Summary:
Fate freewill and fortune are contrasted, with references from Oedipus at Colonus, Tale of Two cities, and Dawn. Each work has a unique perspective on life.
Do you ever find yourself wondering why something happened? Or why every time something goes good in your life, something bad comes along and ruins it? I don¡¦t know about everyone else but I find this happening quite often. And I don¡¦t have any strong opinions on why everything happens the way it does, but I do have to stop and ask my self once and awhile; was this fate, my own doing, or just plain bad luck"!
When I find myself asking the question, why? My mind tends to try and blame someone else for my own wrong doing or unfavorable situation. For instance, in the story Oedipus at Colonus, Oedipus¡¦ wife tells him after his fortune has been told that ¡§No skill in the world, nothing human can penetrate the future¡¨. Agreeing and going along with the idea of fate is, in a sense, giving yourself up to the subjection of the future. One way to look at fate is that it serves as the easy excuse through the hard times in your life. For example you could hold fate responsible for practically anything that occurred, that you didn¡¦t want to take the consequences or blame for. But if you are, or ever have, considered fate, or the idea that some outside force has predetermined your life, you have something in common with the rest of the human race. I somewhat believe in fate, but I consider it to be more than a track your life has been forced to follow. I believe that each person is born a certain way, with their own personality, own way of thinking, and own way of making decisions. In life, you cannot steer away from your true personality. It doesn¡¦t matter what type of person you are, everyone will make their own, different choices ¡Vgood and bad- that affect their lives in some way or another.
If there is one thing that has never ceased to appear throughout your life, it¡¦s decisions. You are forced to make choices and decisions every day, ranging from simple ones like, ¡§Ham or Turkey¡¨, to even more complex decisions, such as, ¡§Wheat or white¡¨, fº just kidding, but you get the idea. If you are one of those people who go throughout life making decisions because you know something will become of them, and caring what direction your life travels in; you may somewhat believe in the idea of free will, or that you can control the way you live your life. A good example of this is the book Tale of Two Cities. In this story a man named Sydney Carton goes throughout life being a drunken failure. And when his friend goes to jail and is sentenced to death, he wants to redeem his drunken and immoral lifestyle by switching places with him. "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known," Sydney says, because he believes that by doing this great good for his friend, he will be able to change his life, or what is left of it, for the better. The basic principle of freewill is taking responsibility for your own actions, and believing that your own choices and decisions do have an affect on your life.
Fortune, also known as luck, has appeared to both haunt and bless everyone¡¦s lives at some point or another. In the book Dawn by Elie Wiesel, a young soldier, Elisha, is forced to execute a prisoner by one of his commanding officers. Some could argue that it was pure luck that Elisha having already had a past with death, and killing, was picked out of everyone to execute this man. You can say the same about sports also, for example, ¡§That shot was luck¡¨. But really all fortune and luck are, are just simple answers to life¡¦s mysteries. When you accidentally put your term paper into the paper shredder instead of the copy machine, or you find a winning lottery ticket sitting on the side walk, there is always a simple explanation waiting for you ¡V LUCK.
Fate, free will and fortune. These are all some of the biggest questions and mysteries mankind has been pondering since the beginning of time. People continue questioning whether someone or something else controls their life, whether they make their own decisions and therefore they change their future, or just simply thinking everything happens by luck. I trust that all these beliefs are in some way related to one another. When I consider believing in fate, I wonder why my life has taken me in this direction. Maybe I did something wrong earlier on in life or even in a past life that made ¡§the gods¡¨ for example, want to make me have such a horrible existence. While I say this I am still pondering¡Kwell, what caused this fate in the first place, my own wrong doings, or just bad luck"! You could go on forever, and the world has, juggling these ideas. Or just accept life as it comes to you, and spend your time living and accepting, not contemplating and questioning.
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