The question “ How much of what happens in our lives do we actually control?” is present throughout the story Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, and the story of Chris McCandless, named Into the Wild. Both stories demonstrate this theme through the choices the main characters make in their lives, Macbeth was told his prophecy from the witches, which set him on his path towards his chosen destiny. In the case of Chris McCandless, he chose to live a very minimal life, which to led the camping trip that caused his death. The choices that these two people made answer the question of “How much in our lives do we actually control?”.
This is first shown in Macbeth in the beginning of the book, when the witches tell Macbeth his prophecy, and then Macbeth chooses to kill King Duncan. However, he contemplates killing him before doing it, reflecting on the choice that he is making. The reflection of the choice that he is making is shown in Act 1 Scene 3, when he asks himself “Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth?”, which is him asking himself why does this seem like a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. Another quote from Macbeth to show that he is making his own choices is when Macbeth chooses to believe the prophecy, but Banquo does
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More evidence of free will can be found later in the Act, when Macbeth chooses not to tell his wife his plan by telling her “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, Till thou applaud the deed. Come, seeling night,”. Macbeth chooses to do this because he does not want his wife to have to keep more secrets on top of murdering Duncan. Chris Mccandless also makes choices that led to his chosen