Fate or Free Will?

 Do you believe events in your life have been guided by fate or chance? Why or why not? Based on the text, what do you think Shakespeare's attitude was towards fate? Does Macbeth have any choice in his actions or was everything predetermined? Use examples from the text as your support.

No, there is no such thing as fate. The theory of fate would suggest that every human being is living a scripted life that we cannot change. That notion is not correct or logical. As humans, we all have free will and full ability to control our lives as well as the lives of others. God has given us brains that help us work through our own problems that may arise along the way. Many people who believe in fate base it off of coincidences that they have encounter. They say that these are so large, that they could not merely be coincidences; however, when we are alive for such a long time, we are bound to encounter coincidences based on pure chance and nothing more. With fate, there is no purpose to live. If anything (or everything) is predetermined in life, what's the point of living? Life is a chaotic journey in uncharted lands were everyone experiences it differently, that's what makes it worth doing, it's something personal and intimate.

Shakespeare would probably not believe fate guided the actions of Macbeth. There is no clear evidence in the play that fate decided that Macbeth was going to become a murderer and a traitor. They were all based on his own choices and actions. He was weak, of course, and his ability to carry out the murders of King Duncan and the others that followed were not necessarily started by the witches, but by Lady Macbeth herself. Although Macbeth is told he will become king, he is not told how to achieve the position of king: that much is up to him. We cannot blame him for becoming king (it is his Destiny), but we can blame him for the way in which he chooses to get there (by his own free will).