that the natural world is mysterious or indifferent. It reflects Romantic and Gothic tendencies in early American literature, where imagination and the unseen loom large and fate feels beyond easy mastery. In contrast, other views imagine the world as orderly under divine rules discoverable by reason, or as driven entirely by fate or human effort, but the era in question tends to emphasize unpredictability and the influence of unseen forces.