Fate: Fate And Fate

What is the idea of destiny in today’s society? How does it compare to Ancient Greece Society? Today, it can be seen as a minor thing, and people don’t think about it. In Ancient Greece, destiny was seen as a major part of their lives, and they even go to great lengths to fulfill their destiny the gods have set. In Sophocles’ work, Oedipus Rex is described as a loyal king, helping the people of Thebes, but once he loses track of his mission, his arrogance to follow the will of fate brings his downfall.

They met in a Bloomingdale’s store trying to buy gifts for their significant others. After a day of excitement and romance, they went back to their own partners. Before parting ways, they each wrote their name and contact information in a book, and on a five dollar bill, so if they ever crossed paths again they knew it would be fate. This is the story of Jonathan and Sara, told in the movie ‘Serendipity’. The movie shows the ups and downs of relationships and two lovers on the search to meet again. Although the movie is titled ‘Serendipity’, they often talk about fate. So, what’s the difference between the two? Every once in a while, one may have the feeling of serendipity, but may not exactly know how to name that particular feeling.

The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays, published in 1597. It is a story about how, “A pair of star-cross’d lovers [Romeo and Juliet] take their lives…/The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love…” (Prologue of Romeo and Juliet, 6-9) as they are forbidden to be together due to a long lasting and ongoing feud between the Montague and Capulet families. Their deaths are the results of many characters’ actions and fate, and there is not one distinctive person that can be blam¬ed for the young lovers’ deaths. Friar Lawrence is not to blame for these deaths as fate played a major role in their demise, he warned Romeo of his impulsive and unwise decision making, and his intentions were to abolish the ongoing feud between the two families. Further examination will prove that Friar Lawrence is innocent and his intensions were far from the passing of the two lovers.

Everyone else here does though. They all believe in finding your perfect soulmate. And that this clock, embedded into your wrist, would be the one who determines ‘the one’. When it hits zero, that’s when you meet your soulmate.

Here it is said by the captain that Macbeth should have died in battle but that he was stronger (more ambitious) than his fate. Macbeth has no one to blame but himself. The captain does also call Macbeth “damned quarry” and this time he escapes fate but the “rebel’s whore” will get him in the end.

Josh Allen Mrs.King English 3 Honors 8.19.2014 Chapters 1-7 Free Will and Fate: “He moured the fact he could not be a permenat soilder… but he could not imagine any any career for his sons except the army.” (Steinbeck 19) This qoute is foreshadowing the fate that one of cyrus’s sons will be force to join the army because of cyrus’s wishes. Later we learn that son is Adam because Cyrus feels the army will let loose things in charles that he feels needs to be contained. “They’ll first strip off your clothes…

The idea about free will and fate is still unsolved and debatable throughout the world. Some claim that humans have their own power to create their own destiny, however, others argue that they are inescapable victims of fate. The novel, Things Fall Apart, portrays the relationship between human’s determination to succeed and his or her own fate by describing Okonkwo as a tragic figure. While Okonkwo believes that he can overcome his fate through his hard work, Chinua Achebe reveals that fate is a powerful, inevitable event in the novel.

Does a man have free will? Can he control his own fate, or is it influenced, or perhaps even preordained, by an immortal power? Time and time again this question has been asked and explored in literary pieces that involve an element of a supernatural being, a higher power that mortal man cannot compare to. Among those who incorporate this existential reflection into their own written world is Homer, an ancient Greek poet, creator of the Odyssey. Throughout his epic, Homer demonstrates the simultaneous action of both fate and responsibility and the precarious balance that exists between the two in dictating the road of Odysseus, with the gods neither claiming sovereignty nor letting man run his own course unobstructed. Often, the will of

Fate, as described in the Oxford English Dictionary, is “The principle, power, or agency by which, according to certain philosophical and popular systems of belief, all events, or some events in particular, are unalterably predetermined from eternity.” To the western world, fate is perceived as “a sentence or doom of the gods” (Oxford). They often sought prophecies of the gods, especially from Apollo, the god of knowledge. The Greeks would seek prophecies usually when they had doubts about something, or if they were afraid or in despair. When the gods made a prophecy, the Greeks put all their faith in it and believed that it would happen. When their prophecies did come true, was it really fate that

Are all events predetermined? Does everyone have a prophetic destiny that they must fulfill? If so, who determines their fate? Who—or what—binds them to their fixed ending? Is there really no way to resist? Is fatalism—the theory that all events are preset and inevitable—true? And if it is—is there ever such a thing as free will?

The concept of fate and the influence of gods on mortals’ lives are prominent aspects of Greek mythology. While the gods of Olympus are commonly presented as the primary manipulators of human lives, the Fates are the true creators of destiny. Gods may be able to affect human lives in monumental ways, but predetermined destiny and the Fates’ intentions ultimately reign. The gods have respect for this authority, as well, as they’re aware that a limit on their ability to intervene is necessary to maintain the order of the universe. This leaves one to question the amount of knowledge that the gods themselves have of fate, and whether they have their own free will to refrain from intervening or if they truly must submit to the authority of the Fates and their plans. The gods do have some knowledge of the Fates’ plan, but they are also wise enough to avoid too much interference and therefore don’t necessarily need to be commanded; they sometimes help guide mortals by sending them messages and symbols—and sometimes even influencing them for their own advantage—but ultimate fate cannot be avoided.

Fate, “The development of events outside a person’s control...” (fate).In the Arthurian legend I am Mordred trying to escape one's fate is a theme seen throughout the whole book. Fate is the main theme in this story and will determine happiness and ultimately whether the characters will live or die. Throughout the story I am Mordred, many characters will try to defy their fate through Mordred and Mordred will try to defy his own fate with many of the characters. Mordred attempts these shots at fate changing with his fish mother and father, Nyneve, King Arthur, Morgause and Lynette. Some are able to defy fate, and some will not.

I chose to do an artistic project and I chose to include the quote “Not a man on earth can see a day ahead, groping through the dark. Better to live at random, best we can,” in my painting. I chose this quote from Sophocles because it shows off one of the many themes of Oedipus the King which is fate and free will. I wrote the quote in silver to show that it is important and silver is a bold color. I raised the word “ahead” because i wanted it to be emphasized that you can not see what you are headed towards in your life until you get there. I bolded the word “dark” because I wanted it to stand out more that while your are going through your life it is almost as if you are walking through a basement at night with all of the lights turned out.

Life has changed many times over the years, and so has the idea of how life works. It’s gone from considered uncontrollable by man to entirely controlled by man. In Realism, an individual is seen as itself- an individual, but in Naturalism, it’s seen more as a helpless object. In Modernism, individuals are considered just the same as they are, like Realism, but fate, an uncontrollable force, controls their lives. In Existentialism, individuals are known as… just individuals, again, and unlike Modernism and other philosophies with similar thoughts, fate does not exist- an individual’s decisions always lead to what happens to them. The idea of the individual changes quite often in every philosophy.

After contrasting Okonkwo’s greatness with his father’s meekness, Achebe dives into the mind of Okonkwo in order to establish the theme of fate vs free will. This moment is very important in the narrative, as it shows Okonkwo’s determination to rise up and become prosperous ultimately comes from his fear of confronting fate. A paradox occurs as Okonkwo, a man of natural will, is compromising his well-being and true self in order to fight fate.