Fate is the course that our lives are destined to take, as such, it one of the most unpredictable obstacles that we face. So how is our fate decided and how do we, as humans, choose wether or not to accept it? After all, often times people's dreams and aspirations turn out to be completely different than the path that they end up following. Well, it all depends on what our interpretations of fate are and wether or not we believe it can be changed. Some people are under the impression that our fate is inescapable. For example, in the book Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, the main character Kathy lives in a world where she is destined to one day donate her vital organs and subsequently die or, as they call it, "complete". Throughout the book, Kathy never rebels against her fate; she only accepts that her "donations" and shortened life are inevitable. On the contrary, some other people believe that fate can be changed. In the movie Whale Rider, based on a novel of the same name written by Witi Ihimaera, the main character Pai lives in a patriarchal society where she is forbidden from becoming her tribe's chief because she is a girl, even though the duty is rightfully hers as the first born. However, this negative reinforcement does not stop her, as she consistently seeks to prove to her tribe and to her grandfather, the current chief, that she does possess the qualities of a leader. Similarly, in the book The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, the protagonist Holden Caulfield also doesn't enjoy the life that he is living and seeks change, however unlike Kathy and Pai, Holden has a choice in his fate and his own bad decisions eventually lead him down a darkened path, while embarking on a journey of self-discovery in New York City. All three of these characters learn, as they all become more mature, that the life that they are living is not the most desirable, however only two of of the three characters look to make alterations to their lifestyle.
