Welcome to our class blog, Freshmen!
Please continue our discussion from class today by replying to this post. You may consider the story of Troy in your response, or move on to the article we read in groups.
1) What role do gods or God play in the lives of humans?
2) What are your thoughts on the free will vs. fate debate?
Remember to be respectful and thoughtful in your responses. I'm looking forward to continuing our conversation from class. Don't forget to reply to your peers, as well. Happy weekend!
Mrs. Davis
I do believe in fate. I believe that there is a plan laid out for you. However, I do believe in free will to a degree. While I think that there is a plan laid out for you, I think that every now and then you are presented with a situation where you have to choose. Maybe you were meant to get this opportunity, but how you choose to react to it is your choice.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in Troy, I believe that the Gods pretty much control everything, except in Marpessa's case. Terrell brought up a good point saying that Marpessa agonized over the choice of going to the ruins with Alastor or not. Therefore, the citizens (Or select citizens) have free will, but to cut to the chase, to me it seems more like the Gods control the citizens more than the citizens control themselves.
I do not believe that God or any gods play a role in our lives. We may do whatever we wish without being controlled or manipulated into doing so. Our life is what and how we do with it. Humans have the choice to go against what gods or God wishes. With that being stated, I am not saying that other people's beliefs are wrong, I respect everyone's choices, but if there was a God or gods, we would still be able to do what we wanted on our own.
ReplyDelete"Fate" is a widely used and controversial term. Fate is when you are destined for something or someone. I personally do not believe in fate, as we may change our lives in a snap of a finger. Fate is, in my opinion, an excuse for people to do something that they should not be doing, such as (again, I respect each religion with my highest respect equally) the suicide bombers in the Middle-East. They believe it is their fate to go down with others. Their fate is associated with their religious beliefs. "Fate" is an ideal, it is used to give people something to believe in.
I think that the gods in Troy controlled the fate of the people giving them fake choices. Like David said in class, they give the illusion of free will.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there is no fate, but i do believe that there is a god. What we do on earth will reflect on us at later events and in the afterlife. We do have free will to do watever we want; whether that is something simple as drivin a car or a choice that can change your perception and life such as the amish lifestyle. I do believe in Jesus Christ and Lord Almighty; but i do not believe that he controls your future. I do believe that if you let him; he can do wonders in your life and others and to spread his word. There is choice though, you can chose to accept him or not. I think that fate/karma/destiny is just a term used for people who want to do something in thier life but do not want to make the choice to do so. Also i agree with what Shadowvenom97 thinks about the terms. God does play a role in everyday life. If you look around so many people are influenced by god. Because we have a god, we try to live by his word and use his word to help decide what is right and what is wrong. Even if you do not believe in god; you still see him in other people ( those "super religous christi that you MAY get offended by, annoyed by, or just disagree with them in general). So free will is here and open to us all but with it comes consequences and rewards. what we shall reap what we sow whether now or later.
ReplyDeleteI agree with alot of what was said in class. how the gods have the upper hand, is true in my opinion. if you think about it, it can be related to an essay or term paper. The mortals of Troy may write the first draft, but there is someone who edits and revises it. Even though we may sometimes not agree with the editng, we end up goin with it anyways. Also a dry erase crayons (that Mrs. Fleener has) but you can barely erase it with your hands and someone has the only eraser. What im tryin to say is that they may do something, but the gods are always there to erase it and make it into what they want.
I believe that we, as humans, can determine and alter our own fates. But say you are in a different situation, fate may be very uncertain to change. You control your fate, and I agree with "Shadowvenom97" that we do because you have that choice. In Troy, however, The Gods have almost complete control over MAJOR events. Yeah maybe someone might of been killed, but in this story, it was THEIR fate.
ReplyDeleteAbout the "free-will vs. fate" debate in class, I think that you control your own destiny, and you can somewhat alter others.
*THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW!*
I believe that fate does exist. I believe that we have place on this world for a reason. We we're meant to be something such as a doctor or engineer. Also we're meant to be with someone or our family that we were born into. Also we are meant to be rich or poor, but it all depends on what our god or gods has planned out for us. If we weren't meant to be here then we wouldn't be here simple as that. I also believe that we have free will, but not a whole bunch because if we did this world would be so messed up. We probably have free will over the smaller thing such as what we should dress like or eat, but even that could be planned out for all we know.
ReplyDeleteWith Troy, it pretty much the same thing. What Kylie said about the gods controlling everyone except for Marpessa since see can see the gods. Also with what Terrell said about Marpessa having the choice of going to the ruins and sneaking around with Alastor. She had the free will to go or not to but she went anyway. All those things probably happen for a reason because of the gods. I agree with what Kylie said about the citizens (or some of them) having free will, but do they really know that they have that free will? I also think that gods have more control over the people then the people have over themselves.
I don't really believe that fate or any kind of higher power exists, but I don't really believe that they don't. I haven't really thought much about religious/spiritual stuff, so I don't have a lot to say about it, but in the story of Troy, it was very apparent that the gods existed and that they had laid out a plan for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI think that in the story the gods can control what happens to the people, but they can atleast control the way they respond.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the gods had control over the events that occurred in Troy; however, the characters had control over how they chose to respond to the situations. For example going back to what Ashtan said in class (3rd period) Marpessa didn't have to sleep with Alastor, she made that choice based on how Aphrodite was influencing her feelings.
ReplyDeleteIn the passage that we read today...The idea that humans do have their own free will, even though everything is fated seems the most accurate to me. The passage relates back to what I said about Troy...The gods had control, but the humans still had free will. Another example is, on page 24-26, when Paris makes the hasty decision to give the apple to Aphrodite, he thought he had chosen to quickly, and Aphrodite points out the fact that it is already to late, your fate and the fate of your city is sealed.
i beleive that we have a fate laid out. it
ReplyDeleteis our destiny, but it's the way we react to everything made it. i also beleive that we can change it. i agree with becca xD said. people can control part of their own fate but their is also a lay out of their destinies as well. metaphor: your destiny is a blanket. it has an ugly design and you don't like it. you can change the design and try to make look nicer. sometime it looks better, sometimes you just made the design worse. someone made it, you can change it. - Heaven Cabrejos
I personally do not believe in fate. I believe that each person has their own choice and even though those decisions may be influenced by others or the thought of God people still have the will power to choose whether or not to carry out their actions.
ReplyDeleteIn the book of Troy I believe that there are such things as both fate and free will at the same time. The gods confront the Trojans and the Greeks one to one and tell them things and influence their lives but the people have the free will to decide whether or not to listen to what the gods have said. On the other hand the gods have the upper hand because if the people decide not to listen to the gods the gods can smite them in some sort of way so the people are almost forced to do something but they still have a choice.
(I don't really know if I am allowed to post twice, so if I'm not, sorry.)
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to add that I don't believe in an entire plan laid out for you, with you having no free will whatsoever. I think it's depressing to think that you have no control over your actions and that you can't do what you want, and if that's the case, what's the point? I thought of a way to compare fate/free will, and to me, fate is like an outline. You have a basic idea, and you can choose to improve on that idea or revert to something simpler.
I think the gods play a small part, but it is up to mere mortals to react and even build on what the gods have presented in front of the humans. I also think that the humans are able to decide what the outcome is even if they don't start the snowball.
ReplyDelete@Kylie: I want for you to post more than once! Respond to your peers, add to your own thoughts, etc. Remember the blog is for "conversation," not just for "doing homework." Keep up the good work, my dear!
ReplyDelete@All Freshmen: Great thoughts so far! Keep the conversation going.
I'm still up, so i decided to post some more. As I was looking over the newer posts, i found some interesting points that were brought up. One of things that i saw that supported my opinion that our fate is decided was what Becca posted about Paris choosing Aphrodite and how she told him that its too late and that he pretty much sealed the fate Troy.
ReplyDeleteAlso this is kinda random, but i like how my fellow peers were referring to fate or destiny as an outline or a blanket design. I think those are just really awesome metaphors!!! Good night! :)
I don't think it's possible to say that fate exists but is changeable. If you are able to change this so-called "fate," do you not have complete free will? Does this not make fate an arbitrary factor?
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that people are fated or destined for anything in their lives. I am an atheist, and I look at the world with a materialistic and scientific point of view.
As I look upon the newer replies,I notice that a lot of people say they believe in fate but they also believe they can change it. Those statements confuse me because wouldn't that go against the whole purpose of fate/destiny. I have researched the definition of those two words and fate's definition is: something that happens unavoidably. Destiny's definition is: The predetermined course of events. My question that started my confusion is: How can you avoid something that is unavoidable? How can you change that?
ReplyDeleteI do not believe in fate or destiny. That theory just acts as a comfort for those who have made bad decisions. We have free will and nothing is predestined. I ask all of you if your decisions have ever felt as if they were guided by some one?
ReplyDeleteAs for the story of Troy, the gods do control the people of the story. They even state that he war was under their control at one point.
However my personal belief is that all religions and there figures are one and have been interpreted in many different ways over the centuries.
I will ask everyone: If there is a path laid out for everyone, then is it right that good people die or get pushed out onto the streets everyday because they were always meant to?
@Taylor Bew: The answer is simple: improvise.
I also wanted to know if it seems like the world somtimes molds around your decisions and what you learn sometimes?
ReplyDeleteFrom both a secular and religious point of view, I do not believe in fate. From a secular point of view, you are able to decide everything you do because your brain processes information that it has gathered from the world around you. I am a Catholic, and my religion stresses the fact of being able to make your own decisions in life, and that decides your fate
ReplyDelete@David
ReplyDeleteYou said that you can "change" the fate. How can you change it if you don't know what it is supposed to be?
@G.C.1- In the world we live in nothing is right. No, the world does not revolve around our decisions. We are more of a product of our enviorment than the world is a product of us. We learn based on what would be helpful in our lives and the knowledge gives us an array of oppurtunities and lifestyles to choose from.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Chris on the matter of fate, we do have free will but what we do does aid to what happens to us etc etc.
@G.C.1- improvise what exactly?
Fate is an excuse to not learn anything or to not do your best. an excuse for people to be ignorant and continue it, only to cause problems and prejudice. people use fate as a way to continue on what they know is wrong. " Well my fate obviously is to join the KKK and kill the people i dislike". If fate existed then look at it, the world will be chaotic. only because it is such a perfect excuse to give to the ignorant.
@Tayler Bew: I found the article that we read in class online and one line that stood out to me was, "People are so determined to find a one dimensional and digestible answer but the difference lies in perception." Sure, I would like to have an excuse for when I do something wrong, but I don't believe fate is that excuse. If I know I have to use fate as an excuse because I did something wrong, that shows that I KNOW I did something wrong, and therefore I shouldn't be blaming fate.
ReplyDeleteAnother line that stood out to me was, "I live my life as if I have free will but I understand that events arrive to me often without me having any say in them. All I can do is choose how to respond to them." That is what I believe. I will always wholeheartedly believe in fate and free will almost like they are working together. I don't believe that I have to choose. I'm not saying that because I'm indecisive, I'm saying that because I honestly don't think I have to choose. Why can't it be a
mixture of both?
(And sorry if this was kind of rambly and didn't make a lot of sense.)
All the gods play a role with all the humans. They all do something with everyone in someway. I think the main one is Aphrodite because she plays with everyone's hearts like its a game.
ReplyDeleteI belive in fate. I mean free will plays apart with everything but so does fate. Fate is everything; its there with every move we make and just everything we do.
To Yui:
ReplyDeleteAre you agreeing with me? That's basically an extension on what I was saying.
To Everyone else:
A lot of people have said that fate and free will simultaneously occur. I think that if you're saying this, you're looking at the world from only your point of view.
Say that you're hungry. You're walking down the street, when a sandwich salesman approaches you. He introduces himself and says that since you are the thousandth person he has seen today, he will give you a free sandwich. You think, "Wow! I must have been fated for that free sandwich!"
It isn't that simple, though. Was it not on that salesman's free will that he walk down that street? Was it not based on his own response to seeing you that he gave you a sandwich? Was it not completely on his part that he did something you would call "fate"?
So far, everyone's been taking a personal point of view. I think I'll be the first to take a global one. I think what's happening is that many people here are mistaking the complex interaction of 7 billion people for something called "fate."
You see, in my worldview, there is no such thing as fate. What there is, however, is a looming social structure of 7 billion individuals acting their part in a worldwide play. In an act to justify their lack of control in the world, some people have taken to the idea that everything they can't control is in the power of some supernatural entity. In saying this, they are denying the part of the other 6,999,999,999 people who are shaping the world around them.
In short, saying that "I live my life as if I have free will but I understand that events arrive to me often without me having any say in them. All I can do is choose how to respond to them" isn't a philosophy justifying fate. It's how the world works.
I apologize for the double posting, but I believe I have an analogy that would better convey my point.
ReplyDeleteImagine a large set of pool balls bouncing back and forth on a friction-free pool table. Imagine that in given time, they will all fall into a pocket. Now, observing from the POV of just one ball, the event is amazing. You get ricocheted back and forth by others, seemingly out of control and random, yet you still end up in your goal: the corner pocket. And yet, when you step back, nothing remarkable is happening. What one ball sees as "fate" is just the end result of all the balls bouncing off of one another.
Like the balls, each human is not part of its own system. The entire Earth is a system of 7 billion billiards balls ricocheting their influence and actions off of one another to get to a seemingly remarkable goal.
I BELIEVE! that what josiah said was partially true, but everyone else has their own beliefs. Me personally i think that we have our fate predestined by the almighty (whoever you believe in, but you get to choose the way you go in your own fate. like the path. beginning seminar: Let's just say that i was predestined to become a manager of a Walmart, i would be able to go my path like make decisions until i reach that goal. Then i should be able to live the rest of my life as an accomplished manager. End seminar: that's my belief.
ReplyDeletesorry i forgot to talk about troy. gods controlled the big events (as said my others {looking at you Josiah}), but the humans had control over the little events such as achilles using hector's dead body as a dust sweeper(:D).
ReplyDeletejust saw kylie's blog and i believe in hers too. new name still sulli
ReplyDelete@David
ReplyDeleteSorry, I misunderstood it. After re-reading it and the analogy about the pool balls, I understand your point of view. Thank you.
@Taylor Bew
My dad and I had the same conversation about how people use fate as an excuse. I agree how some use that as an excuse, but I don't think that everyone does.
David that is just statistics and a sales gimic to make you buy more (to the sandwich) i like sandwiches though. sorry that this had nothing to do with the fate vs freewill
ReplyDelete@G.C.1: Isn't the point of this whole post is to discuss our opinions from our point of view? I may look at the world from my point of view because that's how people's opinions form, but I'm not so close minded I don't recognize other people's opinions. I know this is cheesy, but if everybody thought the same thing, this world would be extremely boring. When you commented that that saying wasn't a philosophy justifying fate, but just the way the world works, that's my philosophy justifying fate to ME. People who don't believe in fate aren't going to agree with that and people who do believe in fate may not agree with that.
ReplyDeleteI've had to many things happen in my "life" (I use that term loosely, as I'm only fourteen) that lead me to believe in fate AND free will. Once again, that is my opinion, and not everybody is going to believe that. Everybody leads a different life, so what they believe in is going to differ. That's just fact.
can you personal pm someone? again with the non related stuff, but some of you guys might be able to steer me in the right direction of this.
ReplyDeletei agree completely with you kylie. Everyone like i said as my name as "sulli" everyone has their own opinion to this matter.
ReplyDeletefor the second question you asked mrs davis i worte in my awesome purple daybook that god has an ultimate goal for you, but you have a choice on what path you take to get to it, unless you just fall on you butt and be a lazy bum. even if that happens, i believe that their are things called spirit guides. don't call me crazy, but i have seen my spirit guide. mine just happens to be a wolf don't make me feel crazy!!!!
ReplyDelete@Yui- everyone doesn't but what I was tryin to say is that if fate existed we would be in a lot of situations that's horrible and just stand there because it's our "fate". Free Will is what I believe exists. So many people subject themselves to the horrible environment they live in and make themselves a product of that. They believe it's their "fate" to be/do that because they were born in that environment. Some think because that is where they started, that there is where they are meant to stay. So many people with potential hold themselves back because of that idea of fate. Some break free and find that free will is theirs for the grabbing but what about those without that chance or those so stuck in Thierry ways. It ruins or robs them of innocence and life.
ReplyDeleteSorry for my misspellings I am posting using my iPod and it has autocorrect.
ReplyDelete@Duncan McCloud- please tell me there is some random new age religion to go along with your visions of animal spirit guides, if there is not then either A) I'm confused B) you make no sense or C) all of the above.
ReplyDelete@David- your second example makes no sense to me. Could you please reiterate that please?
ReplyDeleteSorry, my last post was directed to David Zhang not G.C.1. :P Fail on my part.
ReplyDelete@taylor bew- i can see what you getting at, but i was like 10 when i saw this the first time. and it's prolly "A". just as i have said numerous times in the past everyone believes differently, and some people can call their spirit guides as "guardian angles", but some people see them differently. Beginning Seminar: if you are a huge cat person, but you are straying from the path that god wanted you to follow he might send a guardian angel, and you might see a cat instead of an angel. It all depends on your faith and/ or favorite being. End Seminar: Now i have absolutely no clue why i saw a wolf when for the past 5 years my favorite animal was a fox. now i am going to say it again. you don't have to believe in what i am saying.
ReplyDeletei hope this helped you understand that everyone thinks differently.
ReplyDelete@Duncan - ok because I was confused for a while and lol
ReplyDeleteHoly cow! The number of comments has completely doubled since was on.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I contemplate is that there is a widely amount of opinions on fate and free will, but you can't necessarily prove it to its core, but you can relate to the Bible or whatever you may believe in. (I don't mean to offend anyone's religion if it might for no reason.) I don't want people intensively arguing with me. =P
that's twice i've written two things that have made no sense
ReplyDelete@Josiah-I know right! My views would come across so much easier and make more sense if I could use bible references; but I know that if I do, I'm going to insult someone for involving my religion in a school project assignment or insult someone in general for going deeper into my religion to get my point across. This is an awesome topic to use my bible but my one constraint is to not use my bible. It's really ironic for me.
ReplyDeleteI just failed again. Taylor, I realized I've been spelling your name wrong, I'm super sorry!
ReplyDelete@ Kylie- it's ok. At least you know how to say it. Some people try to "exotic-size" my name and say it totally different
ReplyDeleteIn the book of Troy, the gods on Mount Olympus play a large role in Trojan life. They use people to do their will and make things happen. In the story, they had already decided what would become of the city, and from then on, it was just a matter of when. I think the people of Troy thought that they had control over themselves, not realizing that everything they were was set and structured by the gods. At the same time, the people knew of what they were doing, even though they had little power to stop it. Especially since the creators know of the strengths and weaknesses of the creations.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there is a such thing as fate, and that in the end what will happen, will happen. I also believe that all humans have their own free will. Having free will is the power to make decisions, and that those decisions, how ever inconsequential they may be, will affect the rest of a person's life. I view life as a learning experience, and that the best way to understand things is by trial and error, and each trial leads a person closer to his or her fate.
P.s. I type like I speak so sorry for the comma fails.
Well in my eyes no fate rules us in life. Think of it this way. I f god made your fate and destiny, Why would he condemn random people to eternal suffering in hell? no we make our own decisions. so it's not just "destiny" for someone to ruin their life living under a bridge doing pot, and heroine. That's your own fault.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER! in the book "TROY" the gods somewhat, SOMEWHAT, controlled the peoples lives. they liked messing with their minds. they did some things, but the people weren't mindless zombies. they had most control. BUT! if the gods were upset with the people, or annoyed they WOULD get involved. but yes, for the most part, people were in charge.
~Ubernerd~ AKA Matthew Lawrence
@david
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. especially on the last statement. we don't control other people so that statement is void. it's like going to a new building. you didn't make the blueprints, so of course you won't know where every room is. people don't control you, and you don't control them, therefore you can't be expected to know everything.
Ok so I thinkthat yes the gods in the book "Troy" had a set fate on what was going to happen to the Greeks and Trojans but that dOesnt mean it can't be changed. For instance instead of doing something to gods had planned someone to do they did the complete opposite. Which would mean for the gods to get the fate they wanted to happen they would have to work around every small decision everyone made to avoid it. They would be plans moved and everything. So even if it was fate everyone had a free will of thinking what they were going to do. So really the gods thought they had control but in all reality they really didn't the people did.
ReplyDeletewell personally i dont really believe in a god or gods so i dont really know how to comment on that first question. i do however, believe that we have our own free will or else we wouldnt be able to make our own decisions. As neat as it would be to have people controlling the elements and/or controlling everybody on earth, ijust cant bring myself to believe in that sort of stuff.
ReplyDeleteIn Troy on the other hand i think the gods pretty much had the people of troy wrapped around their giant fingers.i think that the citizens of troy lived in fear that if they made the wrong decision when facing a problem, the gods would punish them. so therefore the people really kind of made their choices based on what they thought the gods would do, getting rid of their free will and replacing it with fate.
i dont know if that made any sense to any of you but i cant think of another way to word it so thats just going to have to do.
Ya I see where u r coming from James because since the people practically knew the gods were doing something they lived in fear thinking that if they made a wrong decision everything would crash down an the gods would be mad. So really in thinking they made the right decision it was only bringing them closer into the fate the gods set for them
ReplyDeleteI'll make this short, sweet, and to the point. There are many paths which will lead you to crossroads. Which way you go at those crossroads is your choice. There can be others to help guide you onto a certain path, although I wouldn't call it "right", such as Duncan's animal guide, but this is not a rule. It's your path, and your choice.
ReplyDeleteFor the first question, I'd say that they had a say. Humans are loose cannons, and now matter how hard you try to push them on a path, they will make their own desicions. The only way to control them is to kill them, and even then they'll want to do their own thing.
ReplyDeletei agree with with some of the facts that you guys posted!!In the book of troy i do agree at the fact that the gods control their fate like as what kylie had said on friday's discussion that its their job to REACT on what the gods have planned or told them, but most of the time the citizen choose not to trust the gods.they went their own ways waiting to see what will happen.and for question #2 i do believe in fate; i do believe that we are made here on planet Earth for a purpose.I do believe that God have a plan for my life like what im going to be when i grow up,but is my choice to react whether to deny his plan for my life or whether to accept it.Also i do believe a portion of free-will as what sara feistamal said the very little things in life we can make our own choice like:what to eat,wear,buy,do...etc. Also that its our responsibility to choose what your choices in life..
ReplyDeleteLuke 9:23- Then he said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
ReplyDeleteIn that verse there is a clear sign of the free will god gives us. Look at the words in that verse that would signify free will. Its in there, the words are: Let Him. that is the permission to do so. To me, its stating that there is no "fate" to hold him back. If there was fate hen wouldnt it say " let those who are supposed to be followers, deny themselves" or " let those who are destined to follow me, deny themselves"?
First of all, I am a Christian so my view on this topic may be a bit different from other members of this group. I believe that God plays daily roles in our lives, and allows us to decide on our own fate. I believe he knows everything that is going to happen before it does. For example, I think he knows if we will be going "up" or "down". He still wants us to believe in him, but he knows what we will say in the end. We have free-will to an extent. Our fate is already decided, but we are in the driver's seat until our days are done.
ReplyDelete@taylor
ReplyDeleteUmmmm, i'm more than a little lost. Just something to keep in mind is that not everyone on here is christian, or is of any specified religion at all.
@Molly- I know that. I was just using an example. I wasn't trying to bash anybody because they are not a certain religion. Some people are not even strong in the religion they believe in. They change it every week or so when they don't agree with the teachings. Yes i know you're not a christian and I know some other people aren't either.Im sorry if I insulted you because I used a reference from the bible. It was just an example.
ReplyDeleteI do personally believe in the much debated and controversial topic of fate. I do, however, also believe that we all have free will. The whole debate of Fate vs. Free Will is a very ambiguous one at best--meaning it can be interpreted several different ways. Personally, I believe that our lives our fated. I have to agree with Will somewhat. I do believe that God has charted out the route I am supposed to take in my life. I have no control over the BIG stuff that has happened and what will happen throughout my life. I believe these events have helped to shape the person I am today. Anyway, I do also feel and strongly believe that we have free will as well. While, we can't control everything that happens in our life, we can choose how we "respond" to the never-ending emotional and physical roller coaster that is life. I have actually felt this way for quite some time, but I hadn't really "thought" about it until we had to discuss what and how we felt on the whole topic.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about this epic debate, my mind immediately thinks back to Troy. This novel is a great reference for most of our opinions. When I think back to our Summer reading assignments, particularly Question 5, we were asked if Mount Olympus controlled the fate of the war (and Troy), or do the soldiers and people control their own destinies? When I finished reading the book and started to plan out what I was going to write, Question 5 jumped out at me. The reason for this is because I do believe that Mount Olympus controls the fate of the war--page 26, paragraph 4. The reason I felt this way is because after Paris granted Aphrodite the right to the golden apple, he started to feel as though he made his decision to hastily and Aphrodite responds by saying, "Too late. Your fate like the fate of your city is sealed." This got me thinking that the rest of their lives has already been mapped out for them, which I believe supports my theory that the gods control the fate of the war and Troy.
However, contrary to popular belief, the people do also control their own destinies. One example that I feel accurately supports my belief occurs on page 86. Here I am referring to Paris and Helen running away back to Troy. Paris didn't have to travel to Mycanae with the intent of making Helen his beloved, but he did anyway of his own accord. Albeit he was "compelled" by Aphrodite to want to make Helen his "Blushing Bride", but again, Paris did this of his own accord. On that same not, Helen did not have to go back to Troy with Paris, but she chose to do so--again while under Aphrodite's influence. Again, however, they could have resisted their primal god-enhanced urges and done the right thing, but again, they decided to run away together out of their own free will. Just as my other peers--Ashtan and Rebecca(in agreement with Ashtan)--Marpessa didn't have to take Alastor into her bed on the night of Hector's death(and post mortem "torture). Granted she was under Aphrodite's influence because she made Marpessa fall for Alastor, but it was ultimately her choice to do something that she knew would destroy her relationship with Xanthe and cause herself a great deal of "pain and suffering" in later weeks. Basically put, I believe that our lives--and the lives of the Trojans--are fated by a higher power, but ultimately we still have free will to "respond" to the situations we are put in.
Okay. So, I just realized I forgot to let you know that my Internet was down the weekend of the assignment. So, I'm gonna do this now, because I'd rather get a 0 as a late than a 0 as a missing. I hate having missing assignments. So. Here goes my post. (:
ReplyDeleteGods play a huge role in humans' lives. Even if they don't necessarily believe in a "higher power", I do. I think God controls just about everything. It's like...there's always a fork in the road. You choose which path to take and that leads you to the inevitable. Death. However, what you do along the way and the things you experience have to do with your choices. Which kind of leads me to believe that to an extent, we have free will. But only as much free will as God wants to let us have. I guess I just killed two birds with one stone in this paragraph. So. There we go. :)
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