Khoa Pham Ms. Elkerton AP Lit and Comp - Block 3 17 May 2016 Metafiction and Free Will One of the most powerful gifts that all humans are born with is the gift of free will. When the veracity of free will is questioned, the nature of humanity itself is questioned. What defines free will is the knowledge and ability to choose between different options. The movie Stranger Than Fiction explores these ideas, using a metafictional narrative of the character Harold Crick's life to highlight the capability of free will. Stranger Than Fiction observes Harold Crick's life with lenses of metafiction to illustrate the thematic idea that free will is more powerful than any controlling factors of life. Through Harold Crick's metafictional story and
enlightenment, the power of his free will is shown to triumph over his seemingly predestined fate. Because Harold Crick hears his life narrated, he becomes a metafictional character that is allowed the possibility of free will. The story is originally written by Karen Eiffel with the notion that Crick has no idea he is going to die. Eiffel uses the phrase "little did he know" to express that Crick is unaware of his imminent death. If Crick's life had followed this storyline, uninformed about his death, Crick would not have been given the opportunity to express his free will in this situation. However, Crick hears the narrator's voice and is thus given free will with the option to embrace his death or reject it. Hearing a voice narrate his death also spurs Crick towards enlightenment and a newfound appreciation of life. Crick comes to realize that
Timshel; meaning “thou mayest”, holds a significant role in East of Eden. It shows that anyone can desire to surmount vile in their hearts and create morality within them self. In the novel, Steinbeck portrays the significance of timshel through the introduction of free will, the internal conflict of Caleb, and the blessing of Adam.
Humans are born into certain circumstances, genes, and an environment which shapes them (Cave). These factors also create natural biases which also influence them. However, “ there is a big difference between having less and none at all” (Nahmias). In the novel, the characters exercise their free will based limiting factors beyond their control. For example, Zeena and Mattie come and stay in Starkfield due to the gender roles at the time. They could not get jobs to support themselves, and therefore relied on living in the Frome household (Wharton). This demonstrates how limiting factors influence influence how people exercise their free
Monmaney, Terence. "Free will, or thought control?" Los Angeles Times 4 April 1997: A1. Web.
The concept of choice is one that humans have abused time and time again. While free will may seem like a positive, the storyteller often portrays what can go wrong when humans are making the decisions. The way in which these choices are made can happen in a variety of manners, but the fundamentals of free will are very similar from story to story. In “The Chameleon is Late” and “The Two Bundles”, free will results in death remaining on earth, but the decisions that led to this outcome were made in unique ways.
In summary, it is the moment after Harold’s apartment is unexpectedly demolished by the crane that makes Harold realize he is not in control of his own destiny. This particular incident causes Harold’s transformation into an individual with an attitude of living his life to the fullest by causing him to start actualizing his life dream of playing a guitar, to start pursuing Ana who is of different worlds than him using irrational methods, and finally to drop the apple symbolizing the completion of his transformation. In the movie Stranger than Fiction the author uses an unwilling turning point to start Harold’s transformation into someone with an attitude to live life to its fullest. Arts come from life. Were we to apply the message in this movie to real life, we can be benefited.
“Into The Wild” by John Krakauer is a non-fiction biographical novel which is based on the life of a young man, Christopher McCandless. Many readers view Christopher’s journey as an escape from his family and his old life. The setting of a book often has a significant impact on the story itself. The various settings in the book contribute to the main characters’ actions and to the theme as a whole. This can be proven by examining the impact the setting has on the theme of young manhood, the theme of survival and the theme of independent happiness.
Only you make the Choice to read this! In novel The Giver by Lois Lowry she explores many themes, but one theme in my opinion stands above the rest that is free will. With free will we can shape our futures.
In this essay I shall argue that Paul Rée is correct in saying that free will is just an illusion. Throughout the reading entitled “The Illusion of Free Will,” Rée makes numerous great points about how we believe we have free will but we really do not. He discusses how one’s childhood upbringing determines his actions for the rest of his life, which, as a result, diminishes his freedom of will. He brings about the major issues with the common thought that since you could have acted in a different way than you actually did, you have free will. Another main argument was the proof of the reality of the law of causality, which can also be referred to as determinism.
The human condition may contain the sense of great heights, achieving great dreams and great lives, but it also contains the hellish experience that many call the limit of man. No matter the intensity of the desire or pain, cowardice and selfishness will always creep down from its dark cave, ravaging at the man before the crossroad. As a result, more often than not, man will take the path of less resistance, aware but unaware of his weak spirit. Traveling down the road, the man will soon realize that he has lost something important: his free will. He weeps, but weeps of his weakness, his lack of strength to stand up to his desires, to fight his inner demons and cowardice, to seek the light he has always desired. He dreams shortly of what could have been, the cruelty of the double-edged sword called the human condition, then falls on his knees to become his own
In conclusion, life brings lessons into our lives that we chose to be victor or victim to. Detective Spooner has the free will to solve the murder of Doctor Lanning and bare arms against Sonny, the robot. V.I.K.I has the free will to program the robots to save the human race, making her fall victim to free will because she is using it incorrectly. Lastly, Doctor Calvin uses her free will to her extenet by saving Sonny from death. Overall, free will can cause people to do good things, but also destructive
Are our decisions subject to the inclinations of our past actions, as behaviorist would proclaim? Or do we have governance over our actions, or in other words, free will, as Humanists would argue? Furthermore, what is “right?” Is it to succumb to the societal and religious expectations of “good?” Or is it to act on one’s own intent? These are the questions that Alex from Stanley Kubrick’s Film adaptation of Burgess’ “A Clockwork Orange” and Hamlet from Shakespeare’s celebrated tragedy both struggle in answering as they
As the movie goes on we learn that these unsuspected souls were never supposed to evade death, as death approaches them one by one, until fate successfully completes its cycle. This essay explores many theories regarding free will and determinism. Philosophers beg the question, whether choices can be made in our lives, or whether every move we make and do, are destined to happen. This essay will analyse hard determinism, s...
Is it better to be a man choosing wrong than a man who is forced to choose right? In the classic novel, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, a theme emerges. This is the theme of free will. Through the main character, Alex, Burgess is able to convey his ideas about free will and the oppressive nature of establishments such as governments and the media.
Is a person’s life premediated or is it choices they make with free will that determines one’s destiny? Women’s choices throughout history, for the most part, have been controlled by the men in their lives. In the novel “Summer,” by Edith Wharton, Charity Royall’s life is dictated by forces beyond her control. She is a young girl of no more than sixteen years old with a world view no larger than the main street in her town. Charity’s lack of choices are determined by where Charity’s came from, her family circumstances, naïveté, and the time period. That ultimately lead to her unfortunate position at the end of the book.
Amidst a population composed of perfectly conditioned automatons, is a picture of a society that is slowly rotting from within. Alex, the Faustian protagonist of A Clockwork Orange, and a sadistic and depraved gang leader, preys on the weak and the innocent. Although perhaps misguided, his conscientiousness of his evil nature indicates his capacity to understand morality and deny its practice. When society attempts to force goodness upon Alex, he becomes the victim. Through his innovative style, manifested by both the use of original language and satirical structure, British author Anthony Burgess presents in his novella A Clockwork Orange, the moral triumph of free will within the controlling hands of a totalitarian society.