Words: 910
Destiny is not a matter of chance, but of choice. Not something to wish for, but to attain” is a famous quote by William Jennings Bryan. This quote also ties in with all three books and is the resounding theme of each one. In other words, we control our own destiny and fate in life. In Mob Dick by Herman Melville, Shamed, the main character and narrator of the book, recounts his adventures aboard the whale ship, Piqued, which mainly include chasing a whale called Mob Dick.
In Sophie’s World by Jostles Guarder, Alberta Knox encourages Sophie to think about her life philosophically through various examples from history. In East of Eden, John Steinbeck follows the life of the Trust and Hamilton families, a basic portrayal of good vs. evil, and how you can choose which one to be. Throughout Mob Dick, the theme of an unavoidable destiny is clear as demonstrated by Captain ABA and his unquenchable to desire to kill Mob Dick even though it is obviously not possible. ABA is blinded by revenge, and thus the hoicks he makes are not his. The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my (Abs’s) soul is grooved to run. Over unsounded gorges, through the rifled hearts of mountains, under torrents’ beds, unerringly I (ABA) rush! ” (Melville, 265) demonstrates that ABA acknowledges his destiny and that he has no control over it as shown by the quote and how is fate is a fixes purpose laid with iron rails. In East of Eden, a major theme is the constant conflict between good and evil as shown throughout the book.
Some men are friends with the whole world in their hearts, and there are others that hate themselves and spread their hatred around like butter on hot bread,” (Steinbeck, 144) shows that there is both good and evil in this world and throughout the book it is shown that there is a constant struggle between the two. This is shown by the struggle between Charles and Adam, Aaron and Cal, and relates to the story of Cain and Able in the Book Of Genesis. In Sophie’s World, the main point is that philosophy is central to our life Just like our basic needs.
This is hon. by “But when these basic needs have been satisfied?will there still be something that everybody needs? Philosophers think so. They believe that man cannot live by bread alone. Of course everyone needs food. And everyone needs love and care. But there is something else?apart from that?which everyone needs, and that is to figure out who we are and why we are here. ” (Guarder, pig 8-9) Sophie’s World, Mob Dick, and East of Eden all portray that you can somewhat choose your destiny. In Sophie’s World, Sophie chooses to free herself from Albert
Nag as shown by “At any rate we must try to live as if he is not. ” (Guarder, 177) This illustrates their choice and their ability to get out of the imaginary book of Albert Nag. Even though Captain ABA is destined to chase after Mob Dick and try to take revenge, he could of chosen not to keep trying to kill it after the 2nd day. “We (ABA and his crew)should meet him soon,” illustrates that they are choosing to meet him again even rater ten losses AT ten last two clays. I Nils theme Is most clearly snows In
East of Eden as the idea of timeless which literally meaner “Thou Masses. ” “But the Hebrew word, the word timeless?’Thou masses’? that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man,” (Steinbeck, 301) is one of the main concepts of the books and we can see it applied when Cal chooses to be a better man even though he feels evil. These books were chosen for our summer assignment because they are considered classic American literature.
Each book provides us with a different aspect of life. In East Of Eden, we learn that we can choose who to be no matter who our parent’s and that we do have limited control over our destiny. Sophie’s World shows us the importance of asking questions about the world around us and ourselves as that is what defines who we are and how we live. It gives us a better sense and fulfills our natural curiosity. Finally, Mob Dick shows us that we must not be blinded and obsessed with one goal to the point where ignore the more important things in our lives.
In this case, ABA risked his own life and those of his crewmen for his one goal, o take revenge on Mob Dick. As shown in all three books, destiny is something we can control if we choose to. Mob Dick teaches us to not blindly pursue our goal, while Sophie’s World encourages us to think about the world around us. On the other hand, East of Eden once again shows us the importance of our choices and how we decide who we are and not our backgrounds. Each book is a classic and our highly praised and for good reason. All these books have themes that form significant parts of our daily lives.