Mayor Of Casterbridge

782 words - 4 pages

Erin PetrucelliMrs.LohmyerMayor of Casterbridge essayPeriod 11/25/13Free will or predetermination ? That is the question!In the novel the mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, Hardy depicts how "the blind emerges and defiant acts that bring an ambitious man to power can also destroy him." However what are these "acts" Hardy so speaks of? Are these "acts" something we create ourselves internally or are they external factors that are forced upon us? Does Hardy depict a world of free will or determinism? Does man determine their own fate or are we on predetermined course from birth? Are we our own destiny ? Or do other external factors caused us to do the things we do make the choices we make?In my personal opinion I believe that to an extent we make our own decisions however I feel as though God has given us options and we ourselves pick from those options. So in a way we are predetermined. Like the board game life every time you p ...view middle of the document...

But how much sharper how much more debilitating is the pain when it is the natural consequence of some act or omission we ourselves engineered?"This one quote stated by Hardy explains how man can have external factors forced upon them and yet we still make our own choices. Hardy also explains in this quote how it basically "sucks" to have someone else influence your choices yet it "sucks" ten times worse to know you made these choices and brought this failure upon yourself and that there is no one else to blame.One example of an external factor in the mayor of Casterbridge is when the trusser went into the furminty booth where the cook took his bottle from under the table and poured rum into his furminty. Here the cook is an external factor. Even though the trusser made the choice to have the rum put in the cook could have said no or just not done it.However this also shows free will because the trusser had every choice do not ask the cook just sneak rum into his meal. Yet he made the choice and took the action to do it. Isn't that the whole idea of free will? Making a choice and putting that choice into a realistic plan of action.Another great example in the mayor of Casterbridge is when Hardy writes "Lucetta seemed to reflect on this as on an unalterable, impartial verdict." Lucetta knows she has no control over her aging, however it does seem a little odd when she accepts that Elizabeth Janes opinion as the absolute unchangeable fact. Here Lucetta is letting Elizabeth Jane control her own opinions.As I clearly explained Hardy shows at times points where characters have free will and other times where characters are controlled by external or predetermined factors. However I believe that everyone has predetermined choices and you the person gets to make those choices that will lead you down a predetermined road until another choice comes up where it will continue on from there and so on and so forth. So I feel that bug me and Hardy agree upon the same philosophical mindset between free will and predetermination and predestination.

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Mayor Of Casterbridge

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