The House Always Wins
A discursive composed by Dana (Year 11 Advanced English)
Jean de La Fontaine, a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century, once mused that “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” Life is such a tender thing, and the obsessive need for humans to find a purpose on this earth only intensifies as age wears them down. Our desire pushes us as people to search for a pattern in our lives, an “end game”, if you will. Fate presents the notion of a predetermined phenomenon of events; some perceive it as a calculated future, while others rather ‘choose’ their own destiny, not relying on the path that was laid out for them. However, in my view, fate is simply inescapable, a fundamental truth.
Philosophers from around the world have pondered this topic for years, attempting to crack the code if you will. According to St. Thomas, the idea of fate as an invisible force in the world likely originated from the relentless search for a reason behind events that seemed to follow no clear pattern. Many individuals who were dissatisfied with the explanations offered by poets and mythologists resorted to the heavenly bodies, which were believed to exert their effect on situations in the lower world by operating in accordance with clear and constant laws unto themselves. The concept of destiny or fate remains prominent in most religions, but it takes on different forms. Mans’ power to make moral decisions and choices is an aspect of the Christian understanding of fate where man is accountable for his decisions despite fate presenting the choice. For instance, God did not plan for man to fall in Eden, Adam and Eve decided to reject God's commands. Man has to live with the results of his decisions.
As a firm believer of fate, I am well aware of the impact of religion on my beliefs. I am a devoted Muslim, a religion that is built on the belief that Allah is all knowing and that your entire life has been mapped out from the beginning. Belief in destiny and fate is one of the basic beliefs of Islam. It means that Allah is the Knower of all things and the Creator of all things; nothing exists outside of His will and decree. Whatever He wills happens, and whatever He does not will, does not happen. If something happens to a person, it could not have missed him, and if something does not happen to him, it was not written for him. A person is not forced to obey or disobey Allah, he has free will, but it is subject to the will of the Creator.
My encounters with fate fall back to my younger years. Four years ago I was met with a tragedy through a simple text message that destroyed my perception of the people I held close, swiftly reminding me of the horrors that the real world has in store. At that age, it was my first encounter with real and unfiltered betrayal and heartbreak, a very treacherous combination of emotions. Now what does this have to do with fate you may be wondering? As my religion states, God knew that this would happen to me, it was a test to measure my spiritual strength. So I took it as such. Although the agony lasted for months I eventually got over it, however, my personality was replaced with a more aware and less naive individual. Now as I am older, I will forever thank my lord for allowing me to see the ugly side of people at a young age, so naïveté would not follow me into more intimate and serious relationships. This lesson made me who I am today and although at the time I cursed myself for being too trusting, it led me to a place of strength and independence.
Terry Pratchett touched on this subject long before his passing, he cautioned that “Fate always wins. Most of the gods throw dice but Fate plays chess, and you don't find out until too late that he's been using two queens all along.” Pratchett’s observations resonated with 11 year old me. When fate hits you in cruel ways, at the time you want to reject it, to run away from the truth because it hurts too much, however, as you grow and age with the pain you endured, you realise that it was a gift. Everything happens for a reason, and although the reason is blurry at times, it will clear up one day.
As of November 2021, 44% of the US population believe in fate. Now, what do the remaining 56% believe in? Gweenan Rees mentions in her article that she does not believe in fate, instead she believes in the concept of timing: “it's timing not fate, not hard work. Fate gets you nowhere, hard work gets you halfway...timing gets you there.” Typically if a person does not believe in fate, they will generally find something similar that holds the same sentiment. I once read that “Fate leads the willing and drags along the reluctant,” and I agree that it is in our genetic structure as human beings to crave a reason for how or why things happen, and if that reason isn’t fate, it will be something of the sort because it offers us resolutions when we have none. People may convince themselves that they don’t see fate playing a role in the circumstances they face from day to day, but I believe that fate is always there; it’s either the main character or it’s standing somewhere in the background.
