Fate

Like a Colossus; and we petty men

Walk under his huge legs, and peep about

To find ourselves dishonorable graves

Men at some time are masters of their fates:

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,

But in ourselves, that we are underlings

This familiar quotation was taken from the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Although this quote is over 400 years old I agree with the author when he writes, "Men at some time are masters of their fates". This quotation suggests that people have a fate chosen for them but they can do certain things to modify that chosen fate. This is why I think that people, except when other wills are involved, are masters of their own fate.

Others might say that Shakespeare is wrong and that people have no power over their own fates. They might take this position because they think that people, like the character Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart, do not have control over their fates because they might say that Okonkwo did not have control over his exile. These people are wrong because as we can see through literature, philosophy and

. . .
Today however I want to answer whether or not people could have avoided that fate. In response to this the oracle says, "You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. People often ask what the causes of World War One were and one of the most common answers is that it was fate. By the end of the play this happens but the most important thing to think about is whether or not Oedipus had control over this fate or if he was just destined to do it. After choosing to kill the men he encountered he moves on to the next step in fulfilling his destiny. On the contrary if he decided to make way for the king he would have not killed his father and changed his fate. Another way of wording this is that the only way you are going to do what you want to get done is by putting all your effort into doing it.

Another piece of literature where one can find an example of a person suggesting that people control their own fates is in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Out of all these answers only one is correct and that is that people do control their own fate. In the section from Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar he wrote that people have control over their own fate by telling you directly. As I could tell throughout reading the story Oedipus did have a choice in determining his fate. This means that there is a certain aspect of luck involved but that in order for you to have a positive fate you must work to create one. In the story, Oedipus is determined at a young age to eventually kill his father and marry his mother. Observe the knowledgeable words for Shakespeare, or the inspiring thoughts of the American writer, poet, and journalist Ella Wheeler Wilcox, who once wrote, "There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.

From literature, philosophy and history we hear an innumerable amount of answers to the question of whether people control their own fate.

Common topics in this essay:
World War, Rex Sophocles, Unoka Okonkwo's, William Shakespeare, Accompanying Spencer, Herbert Spencer, Question Fate, Fall Apart, Julius Caesar, Wheeler Wilcox, control own, own fate, people control own, people control, control own fate, own fates, control own fates, world war, fate people, previous experiences, people avoided fate, william shakespeare, play julius caesar, julius caesar, oedipus choice,

Approximate Word count = 1392
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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