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.
I think this is an interesting perspective to take on Macbeth's actions. Because you don't beleive in fate, if you were in Macbeth's situation what would you have done? Or if you were to put this example into your real life and someone proposed a fate on to yourself. For example, a credible person says your fate is to be excommunicated from the united states. Would you conciously take steps to avoid this fate from coming true or continue to live your life the same way you have been?
ReplyDeleteI also wonder about what Grayson posed above- just like the guy in the clip said: once we read our horoscope, we are 'tempted' to act on it, or we at least expect it.
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