In the War and Peace passage, choose the correct word to complete the clause "which involves Tolstoy's optimistic belief in the life asserting _____ of human existence".

Introduction / Context:
The final sentence of this passage speaks about Tolstoy and his positive view of life as expressed in War and Peace. It describes his optimistic belief in the life asserting blank of human existence. The missing noun must express a recurring arrangement or design in human life that affirms life rather than denying it. The question tests the ability to link an abstract noun with an adjective phrase like life asserting and to recognise a standard collocation from literary criticism.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The phrase is life asserting blank of human existence.
• Options are pattern, appropriation, dogma, suitability, cycle.
• The meaning required is an overall design or structure in life that affirms life.
• The sentence is part of a positive assessment of the novel.

Concept / Approach:
The noun pattern often refers to an overall design, arrangement, or order that repeats itself. The pattern of human existence suggests recurring ways in which life unfolds. When combined with life asserting, it suggests that the overall design of life supports growth and affirmation rather than despair. The approach is to examine each option and judge which best matches the idea of an overall structure that is described as life asserting.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Insert pattern: life asserting pattern of human existence suggests that the general design of life is positive and affirming. Step 2: Insert appropriation: life asserting appropriation sounds wrong; appropriation refers to taking something, often without permission. Step 3: Insert dogma: life asserting dogma of human existence would mean a rigid doctrine and does not fit the tone of natural human life in a novel. Step 4: Insert suitability: life asserting suitability of human existence is not a natural expression and fails to convey structure. Step 5: Insert cycle: life asserting cycle of human existence might suggest repeated birth and death, but the known exam passage uses pattern and the expression pattern of human existence is more common. Step 6: Conclude that pattern is the best word both in terms of accepted usage and the message of the sentence.

Verification / Alternative check:
In literary and philosophical discussions, phrases like pattern of human existence and pattern of life are quite common. They refer to the overall way life tends to unfold. When we attach life asserting, the sense becomes that the overall pattern is positive and supports growth. None of the other nouns is regularly used with this adjective phrase. Therefore, the completed clause involving Tolstoy belief in the life asserting pattern of human existence is the most natural and accurate reading.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Appropriation: Refers to taking property or cultural elements and does not connect meaningfully with life asserting. Dogma: Suggests a fixed set of beliefs and has a strongly doctrinal tone, which does not match the description of the living flow of existence. Suitability: Concerns fitness or appropriateness, not an overall design. Cycle: Although one could talk about cycles of life, the specific combination life asserting pattern of human existence is more idiomatic and is the standard version found in this well known passage. Thus, the alternatives do not fit as well as pattern.

Common Pitfalls:
A possible mistake is to choose dogma simply because it sounds philosophical, without checking if it matches life asserting. Another pitfall is to choose cycle because of familiarity with expressions like life cycle, but that phrase is not exactly the same. Careful readers pay attention to standard patterns such as pattern of human existence that often appear in academic discussions and examination passages.

Final Answer:
The correct answer is pattern, completing the phrase life asserting pattern of human existence.