Trusting Fate a Little Too Much

After reading Oedipus the King in English, which I consider to be one of my favorite pieces of literature we’ve discussed so far, I began to think a lot about the concept of “fate” versus “the butterfly effect.” We were surveyed in class on how much we believe in either fate or the butterfly effect, and I was surprised at how many people seemed to favor the idea of the butterfly effect. I was the strongest believer in fate, which caused me to wonder why this was. Not that I would ever change my opinion because a large majority was favoring the opposite view, but I began to really criticize the idea of fate during my thinking.

It seems like such a simple concept, “What is meant to be, will be,” and “What is supposed to happen, will happen.” Maybe that’s why people trust the concept of fate so much, because it’s simple and it makes perfect sense. However, it seems to me that people put almost a little too much trust in the concept of fate. To be so sure that everything will work out how it is supposed to is, yes, a nice thought, but is it realistic? If I wasn’t typing this blog right now, would it be realistic to assume that if I did not do it “fate would step in and what is meant to happen will happen and I will still pass the assignment?” Obviously this is an exaggerated example, but people do seem to put a lot of trust in fate. For example, how many romance movies have you seen where the girl stumbles upon a man at an unexpected moment and, boom: she’s sure he’s “the one” because why else would she have come across him under such odd circumstances unless they were meant to be together? Oh, you poor naïve girl, just because you saw a man on a subway two days after you saw him buying a hotdog on the street corner doesn’t mean you’re supposed to marry him. I fear the media’s promotion of the classic “it’s fate” scene has also begun to effect actual women of society. Watch an episode of “Say Yes to the Dress” and you’ll probably hear the word “fate” at least once when the bride is talking about her fiancé and how they knew they should be together forever. Trust in fate is everywhere, and as a fellow believer in fate, even I’m worried about some people. I agree that we each have a general path that we are destined to follow, but I’m not about to allow major decisions to be barely thought over because I have my full trust in fate, it’s just not practical. Some of the actions and decisions are still up to you, whether you believe in fate or not.

Unfortunately, what happened in Oedipus the King is that the main characters tried to defy fate by trying to work their way around their specific circumstances, which just led them right back to their original stated fate. These characters did not have their full trust in fate, and what they were destined to do actually happened, ironically. The difference, however, is that we don’t have an oracle to ask what our fate will be. Therefore, no one knows what they’re destined to do, and it is up to each of us to make our own decisions in order to reach our own fate. Was this fate pre-determined? No one knows for sure, but we all have our beliefs. I do still believe that everything will turn out the way it is meant to, but I roll my eyes at those that lead their lives with a full trust in fate, making no effort to actually think about important decisions, such as, “Should I marry this guy just because “fate” brought us together on this subway after I saw him two days ago buying a hotdog on the street corner?” Spoiler alert: the answer is no.

Misinterpretations of Literature

     Authors write literature with an intended message or idea that they want to convey to their audience. However, somewhere in the mix of reading and reflecting on what has been read, some audience members become confused and completely misunderstand what they author was actually trying to express through their writing. I find this issue to be both devastating and frustrating, as the reader does not get the benefit of comprehending what could be a fascinating message, and others are challenged to try to explain to them the actual message.
     The Fountainhead is obviously a novel with an intended message. Throughout the novel, Ayn Rand promotes and demonstrates her theory of objectivism through various plots. To further convey her theory to her audience, she uses characters that embody the quintessential form of objectivism and others that are the complete opposite. This is where the misinterpretation can come into play. Instead of understanding that Howard Roark is who Ayn Rand would deem the "perfect man" in terms of objectivism, some readers interpret Ellsworth Toohey to be the "perfect man." Clearly this is not what Rand intended her readers to believe.
     I stumbled upon this example of misinterpreting The Fountainhead unexpectedly while watching one of my favorite movies, Dirty Dancing. When the main character, Baby, confronts another character, Robbie, about a situation he has gotten a girl into, he completely disregards the situation, explaining that he will have nothing to do with it. To verify his reaction, he tells Baby to read The Fountainhead after saying, "Some people matter, and some people don't." Obviously, he got the exact opposite message from the novel than the one Ayn Rand actually wanted her readers to understand.
     This then causes even further problems. Robbie explains his interpretation of the novel before telling Baby to read the book. So then, Baby reads the book, and based on what she heard of Robbie's interpretation, she could possibly feel the same way about the novel, and tell someone else about it. Soon, people everywhere are misinterpreting this work of literature and are not getting the intended message from it. Although the characters in Dirty Dancing are not real people, I'm sure there are people out there who have had this interpretation of The Fountainhead and this scenario could happen.
     Overall, it upsets me that some people will walk away from a great novel, such as The Fountainhead, with the wrong message while a great message lies undiscovered within the novel. Along with upsetting, this can also be frustrating for others when trying to discuss the novel with people who have totally different messages that they drew from the literature. Although there really is no solution for this issue, it would be nice if people could take the time to really reflect on what they read with a thoughtful, open mind. Maybe this would at least improve the problem.