Own Destiny Essays

  • Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    golden carp, a pagan god of the river. Rudolfo Anaya is indicating that each man must choose his own religion and destiny, by depicting the changes Tony feels after the deaths of Lupito, Narciso and Florence. Beforehand, Tony never questioned his faith but as each person died Tony turned farther and farther away from Catholicism and eventually even away from the pagan religion. Tony questioned his destiny and effectiveness as a priest, had doubts of the Catholic God and eventually of everything he had

  • Destiny in Madame Bovary

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Destiny in Madame Bovary Destiny: the seemingly inevitable succession of events.1 Is this definition true, or do we, as people in real life or characters in novels, control our own destiny? Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary exemplifies how we hold destiny in our own hands, molding it with the actions we take and the choices we make. Flaubert uses Emma Bovary, the main character of his novel, to demonstrate this. Throughout her life, Emma makes many decisions, each one of

  • Existentialism in Night

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Existentialism”, Jean Paul Sartre discusses the main beliefs of existentialism. Perhaps the most important belief of existentialism is that there is no human nature, and there is no God. This means that each individual man has control of his own destiny. The definition of each individual man is the sum of his life and all he has accomplished in his life. He is also responsible for all the choices and actions he makes in his life. These types of choices and actions can be seen in the book “Night”

  • Ishmael

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    such a book in Ishmael, a collection of new ideas about man, his evolution, and the “destiny” that keeps him captive. When I began reading Ishmael I was amazed by the ideas offered by Quinn. Like in Rambo and the Dalai Lama by Gordon Fellman I was looking at the world not as it must be but as it could be. I was very suprised and excited, that as a member of “generation X” that tries so hard to create their own destiny, that I had never perceived or questioned “Mother Culture”. In the first one hundred

  • Pride, the Tragic Flaw of Oedipus the King

    513 Words  | 2 Pages

    pridefull when he leaves his adopted parents in Corinth. Oedipus leaves after he is told about his destiny from an old prophet. The prophet tells Oedipus that he will one day kill his father and marry his mother. Fearing this, Oedipus decides to leave Cornith. In doing this he is going against the gods, he is saying that he is not going to let this happen to him and he is going to control his own destiny. The second example of when Oedipus is shown having a great deal of pride is when he goes against

  • Voltaire's Candide

    519 Words  | 2 Pages

    pokes at much of Europe and attacks simple human follies and frailties. Most of the characters are killed brutally or fiercely hurt for idiotic reasons. The overall message of "Candide" is that every human being has the power to carve out their own destiny. And that each individual is not subject to God's grand plan, or the idea of predestination. Voltaire made his idea of God and divine right clear in Candide. He did not believe that the world was picked from the cosmos and that it was not "the best

  • Hidden Meaning in Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate

    6892 Words  | 14 Pages

    that Esquivel uses are opened throughout the novel in a variety of ways. Tita is constantly struggling against her mother, tradition and inevitably her own destiny. Along the way many aspects of her trials are revealed in her cooking. Eventually, Tita is able to free herself from the emotional chains that her mother has bound her. In the end her destiny is revealed, which in return sets her free from her struggles. Esquivel begins each chapter of the novel with a different recipe. The various recipe

  • Forrest Gump

    2461 Words  | 5 Pages

    Forrest challenges the conformities and principals that most people are accustomed to. The contrast that Robert Zemeckis, director of the film, is attempting to convey through the character of Forrest Gump is how most people are too smart for there own good; and thus, try to escape the realities and actualities of life. While other characters in the story are suppressed by society’s conflicts, Forrest remains blinded to all; hence, he is able to live in the moment, rather than evading what is real

  • Lady Macduff as a Foil for Lady Macbeth

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    traits directly contrast those of the major character. This literary device is called a foil. One example of this exists in the play Romeo and Juliet, in which Mercutrio foils Romeo’s character with his disdain for love and belief in man making his own destiny. Another example of foil exists in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. The character of Lady Macduff foils Lady Macbeth in her lack ambition, her genuine love of family life and her devotion to her husband. Although one only gets a brief glimpse

  • Oedipus The King

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oedipus The King; Did the prophecy cause his destiny? Undoubtedly there has been a tremendous amount of speculation and dissection of this play by countless people throughout the ages. I can only draw my own conclusions as to what Sophocles intended the meaning of his play to be. The drama included a number of horrific and unthinkable moral and ethical dilemas, but I believe that was what made the play so interesting and that is exactly the way Sophocles intended it to be. The play was obviously

  • Sartre's Theories and Sylvia Plath's Poem Lady Lazarus

    1748 Words  | 4 Pages

    aesthetic impression to evaluate the efficacy of Sartre's theories as they apply toward evaluating and understanding art. If you have not read the poem in question, I suggest you go here to check it out before reading this essay. "We write our own destiny -- we become what we do." -- Madame Chiang Kai-Shek When a reader experiences Sylvia Plath, immediately he is aware that he has never read anything like it. Other poets may have similar styles, treat on similar themes -- they may even have worked

  • Anne Moody and the Black Panthers

    2249 Words  | 5 Pages

    beaten, raped, murdered, and denied their opportunity to prosper in the land of plenty: America. The Black Panthers’ assertive mindset was aimed to exemplify the injustices of a prejudiced society that denied Blacks the power to determine their own destiny. At a young age, Anne realizes that there is something that gives Whites privilege over Blacks. She thinks that there is a secret to why Blacks always have to watch a movie from the balcony while Whites watch from the floor. Both Anne Moody and

  • I Am an Existentialist

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    to structure and guide their lives based on their own inner moral principles. I think that the inability to cope with inherent absence of meaning points to a dependence on the guidance of a higher power: in effect, a reluctance to take responsibility for oneself. I see existentialism as an incredibly liberating philosophy. No longer are we bound to say "Hail Mary" to save our souls as in the fourteenth century, for we can each guide our own destiny in a way not possible under many previous western

  • Psychoanalysis of Caesar and Cassius

    545 Words  | 2 Pages

    and in such a way that is in acquiescence with other theories of relating with failure and its tendency in humans. Cassius’s non-belief in fate changes when nearing his death. During the beginning of the play, he felt that he was in charge of his own destiny, “Men at some times are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves...”(I.ii.146-147). This belief, came from Epicureanism which Cassisus was a follower of, “You know that I held Epicurus strong and his

  • Shakespeare's As You Like It - The Philosophy of Jaques

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    beyond the players` control; that a script for the play has already been written by an exterior force. But there is a sense of contradiction in all this; the stages Jaques outlines for us (presented to his audience as universal) do not account for his own role. Since this is the case we must either presume that Jacques is somehow exceptional or that the roles are not as fixed as people imagine. One can always argue that Jaques is an outcast of some sort. On the other hand, the Duke Senior is eager to

  • comparing knowledge and thinking

    1193 Words  | 3 Pages

    two people can possibly be the same, that no two people can ever think the same exact thoughts or feel precisely the same emotions. Every person will have his or her own personal ideas about a particular object, place, or subject. For instance, in my life, I have to think a lot to deal with reality. I have to control my own destiny. It is very important for me to realize that I control my life with my mind. I can only do what I think I can do, and only become what I think I can become. I must use

  • Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    Victory with habit 4, 5, and 6 relating to Public Victories and Habit 7 being involved with Renewal. Habit one is to be proactive. This habit says that as human beings we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We create our own destiny. The proactive person acts rather than waiting to be acted upon. According to Covey, part of increasing our self-awareness is understanding our Circle of Concern, that is, our range of concern with

  • Analytical Essay On Satanism

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    time to find the facts and understand them. I'll start off by saying that Satanists do not worship the devil! A Satanist believe that he or she as an individual rule their own destiny and are the god of their

  • Comparing Success in Horatio Alger's Ragged Dick and the Life of Colin Powell

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    American Dream, success means money and fame. In other societies, success might have different meanings. Some people said money and fame is the true meaning of success, but I think that the true meaning of success is to follow the interest of your own and being good at it, but not money and fame. Overemphasizing on these two factors can only lead to negative effects. Therefore I think the definition of success in capitalistic countries should not be focused on money and fame, because it restricts

  • Confucianism

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    organized church or structure, no priests, no sects, and no creed for any follow. There is no worshipping or personal relationship with god but did recognize heaven as a force of human concern. Confucius did believe that men should direct their own destiny. Confucius taught that harmony begins in the family, which was a minuet of society. In which the man of...