Fate or Chance?

I do not like the idea of fate.

I hate to think that, no matter what I do, my life will end up a certain way, but rather, I prefer to look at it through the eyes of chance: things happen and we react to them. The ways in which we react determine our path through life. My life is the way it is today because of the things that I did yesterday, and equivalently, my life will be what it is tomorrow because of the things that I do today. I don't believe that the road ahead of me is already built. I build a little bit more of it every day, doing my best to build it well and making choices that I will not come to regret later.

It is a shame that Macbeth did not share my ideology, as it would have saved him a lot of trouble. Through Macbeth, Shakespeare presented a meaningful conflict between fate and chance, although I would argue that Shakespeare fought for both sides of the argument.

Shakespeare presented fate through the witches in the story, who possessed a mysterious ability to prophesy the future. Macbeth initially dismissed their claims, but eventually he was consumed by the allure of the power which they promised him. At first, Macbeth follows the traditional belief of fate as demonstrated by his statement: "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir " (Act One, Scene 3, Line 144). He believes that fate will be fulfilled regardless of what he does or does not do.

As the story progresses, Macbeth begins to realize just how difficult becoming king will be. He doubts fate and decides to take matters into his own hands by killing the current king, causing the king's sons flee to neighboring countries. After this, Macbeth is crowned king, and fate has been fulfilled. This brings the question of whether or not fate was actually responsible for the outcome. It appears that without Macbeth's intervention, it would not have been possible for him to become king. It also appears, however, that without the establishment of Macbeth's fate, none of these events would have occurred either. In this way, Shakespeare leaves the interpretation of the story to the reader, further continuing a debate that has been waged for thousands of years.

Is this a PARTicipation Grade?

Walking through the various exhibitions at CAM Raleigh was an interesting experience, especially since it overlapped conveniently with our Art as an Area of Knowledge unit in TOK. Overall, I was surprised by the variety and depth of the artwork presented. There wasn't a single piece in the museum whose meaning I was able to discern immediately.

VISUAL ANALYSIS

Stacey L. Kirby: PARTicipate

PARTicipate is an interactive exhibition that was envisioned and created by Stacey L. Kirby. It was open from September 5th Through October 26th. It consisted two ongoing works, The Declaration Project and VALIDnation. It was set in an office space designated as a part of the Bureau of Personal Belonging.

The exhibition had a unique style. Kirby created a dry and seemingly insignificant office space (with reference to the interior style of the typical late 20th century work space) as the setting for an influential, soul searching activity. As viewers entered the exhibition, they were prompted to carry out activities through monotone instructional pamphlets, reminiscent of a government process such as voting for a government position. This style of presentation allowed viewers to focus on the task that Kirby aimed for them to accomplish, which involved putting into words they way they felt about certain controversial subjects.

The concept/idea of the presentation, as mentioned above, was to have viewers put into words the way they feel about certain controversial subjects. This was accomplished through the use of official-looking pamphlets onto which viewers would write their feelings and then proceed to deposit them anonymously in a collection box. This prompted the viewers to dig deep into their own ideals and beliefs and to organize their thoughts on a variety of subjects.

PARTicipate was a very interesting concept which, when put into practice, accomplished its goal very well. As viewers received their "ballots" it was evident upon many of their faces that the questions being asked on the papers that they held were not simple. It is often incredibly difficult to put into words exactly how we feel about controversial subjects, and PARTicipate gave us the opportunity to sit down and focus in order to sort out where we stand.