Scarlet Letter

            In life, the choices that one makes, can and often fulfills your destiny and the destinies of many others. This idea is true in novels to a greater extent, Edwin Markham once said, " In literature, choices are the hinges of destiny." I believe that the quote means that in a great number of novels, the destiny of the characters were created because of the decisions that they had made previously. whole series of events that were the supposed destinies of the characters, where caused by the choices and actions decided upon by a character. I agree with this quote, because in many novels the decisions of a character led to the fulfillment of the destiny of themselves and of others. Two books in which the author's writings supported this quote were Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, and Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In both of these novels, the authors used literary elements that supports the idea that Edwin Markham believes to be true.
             In the novel Fahrenheit 451, the decisions of Guy Montag shaped his life and helped form his destiny. Montag's destiny being to survive the war, and then live to spread the truth and knowledge. Bradbury used many literary elements in the novel that helped to create this destiny. The first literary element that Bradbury used was the setting. Bradbury created a world in which an excess of technology had caused mankind to grow ignorant and shiftless. In the society, books were burned and Montag just so happened to be a fireman that did that job. Because of this, Montag received the opportunity to steal a book. This decision to take the book was caused by the setting of his world, in which the government made decisions that he did not understand. So in deciding to steal the book, he set the foundation for his future actions that would ultimately lead to his destiny in life.
             The second literary element that Bradbury used that supports the quote is conflict.