Wait...Can you Wash Away the Blood on your Hands if it's Fated to be There?

3. 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.

I believe that the events in my life have been guided by chance. I think that most events are the result of "cause and effect." If one event happens, then there will be a result to said event. Nothing is set in stone and everything is guided by the choices you make in life. For example, if I believe that it is fate that I'll get into Harvard, but I don't apply myself and I don't meet the requirements, then there is no way that I'll make it. Fate is merely an ideal that we set in order to make sense of our chaotic world. Especially in our society, we tend to use fate as an excuse quite often. Everything may happen for a reason, but that reason is not based upon fate, but upon your previous actions.

I think Shakespeare's attitude was that fate isn't real but people believe in it so much that they feel that they have to make their "fate" come true and speed up/slow down the process. I believe that Macbeth definitely had choices in this situation; especially over whether or not to murder anyone.

"He’s here in double trust:

First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,

Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,

Who should against his murderer shut the door,

Not bear the knife myself. " (Act 1, Scene 7, page 21, Shakespeare, lines 12-16).

Macbeth did not initially want to kill Duncan, but he was greatly influenced by the power of persuasion, (who can blame him?) and therefore made decisions based on the opinions of his wife and not necessarily his own. In my perspective, this is not what fate is defined as; fate just happens and has no outside forces that are able to reckon with it because in the end it will happen. If he had not killed Duncan, I would go as far as to say that he would have still became King of Cawdor, and my idea of Shakespeare's attitude towards fate would be altered. One may argue, though, that since Macbeth still became king that it was truly fate. But because he tampered with the process it became less of an act of "fate" and more of an act of "choice." 

Once his "fate" was fulfilled and Macbeth was king he did not stop there; he continued to choose to protect his fate by killing Banquo and Banquo's son Fleance. If it was truly fate, then why did he feel the need to protect it?

"They hail'd him father to a line of kings:

Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,

And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,

Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand,

No son of mine succeeding." (Act 3, Scene 1, Shakespeare, 65-69).

Macbeth's drive to remain king was based initially on the prophecy given by the weird sisters and influenced by his wife, and continued by his power-hungry ego. The prophecy given was the idea of fate and that idea led to choices of evil in order to fulfil the prophecy. Everything starts with a choice.

The "Earth" without "Art" is just "Eh"

My Drawing:

Sorry, I couldn't flip it to landscape!

Introduction

Artist: Agustina Woodgate

Title: The Times Atlas of the World (Book)

Date: 2012

Medium: Sanded World Atlas

Size: 515 pages; Large book

Stylistic period/culture/context

When: 2012

Where: Argentina

Subject/Iconography

A World Atlas with borders sanded out is represented in this work; the idea/concept is that even though we as humans tend to create borders and separate ourselves from one another, in the grand scheme of things, the world does not actually have real lines that define "borders." Borders are just concepts formulated by humans that allow us to "own" land and "property."

Style/technique

The artist used sandpaper in order to "scrub" away the borders in between states and countries. The art is arranged as is; there is nothing else to draw your attention other than the art itself. As you flip through the pages you can feel the smooth texture of the paper in comparison to the other parts of the paper that weren't sanded down; paper itself seems smooth until you compare it with something softer and easier to tear. This, in and of itself, may be a metaphor of how the world was softer and gentler before borders - before it became rough and harsh. But, we can't tell it's rough and harsh because we haven't experienced it when it was smooth and gentle.

Significance/function/purpose

The purpose of this piece is to show how the world would look if there were no borders. When drawing this picture, I realised how vast our world is; it tends to get lost in the all the sections and bordering. Drawing blobs of land made me feel more connected to the other blobs of land in the world (oops, we can't have that, now can we? We might start thinking of people in third world countries as our equals). I never left the state of North Carolina until I was about 10 years old. When I was younger, I never doubted that if I did cross a border into, say, Virginia, there would be a big bold line right where the border was. To my disappointment, there was merely a sign that read, "Welcome to Virginia!" and that was all. I believe that at a young age we are taught that there are borders not only between states and countries ideologically, but mental borders, as well, between each other. There are borders between races, gender, and sexual orientation; if one tries to cross such borders or speak to someone outside of their border, then there are rules and regulations in place, just as there are rules and regulations that I must follow if I cross the border from America to Canada. And, just because I might be ignorant to the laws in place, that doesn't give me a free pass; I will be punished just the same for whatever actions of which I partake. The main idea is that we as humans feel the need to set up these completely platonic borders in order to ensure that everyone has a place and to ensure that everyone stays in their place. The value of this piece of art in today's society is that it is a metaphor of the borders between different "classes" of people as well as showing that borders can easily be scrubbed away over time.