Oedipus Rex, Candide, Macbeth, The Cherry Orchard and The Metamorphosis all have an obvious recurring theme; fate versus free will. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus tries to defeat his destiny. He leaves home and travels because he is afraid of the prophecy made about him. Despite this, in the case of Oedipus, his fate was inevitable. Candide, however, challenges his destiny. He is destined to separate from Cunegonde, but continues to try and try to be with her. Candido goes through many obstacles, learns about life and, in the end, learns that he must accept what life throws at him and "cultivate his garden". Macbeth believes that fate is on his side. When he hears about his prophecy, he immediately believes that nothing can hurt him, that he will remain King and that his children will inherit the throne. But, from the witches' point of view, Macbeth's crimes and misfortunes were destined to happen and nothing could change that. In The Cherry Orchard, it can be deduced that it has always been Lyubov's fate to lose the Cherry Orchard. It can also be argued that if sufficient actions had been taken, Lyubov could have kept the orchard. Finally, in The Metamorphosis Kafka tries to point out that the free will of human beings ultimately leads to people being dehumanized. The big picture is that although all of these books were written in different times with different ideals, they all have the same ambivalence about fate and free will. And even now, that ambivalence remains. People are unsure whether we have free will or whether all our actions are part of a predetermined plan. So why does the debate between destiny and free will remain throughout history and the present? It is difficult to believe in predetermined destiny because everyone has a different vision of life. In......middle of paper......l in others it is terrible. One of the main reasons why humans have mixed feelings about fate and free will is that while some people want to blame something/someone else for their misfortunes or bad deeds, others admit that their actions are their fault and no one else's. other. Another way to look at it is that people who believe in free will are afraid to admit that they cannot escape their fate, that their life is destined to end a certain way no matter what they do, and that's a thought frightening. I like to think I have free will. In WMS we may have rules and regulations, but it is up to us to decide whether to follow them or not. Of course if we don't follow them there will be consequences. Just because we have free will doesn't mean we can do whatever we want without consequences. With free will comes responsibility and I know I am ready to take on this duty.