Fatalism in Macbeth :: essays research papers

Fatalism: Uncontrolled Destiny People have many different ways of viewing destiny. For example, some people believe in Existentialism, which is where a persons personal choices affect the outcome of their lives. Others believe in Fatalism, which means your destiny is unalterable and preordained. William Shakespeare believed in fatalism, which is shown through many of his plays. The most distinct examples of fatalism are found in his play, Macbeth. Macbeth shows that once your destiny is predetermined it is not in your power to change it. Macbeth’s destiny is told to him by the Weird Sister’s, â€Å"All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!†(1.3.53). He comes to the realization that the only way to become king, is if he kills the reigning king. However, he has difficulty accepting this, and attempts to do away with this plan, â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business†(1.7.34). Unfortunately, he is unable to prevent the outcome of his future. His destiny was established and he could do nothing to hinder it. Macbeth is told by the witches that, â€Å"none of woman born shall harm [him]†(4.1.91-92). Macbeth, believing there can be no other kind of man, goes on with his life ignoring that detail of his fate. He does nothing to try and prevent this from taking place. When Macduff comes to fight Macbeth, Macbeth trusts that his destiny is and will remain true, â€Å"As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air with they keen sword impress as make me bleed†¦.I bear a charmed life, which must not yield to one of woman born†(5.8.12-16). He is, ironically, not afraid of Macduff, contrary to his fate as told by the witches. Macduff tells him that he was in fact not naturally born of woman and Macbeth realizes that his destiny has come true. Macbeth struggles to put up a fight but can not deny his destiny. Macbeth shows that once your destiny is predetermined it is not in your power to change it. Macbeth is evidence that your destiny, once established, can not be altered or stopped in any way. Macbeth’s destiny was told to him and even though he was in denial, he realizes in the end that destiny is powerful.

Slumdog Millionaire Analysis

The film †Slumdog Millionare† tells a compelling story of an eighteen year old Indian boy from the dirty slums of Mumbai who manages to cash in the main prize of the TV-show †Who wants to be a millionaire?† Combined with the directing of Danny Boyle and co-direction from Indian Lovleen Tandan, this 2008 movie is a great mash up between Hollywood and Bollywood. The film based on Vikars Swarup’s novel tells a dramatic and romantic story with a twist of humour through a set of very cogent actors. The protagonist of this movie is eighteen year old â€Å"slumdog† Jamal Malik. Taking Jamal’s past in consideration, it’s highly unlikely that an uneducated boy from the Mumbai slums is able to reach the final question of â€Å"Who want’s to be a millionaire?† Some people aren’t happy with this, and he is being accused for deceit. This is primarily what we are being introduced to in the opening scene, and it starts off with Jamal being interrogated and tortured by suspicious minds who think he has cheated. The story then flashes back in time to the day he participated on the TV show. Shortly after the story takes a leap back to his childhood, where Jamal and his brother, Salim, and some friend are running away from Indian officers for playing of private property. Throughout the movie we unravel more stories of his life, which ultimately helps him win the main prize. As Jamal continues to answer questions, he looks back at his childhood. We soon find out that Jamal’s mother is killed and that Jamal is forced to live on the streets with his brother, Salim. During their stay at the reckless streets of Mumbai they meet a girl named Latika. The three of them is then later discovered by a man who runs an orphanage where they get shelter and food, in return the children is sent out on the streets during the day to collect money as beggars. As it turns out the man is not as nice as he appears to be and Jamal and Salim manages to escape, unwillingly leaving Latika behind. Once again Jamal and Salim are back on the streets. As the story progresses Jamal is portrayed as a person who never gives up on what he sets out to do. In this context, it’s his quest to find the love of his life, Latika. His love for her sets him out on a life experiencing journey which finally places him in the seat of â€Å"Who wants to be a millionaire?† His brother, Salim on the other hand is portrayed as a more dynamic person. In fact he is quite unreliable, he is not an evil person, but his selfishness and hunger for money and control hurts the ones around him, tearing him apart from his own brother and rescinding their connection. As stated earlier there are flashbacks in this movie, in fact the flashbacks are present throughout the whole movie. The fascinating thing about this though is how cleverly the directors have combined two stories running parallel to each other, making them crash together during the end and creating the present. This leaves the viewer curious how Jamal will answer the final question in an exciting and creative way. Through clever camera use and light setting, the film has an intriguing feeling to it. There is a lot of shifting between warm colours and dark colours, the latter mostly used in dramatic and scenes shot during the night. The warm colours on the other hand create a feeling of heat which fits perfectly to the setting. Also the music plays a big role in setting the mood of the film. The use of Indian music especially furthers the intriguing feeling. Focusing on camera use, it’s interesting to see the way the directors shot scenes from a children’s point of view during the flashback scenes from Jamal’s childhood. This gives the viewer a feeling that the children are small compared to the big wide world. Furthermore a lot of close-up shots are used during conversations which give the viewer the ability to see more detailed facial expressions which is something that pulls the viewer more in to the story. Also worth mentioning is the contrast we see of the wealthy parts of India compared the poor parts through the use of camera. For example we get an overview from the Mumbai slum during one of the flashbacks; this really helps stating that India has had an enormous economic growth during recent years. In my eyes the film creates a message that’s telling you to never let go of your goals, and to be optimistic and focused. Just because someone grew up with a poor and tough childhood, it does not mean that this person have a lesser intellect life or is worth less than you. Anything is possible, with good dose luck. Subliminally I think this movie also wants to show off India’s present economic situation compared to a decade ago and how India’s wealth has increased. Personally I really enjoyed watching this film, one of the main reasons for that is the way the story is laid out. It makes it exciting and it also blows some new life in to the well know â€Å"Who wants to be a millionaire?† It is certainly not the first thing I would have thought making a movie about. The fact that behind every question there is a story is quite exciting and it leaves me waiting for the next turn. On this foundation, I strongly recommend this movie to everyone.

Freedom Writers Analysis Essay

Freedom Writers is a drama movie based on the book â€Å"The Freedom Writers Diary† written by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell. The movie was first released on January 5th 2007 in the USA, and on May 18th 2007 in Norway. The director of the movie is Richard LaGravenese and the screenwriters are the Freedom Writers, Erin Gruwell and Richard LaGravenese. The Music is made by Mark Isham, will.i.am, Talib Kweli and other various artists. The main actors are Hilary Swank as Erin Gruwell, Patrick Dempsey as Scott Casey, Imelda Staunton as Margaret Campbell, April L. Hernandez as Eva Benitez, Mario as Andre Bryant, Jason Finn as Marcus and Jaclyn Ngan as Sindy. The Freedom Writers is about the young, novice teacher Erin Gruwell and the students in classroom 203 at Woodrow Wilson High School, Long Beach, California. The story takes place from year 1992 to 1995 and it is a true story. Ms Gruwell was very excited for her first day. She had big plans for how she was going to get the students to line up outside the classroom door, instead of not showing up to class or quit before the first semester was finished. This was how the schools’ reputation had turned out to be after the integration program was suggested at Woodrow Wilson. To teach the street kids, was a lot easier said than done. To get the students’ attention, Ms Gruwell had to call them Nazis and count how many of them who had lost friends to gang violence. The students comes from many different societies. In room 203 there are blacks, whites, Latinos and Cambodians. For many of these kids, death, violence, gangs, and fighting for territories, are daily events. They come from broken families and have had a very difficult and challenging childhood. They are happy if they make it to the end of the day. One of the students, Eva, said to Ms Gruwell during class; â€Å"what are you doing in here that makes a god damn difference to my life?† This wakes Ms Gruwell up, and she starts to use unusual methods like playing games, bring the students on trips, and make them write diaries to try to teach, and to help them with their lives and their chance to graduate high school and go to college. The title of the movie and the book are based on these diaries. There are many strong characters in this movie. It is not easy to decide who the main characters are, because we feel like we get to know every one of them, and each character have its own story. Ms Gruwell seemed like an inexperienced, rich man’s daughter, but through the things she did, she showed us some admirable sides of herself. Eva Benitez is a Latino/Spanish- American girl. She has a very strong personality and fights hard for what she thinks is right. But under the unyielding mask, we can sense a hint of uncertainty. Marcus is a black boy, and one of the persons we get to know most about. He seems like a very nice boy, but he also has his dark secrets. Marcus changes his personality and his way of living a lot because he wants to move back home to his mother. Sindy is a Cambodian girl. She was involved in the main conflicts in the movie. She has been in a refugee camp, and after the war in Cambodia her father is not the same anymore. Her character shows no fear and an admirable willpower. There are many positive things to say about the movie. Many of the actors did an excellent job by playing the characters and getting their personality come through. April L. Hernandez is one of them. She did an excellent job playing Eva Benitez. She had very many different emotions like anger, sadness, frustration and relief. I also liked the music they chose. It was not typical film music. It was up to date hip hop and pop music, which could have been exactly the kind of music the students would have listened to. You feel like you are getting very close to them, and that you get to know them. Although it was a very good movie, there are some negative things as well. The movie was quite predictable. After Ms. Gruwell had caught the student’s attention, you could imagine how the movie was going to end. At some points the movie was pretty boring. This movie shows that it is possible for a teacher to inspire a class and to make a difference in someone’s life. There has been made many movies like this before, for example Half Nelson and Music of the Heart. This movie is different from the others because it is based on a true story. Nevertheless, it was a touching and inspiring movie with many funny moments. I would give this movie 4 stars. It is not one of my favorites, but definitely worth to see.