Fate and Destiny Essay Example for Free

Fate and Destiny EssayThe Epic of Sundiata is meaningless without the concepts of requisite and want. When the Mandinka poof receives the divine hunter at the royal court, and the hunter predicts that the kings marriage to an frightful woman would grant him a right king for a son the Mandinka king must respect the prophecy. It is for this reason that the king, before his death, gives to Sundiata his son born of an ugly woman a griot. When Sundiata is older, he too hopes in the importance of harnessing powers of a supernatural nature (Niane). Prophecies are, of course, made through supernatural powers. Seeing that the kings of the Mandinka plenty believe in supernatural powers, their subjects must also be believers in the same. Moreover, fate and destiny appear square to the Mandinka people, which is the reason why the prophecy is honored by the king. But, even if most of the Mandinka people do not believe in supernatural powers, the belief system of the king is expecte d to be superior to that of his people. stamp in prophecy entails that ones fate is set, and there is nothing that one can do to transfer his or her destiny. Prophets are believed beca call they know the fate and destiny of others. By informing people closely their respective fates and destinies, they save their people from existence misled. At the same time, however, the concepts of fate and destiny entail that the Mandinka king would have married an ugly woman, with or without the prophecy of the hunter. The king would have had Sundiata, too, regardless of the prophecy.The only reclaimable part some the prophecy was that the king gifted Sundiata with a griot because he knew that Sundiata would be a mighty king in the future. Just as the Epic of Sundiata cannot be understood without reference to fate or destiny, Things F tout ensemble Apart focuses on a hero and his community, unable to change circumstances in the display case of destiny. Things Fall Apart makes repeated refe rences to chi, a concept that refers to a in-person deity that is available to all people to guide them to fulfill their individual destinies.It is impossible for a kind being to struggle against the chi, or his or her spirit force. This is the reason why Okonkwo, a courageous and intelligent individual, cannot change his circumstances or that of his community even as things fall apart for everybody except the colonialists (Achebe). In other words, the human being is powerless against the decisions of the chi or his or her personal deity who establishes the fate and destiny of every soul. The personal deity of all people has determined that Okonkwo and his people would suffer, and there is nothing they can do about it (Achebe).Okonkwo is a distinguished leader of a closure in Nigeria. He is rich, powerful, brave as thoroughly as wise. He has worked hard to achieve his high status in his village. Thus, the village elders choose him to be the guardian of a male child named Ikemef una, who has been made prisoner by Achebes tribe. Okonkwo must keep the boy with him until the Oracle decides otherwise (Achebe). This shows that man has no free will, and that, in fact, fate and destiny are determined by other. Human beings are not even allowed to make decisions by themselves.If they attempt to make decisions by themselves, they must be severely punished, as Okonkwo was. When the village elders decided that Ikemefuna must be killed, Okonkwo went against the advice of the oldest man of the village by killing the boy himself. Subsequently, things started to fall apart for Okonkwo. He accidentally killed another individual at a funeral ceremony. For this act he had to be sent into exile with his family for a period of seven years. subsequently all, he had offended the deities by committing the murder (Achebe).When Okonkwo returned to his village, he struggled for his people against the colonialists. In the end, however, he had to kill himself (Achebe). The forces of change were too strong for him to resist. This reveals that mans determination, intelligence, and courage have no power over destiny and fate. Even though I believe in fate and destiny, I do not obtain with this grim vision of the same. Neither do I trust the fact that man has been rendered powerless by fate and destiny. In my understanding of these concepts, graven image, who is all-knowing, has written the fate and destiny of all people.His knowledge of all peoples past, present and future is their fate and destiny, in fact. At the same time, He has given unto human beings the power to make decisions for themselves. The Bible confirms this view. Although there is nothing that a human being can do to fight destiny and fate, individuals are free to use their intelligence in the best possible ways. Our use of intelligence in my belief is also determined by God. He allows some people to prevail at the expense of others.All the same, in the Biblical sense, such circumstances are a rill from God. He cannot be blamed for giving one man a life of riches, happiness and field pansy while his brother is curt and living in a violent neighborhood. In the Biblical view, two men are loved by God. However, by severely testing the homeless man, He would give care the man to turn to Him in prayer. The rich man, on the other hand, is required to be of help to the poor man. If he does not help his brother, however, God would continue giving him opportunities to do so in future.In this view of fate and destiny, God also knows the people who would go to Heaven as opposed to those who would bring down Hellfire for eternity. Even so, I know that people have free will to choose what they would similar to do with themselves and where they would like to go. God does not stop us from using our minds to do as we please. But, as I have already mentioned, it is He who ultimately decides what we would think. So, while one man concentrates on spirituality, another spends his en tire lifetime thinking about the theory of relativity.It is our personal destiny to think, do, and wish as God pleases. Of course, my understanding of fate and destiny is not the same as that of the Mandinka king or the people of Okonkwo. I do not visit soothsayers, and neither would I believe in all of them. Furthermore, even if it is styleless in our times to believe in God and supernatural powers, I continue to believe in fate and destiny. Works Cited Achebe, C. Things Fall Apart. New York Doubleday Co. , Inc. , 1994. Niane, D. T. (trans. ). Sundiata An Epic of Old Mali. Harlow Longman, 2006.