Everyday, everybody makes decisions, some turn out great and others face harsh consequences. This was true for Lyddie Worthen who exists only in the mind of the author of the book Lyddie, Katherine Paterson. Lyddie is a young girl whose family is in some big debt, due to her father leaving to find riches. Her mother takes her sisters and sends Lyddie to a tavern and her brother to a mill. After a while at the tavern, she took an unauthorized vacation and got fired in the process.
No matter how we try to change our situation or better ourselves in society, variables will obstruct the path we choose. One cannot take control of everything that surrounds us as fate decides what happens to us. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote explains the murder of the Clutter family in the quiet town of Holcomb, Kansas. The murderers, Richard (Dick) Hickock and Perry Smith, try to escape the consequences of their actions, believing that they can get away with what they did. The story tells what the murderers were thinking after and before they committed the crime and their various interactions.
Since the beginning of time, people have debated about whether we make our own choices or if we live out a predetermined life. In literary works, the idea of fate being the reason for a character’s actions leads to empathy toward him/her. Free-will, however, makes the character responsible for his/her actions. In many literary cases, fate seems to be the reason for everything. In the epic poem Beowulf, Grendel is a murderous monster that terrorizes the people of Herot.
Destiny over Free will Free will is a term unheard of nowhere days because of how much the media portrays that we have to do what other people say such as politicians. Some people are destined to think that everything we say and do has already been written out in a script somewhere in heaven and that God already knows what we are going to do before we even do it. People do not possess free will but are governed by fate because in Dante's Inferno the people who were brought down to hell were brought down because they were destined to go down the wrong path and that's why they are in hell and there are special places for people whose fate was a little too heinous and they were forced to go in the middle of heaven and hell and sometimes other people are also destined to lead us to our fate such as Virgil in Dante's inferno. People do not possess free will but are governed by fate because we think we have a choice to change our decisions but what if
Have you ever lived with someone your whole life, but suddenly go live with entirely new people? Lyra from the Golden compass went through the exact situation. The gyptians the people Lyra is staying with now, treat her very different than when she lived in Jordan college. Throughout the book the gyptians have treated Lyra like family, by feeding her, giving her a place to sleep, and caring for her. The gyptians also are very authentic and genuine with Lyra.
People who endure dislocation feel out of place and have many mixed emotions. Karen Russell’s “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves,” tells the story of a group of girls who suffer from lycanthropy including Jeanette, Claudette, and Mirabella. The “pack” of girls go through many stages to rehabilitate to their human identity. The girls experience culture shock and have to work as they progress through the stage.
Fate is often described as the will or principle by which things in general are believed to come to be . The question of fate has been pondered over for ages , with the epic poem, Beowulf, raising questions on the concept of fate versus free will. The epic raises the question in the form of the complex,yet dynamic character Grendel. Although it seems at certain points that Grendel acts on free will ,he is in fact led entirely by fate. The idea of fate leading Grendel’s life is made entirely from the fact that he was born a monster and an unfortunate descendant of Cain.
Universal themes are apparent across time, culture, and place, which are evident in all stories. For example, The Maze Runner by James Dashner exposes universal themes in a dystopian science fiction society. Some universal themes that appear in this movie are heroic scenarios, social cohesion, interesting ways in which the story is told, and building empathy. Heroic scenarios are when a character jumps in at an attempt to save the day. In The Maze Runner, Thomas was often the hero.
The mind it not simple, it is not black and white. Instead, the mind is a very complex space filled with various types of emotions and ideals. Throughout The Dharma Bums, Jack Kerouac focuses his attention on an eventful journey, more specifically, enlightenment. Ray Smith (Jack Kerouac) is a man who has been through thousands of life-altering experiences and has let his mind reach its potential of free will. Thankfully, Japhy Ryder (Gary Snyder) guides him into the religion of Buddhism.
We build relationships throughout our lives, whether it be family or friends, however do we really understand them? In the Golden Compass, Lyra is the nucleus of an atom. Everyone and everything around Lyra makes her who she is. However the connection between the master, scholars, servants, John Faa and the gyptians with Lyra is not always the best. Sometimes, the relationship can be substandard because of the view on her family.
In Fahrenheit 451, a science fiction novel by Ray Bradbury a man named Guy Montag goes against a dystopian society to pursue happiness, freedom, and knowledge. This dystopian society has banned all books, and firefighters have been transformed into book burners in hopes of creating a perfect society also known as a utopia. Although the ancient Hero’s Journey Archetype may not seem to have a lot to do do with this science fiction novel set in the future, it applies to this book more than you would expect. Throughout the book Guy Montag experiences many steps of the Hero’s Journey Archetype, as he is setting out to pursue knowledge.
Romeo and Juliet Essay Chaos in the streets of Verona erupt again. A day after a fight with the Capulet and Montague family, Tybalt kills Mercutio. Soon after, Romeo kills Tybalt for revenge. Is this controlled by fate, or by the character
Was it fate or free will that killed Romeo and Juliet? In the prologue of this play, Shakespeare refers to Romeo and Juliet as “A pair of star-cross'd lovers.” Star crossed lovers are people whose love is destined to end in tragedy. Free will is when people are able to make their own decisions and have consequences based off their decisions instead of predetermined consequences. Fate was definitely the reason for Romeo and Juliet’s tragic deaths because of the unexplainable coincidences, uncharacterized choices, and conscious decisions that all lead to the same inescapable outcome.
Fate Versus Free Will In Macbeth Fate versus free will is a theme well known throughout literature and in life as well. Is life controlled by fate, or are people’s lives dependent on the choices they make? In Macbeth, Shakespeare emphasizes the idea of fate vs. freewill, indicating that both elements play a role in the lives of individuals, as well as society as a whole. The main character, Macbeth’s, life is a combination of fate and his conscious decisions. The witches in Macbeth can control the fates of many, but only to a point.
The theme of Fate vs. Free Will is dominant in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; however the theme of fate is more significant than free will. In the play both Romeo and Juliet meeting was contributed by fate as Shakespeare mentioned in the prologue that Romeo and Juliet were star-crossed lovers that were meant to meet, fall in love and their death would be the reason for the feud to end between the two families. Fate was the reason Capulet’s servant asked Romeo and Benvolio to help him read the invitation for him that contained all the names of the people that were invited to the ball Capulet hosted. “…If you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray come and crush a cup of wine.
