Week 2 "Fate" Question

[Lauren O.]

“…once a thing is set to happen, all you can do is hope it won’t. Or
will – depending. As long as you live, there’s always something waiting,
and even if it’s bad, and you know it’s bad, what can you do?”
    Perry means, that once something is set in motion, fate decides what, or what doesn't, happen. It is all a gamble to Perry. He believes that life is a probability game and you must, as cliché as it is, deal with the cards you are dealt with.  Perry states that this is his "simple solution" to a riddle ( I assume the riddle of life or something similar) he pondered. He says that this riddle and solution is why he got in his motorcycle accident, went along with Dick to murder the Clutters, etc. However, The idea that once something is set to happen, even if it is disastrous, must happen is jarring.
    While I agree with Perry on some aspects, I disagree on others.  I agree that some things are completely dependent on this concept of destiny, such as who your parents are, and/or your physical appearance (eye color, nose shape, etc.). However, I disagree on subjects related to items that people can intervene in or change themselves. For example, if a person where to stop an obviously intoxicated human from getting behind the wheel, they not only would have saved the drunk person from wrecking, going to jail,and possibly killing innocent civilians, but they also would have saved the human who's lives would have ended due to the drunk driver. Once the drunk driver decided to attempt to get in their car totally inebriated there "fate" was decided because of their actions, their  actions were not decided by  "fate". Another thing that could be changed is the drunk driver saying to himself "you know what? i don't need to be driving right now. i need to get a ride home.".
    I believe in decisions leading to events in a person's life much more than "fate" simply deciding your life from the day you were born. I believe that fate is always changing because of your life choices, not your life choices changing because of "fate". Case in point, if you get lung cancer and you blame it on "fate", yet you smoke, YOUR life choice to smoke was the deciding factor on whether or not you increased your chance of getting lung cancer- not fate.

[michaeldaly]

I agree with Lauren. Your fate is often dictated by your actions. There is a huge difference between taking a backseat or front seat to your life. What I mean is if you want to be the President of the United States you have to work hard and go get it yourself. You cant let life control you and what you can do. If you take the backseat in life then you wont become the president. Perry definitely takes the backseat in his life and lets life control what he is can do. Unlike Perry, Capote took a front seat and look where it got him in life compared to Perry.

[baileyfessler]

I agree with Lauren on the fact that your actions decide your fate. Although the circumstances presented may push people towards a certain outcome, they have a choice in how they act, resultantly deciding their fate. For example, Perry's horrible childhood and Dick pressuring him into committing the crime may have pushed Perry to commit the crime. However it was ultimately Perry's decision to take pare in the murder that decided his fate as a killer. Additionally, other people's actions can decide a person's a fate, and in this situation a person really has no control. An innocent driver who is hit by a drunk driver has their fate controlled by the inconsiderate actions of another.