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Impact of religion in human society
Compare and contrast fate vs. free will
Impact of religion in human society
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The concept of fate in the lives of men and woman is something that has been around for as long as history has been recorded. However it feels like fate works better as a tool for writers through the ages, than as a way to know the true path of people’s lives. Religion is something that has been interwoven with fate, however the concept can be too easily manipulated in the world for it to tell the story of an entire life. In the end, the only thing that all men and women are fated to do is die, and even that is not determined until the day that it happens. In the two epics, Antigone and Beowulf, fate plays a major part in determining the events that happen to the two main roles of these stories, Antigone and Beowulf respectfully. They both go along with their actions, knowing that it is fate that has determined they must act in this manner, and that fate itself will determine whether they will succeed or fail. In both cases, even when they feel death will find them if they proceed on their current actions, they continue to move forward towards what they believe is their fated end. Overall these stories follow the fate of both Beowulf and Antigone, and their journey to the end. At the start of Antigone, the new king Creon has declared the law that while Antigone’s brother Eteocles will be buried with honor for his defense of Thebes, however the other brother, Polynices will be left to rot in the field of battle for helping lead the siege of the city. Antigone discusses with her sister Ismene that she shall go and pay respects to her now dead brother, and give him the burial that she feels that he deserves. Her sister tries to persuade her otherwise, but Antigone claims she is going to follow her determined fate, not the law of ... ... middle of paper ... ... in check. For example, during the Crusades, priests of the church claimed that if you were willing to serve in God’s army and slay Muslims in the Holy Land, you would guarteen you and your family’s way to heaven, possible changing your fate and God’s will for you. How is it that men can determine the will of a being, who’s purpose is to determine the fate of men in the first place. It’s a situation that places the concept of fate in a more negative, and less glorious light than the epics of our class. In the end however, fate has a way of getting involved with present people, and stories of a distant past. They can help tell great stories of people who performed great deeds as part of their fated life, however when it comes to the world we truly live in, perhaps something that tells a good story isn’t always the best way to have one’s entire future determined.
Fate plays a significant role in the Old English epic poem Beowulf and William Shakespeare's play Macbeth.. The major events of the poem, such as the three killings by Beowulf and his own death, are said to have been predestined. In Macbeth, fate is so significant that it is personified by the Weird Sisters, who drive the action of the play. But if predestination exists, then there must be an agent that determines destiny. In Beowulf, God plays this role, and fate is generally accepted as God's will. In John Gardner's Grendel, a novel which serves as a commentary on the poem, fate is totally predetermined, and is the will of no being. By contrast, Macbeth's agents of fate are the Witches, who generally go against God's will.
The battle between fate and free will produces a lopsided victory by fate in Beowulf. A continuous reference is directed to fate by context as well as in elements of theme, plot, and character. The most prominent relation to fate is seen with Beowulf. From his early adventures as a warrior to his later rule as king, fate strongly influences Beowulf's beliefs and courage. He attributes the successful outcomes of his many fights and struggles to the reasons of fate. The lives and outcomes of Beowulf and his enemies are obvious examples of the Beowulf poet showing that God has the power to control everything, resulting in predetermined fate. "Fate goes ever as fate must."(Line 455)*
Othello and Antigone are both tragic heroes. They do great deeds and have great power or strength. For example, Othello defeats Venice's enemies. Antigone makes sure that a Theban right is a Theban due. But fatal character flaws destroy the lives of the two heroes. Both of them suffer from pride and uncontrolled passion. Othello is so proud of his integrity and courage that he doesn't recognize his violent temper and his manipulability by Iago. Antigone is so proud of her commitment to the true, the right, the proper, and the correct that she doesn't respect differing, less passionate opinions. Antigone tragic specific representation in the law between the country and God, while Othello tragic is reflected in Othello’s character defect.
In the end God ultimately decides ones fate, but one can influence His choice throughout their life. The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, as well as the books The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, Divine Comedy by Dante, and Oresteia by Aeschylus all talk about justice and fate. These stories show how even though God will decide what happens to someone at the end, the actions one does is how God bases his decision. One’s fate is determined based on what God and the law think is just. Human beings have free will and know what is right and wrong. Depending on what ones actions are they will have a good or a bad fate. Changing your ways to better fulfill Gods will is something that humans can do at any time. While it is true that God will determine what happens to people and what their final fate is, human beings do have control over their fate.
Some people may not believe that fate truthfully exist in the world. Part of the population doubts that there are things that is meant or supposed to happen thinking that they will always have a way to get around troubling predication, knowing that thing won’t just turn out that one certain way. They are certain of whatever happens in their life is due to the decision they made from their free will. Others, though, believe their life is an inevitable and all events that happen is predestined and planed out for them like a map of life. Or what Shakespeare calls fate. In Shakespeare’s play, fate plays a role like an exceptional crucial force in Romeo and Juliet. Fate leads the two young lovers to come across each other. The moment Juliet and
Family should come first and always stay loyal to them. Starting off with scene I, Creon finds out that someone has buried Polyneices when his law strictly forbids it. “Someone has given it burial that way, and gone…” (199). The readers know Antigone decided to yield to the law of the land and do what is right by her. Antigone tells Ismene, “I will bury him; and if I must die, I say the crime is holy” (192). She will do whatever it takes for her brother to rest in peace, even if that means death because Polyneices deserves as much honor as Eteocles, no matter the law.
Antigone was dejected with Creon’s ruling and decided to bury Polynices herself. She tried to enlist Ismene to help her, but Ismene was to afraid. Antigone furiously continued with the plan on her own. A sentry discovered Antigone and brought her to Creon. Ismene was also brought to Creon and confessed that she had helped Antigone with the burial rites of Polynices. Antigone stopped Ismene and told her not to admit to an act that she had not committed. Antigone took sole responsibility for the burial and claimed that Creon had no right to forbid the burial of Polynices. Ismene pleaded with Creon to spare Antigone’s life for the sake of Haemon, Creon’s son.
In Antigone, death is a central theme that is consistently present throughout the entire play. In this particular passage, the chorus proclaims that man’s access to resources will allow him to continue to exist; however, as long as man exists, so will death – a fate that no amount of resources can help anyone escape. In this essay, I will explore the correlation and significance of this passage, and more specifically, the correlation and relation to death, with particular characters of the play. These particular characters each have a different relation and perspective of death, however, as the story progresses, I will discuss why their relation, perspective and the way that which they acknowledge death itself evolves and changes so drastically.
In this class one key point kept coming up in the readings for me, and that was fate. Fate is an idea that nothing you do will change your final out come in life. Are we able to truly have free will in the way we live and die? Or is it fate and our life’s outcome is out of our control? Is the characters desire to go against fate what truly lead them to this path? In the readings I was never able to say either way but I lean in favor of fate. My three examples of this are the charters Loki, Odin and Oedipus. These three are said to have been fated on how they live, die and even kill in a way that is predestined.
...that fate. Events that lead to other events will eventually lead one to their fate. “Oedipus the King” is a great play that sets an example of what fate is. Oedipus chooses to flee from home, in attempt to avoid the god’s statement of his fate from coming true. However, Oedipus’s decision for fleeing is what was necessary to make his fate come true. Undoubtedly, this is what was meant to happen because Oedipus allowed it to. Perhaps if Oedipus ignored the god and never did a thing then perhaps the outcome could have been different for Oedipus. However it did not turn out that way and the choices that Oedipus made is what led him to his doom.
She reasons that Polyneices is her brother, and that her duty to bury Polyneices is more important than following the law. Antigone explains to Ismene: “Ismene, I am going to bury him. Will you come? / Bury him! You have just said the new law forbids it. / He is my brother. And he is your brother, too” (31-33, 287). Antigone argues that although burying Polyneices is a crime per Kreon’s law, it is still both her and Ismene’s right to bury him. In my opinion, although it may be a custom to bury a dead family member, Antigone’s actions are not justified. I think that by refusing to obey the law, Antigone is being selfish and only caring about what she thinks is right. Antigone does not consider the possible consequences, not only for herself, but also for Thebes. If it is acceptable to disobey one law, then there is no reason for anyone to also obey other laws. Disobeying the law, regardless of the reason, is immoral because it overlooks the negative effect on other laws and
In Sophocles' Greek tragedy, Antigone, two characters undergo character changes. During the play the audience sees these two characters' attitudes change from close-minded to open-minded. It is their close-minded, stubborn attitudes, which lead to their decline in the play, and ultimately to a series of deaths. In the beginning Antigone is a close minded character who later becomes open minded. After the death of her brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, Creon becomes the ruler of Thebes. He decides that Eteocles will receive a funeral with military honors because he fought for his country. However, Polyneices, who broke his exile to " spill the blood of his father and sell his own people into slavery", will have no burial. Antigone disagrees with Creon's unjust actions and says, " Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way." She vows to bury her brother so that his soul may gain the peace of the underworld. Antigone is torn between the law placed against burying her brother and her own thoughts of doing what she feels should be done for her family. Her intent is simply to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial so that she will follow "the laws of the gods." Antigone knows that she is in danger of being killed for her actions and she says, "I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me." Her own laws, or morals, drive her to break Creon's law placed against Polyneices burial. Even after she realizes that she will have to bury Polyneices without the help of her sister, Ismene, she says: Go away, Ismene: I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too, For your words are hateful. Leave me my foolish plan: I am not afraid of the danger; if it means death, It will not be the worst of deaths-death without honor. Here Ismene is trying to reason with Antigone by saying that she cannot disobey the law because of the consequences. Antigone is close-minded when she immediately tells her to go away and refuses to listen to her. Later in the play, Antigone is sorrowful for her actions and the consequences yet she is not regretful for her crime. She says her crime is just, yet she does regret being forced to commit it.
Antigone’s firm belief that her brother Polyneices should have a proper burial is established by her conviction in that the law of the gods is above all else. This law proclaims that all men be mourned and honored by family and friends through means of a suitable burial. Antigone’s need to put honor upon Polyneices’ soul is so grand that she ignores the advice of everyone around her, including her sister Ismene, who tries to pull her away from performing this criminal act because it will disobey the law set by King Creon, and lead to her demise. However, Antigone does not care about the repercussions because even though “[s...
In the play Creon goes against the Gods by making it illegal to bury Polyneices, Antigone’s brother because he is deemed a traitor. The burying of a dead body is seen as a necessity by all of Greece as it is an unspoken law of the Gods. Antigone goes to bury her brother so his afterlife will be better. She does it in spite of the law that Creon has made. “It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands” (192) She tries to explain to her sister, Ismene, that they must bury Polyneices, but even that close relationship has trouble because of the law. Ismene is unwilling to suffer the consequences of the law, to save her brother’s soul “Forgive me but I am helpless: I must yield to those in authority” (192) Even the two sisters who have just lost both of their brothers have different views on the matter. One will not stray from the law and what is deemed right by their king, while the other will accept any punishment, even death just to do what she believes is right.
Webster defines fate as a “ a power thought to control all events and impossible to resist” “a persons destiny.” This would imply that fate has an over whelming power over the mind. This thing called fate is able to control a person and that person has no ability to change it.