'Your mother's story is your grandmother's story and it is also your great-grandmother's story. It's your great- aunt's story too. Their lives are intertwined and that's what we really mean when we talk about fate in Greece. Our so-called fate is largely ordained by our ancestors, not by the stars. When we talk about ancient history here we always refer to destiny- but we don't really mean the uncontrollable. Of course events seem to take place out of the blue that change the course of our lives, but what really determines what happens to us are the actions of those around us now and those that came before us.'Extract from 'The Island' (page 43) by Victoria Hislop
Do you agree with this interpretation of what fate is? Why? Why not?
When answering, the CPE/ ECPE students can use the idioms and collocations about fate and chance from Unit 12 of their Grammar book.
I am a firm believer in fate in this very sense. I have just finished reading this book and that extract serves as a farewell to it. It has surely been a compulsive read!
ReplyDeleteDespite believing that it is only up to us to determine our future I have to admit that some kind of luck or fate (you name it) is always needed and sometimes has proved to have a major impact on our lives as individuals or even as humanity.
ReplyDeletePersonally I agree with irene. I can't deny that our lives are affected by some kind of "supernatural" factors! On the other hand it is our choice,for example, to jump or not to jump from a cliff , we can't say that we had to do it! It is our personal choice.
ReplyDeleteIn short,we determine our lives as well the way we think and act!
I am completely opposed to people who support that everything happens because of the fate or another supernatural power.Personally, I feel that we determine our future and our actions.Let me explain why.I believe that we organize and 'build' our life and nothing can change this.Moreover,most of people want to believe only in fate as they cannot face the consequences of their own actions.Finally,I assume that we
ReplyDeletecannot control some things and sometimes the timing or the coincidences are pretty unusual and make us believe in fate but we must not overdo it because in this way we will feel that we cannot control ourselves...
Well said by all of you, but don't you think that this definition of fate (i.e. your ancestors' choices determine yours to some extent) makes sense? This is why I posted this quotation for you; I reckon it is one of the most thought provoking things I have ever read!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the girls, because our future depends on ouy actions but of course, we need luck to achieve our ambitions.Conversely I don't think that this is connected with our ancestors. There is no rhyme or reason for fate and personally, I guess that's the luck of the draw.
ReplyDeleteBravo Alina for using the idioms! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with my classmates and I believe that everyone's future is based only on his or her choices. Individuals choose their own destiny by choosing different paths throughout their life. As Irene said some kind of luck is always needed but it is a mistake to depend your life on luck as your life is generally your decisions and your ability to learn from mistakes. Old people fed this mentality in their children, so we are still suffering from this disease. So personally I think luck and fate mean nothing. They are all superstitious things. You must be working hard in your life and if you get a good result you should attribute it to yourself and not to your incredible luck.
ReplyDeleteAs I see it, every single person can definetely determine and affect either positively or negatively his future. Furthermore, I am completely opposed to people who believe that they cannot do anything to change their possible destiny. However, I should admit that luck is always essential in order to achieve some of your ambitions.To conclude, I am totally convinced that it is up to us to build our lives.
ReplyDeleteV for Vlastos
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