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  • Essay / Destiny and choice in Never Let Me Go and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

    In Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling, we find many characters making choices about how they will handle the circumstances they face. Rowling actively depicts the role of fate versus free will in the decisions a person makes as a theme throughout the Harry Potter novels. Harry is marked by Voldemort from a young age, and during his youth, he is repeatedly told that he is special or different from the "boy who lived". He is an orphan and introduced to the wizarding world much later than most, trying to gain a foothold and learn more about his past. A prophecy tells him what he is destined to do and he chooses to embrace this cause. In contrast, Kathy H. in Never Let Me Go is completely docile, refusing to work to change her destiny. Both authors' messages are clear: no matter what daunting task lies ahead of you, the way you approach the situation speaks to the choices you make. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The debate between free will and fate is a very common theme in literature because it is so powerful in our daily lives. There is no scientific proof that a higher power exists or not: we question religion our whole lives, not knowing what to practice or whether what we practice is valid. We wonder if the decisions we make are really our choice or if our life has already been decided by fate. Because it is such a “human” thing to consider, we see it appear time and time again in literature, from Harry Potter to Hamlet. Harry feels like he has no control over the relationships in his life. He is so concerned about Voldemort hurting Ginny that, even though he loves her, he refuses to be with her. She's been targeted before simply because she was a friend's sister, and Harry knows Voldemort would lash out if he knew Harry had a girlfriend. Instead, Harry sacrifices his feelings and love for her, putting their relationship on hold while he fulfills his responsibilities. It's especially bitter after the death of Harry's godfather, who was used to bait Harry and then murdered by Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry felt he had no choice but to try and save Sirius, just as he felt he had no control over leaving Ginny. Harry cannot control that he loves Ginny, but chooses to push her away in order to protect her from danger. Draco also struggles with his free will after being chosen by Voldemort to kill Dumbledore. “I have no options!” » said Malfoy, and he suddenly went as white as Dumbledore. “I have to do it!” He's going to kill me! He's going to kill my whole family!' » (591). Fear of the evil, dark wizard makes him hysterical and he doesn't see the options available to him. Dumbledore responds: "'I appreciate the difficulty of your position... Otherwise, why do you think I haven't confronted you before now? Because I knew you would have been murdered if Lord Voldemort had realized I suspected you... come on the safe side, Draco... It is my mercy, not yours, that counts now, "" (591-592). Dumbledore tries to reason with Draco, telling him that he has options and that he will protect Draco. He explains that his mercy is most important; Draco is just a spawn of Voldemort, but to Dumbledore, who cared for Draco and watched him grow, this act is unforgivable and damning. Dumbledore told Draco, fearful or not, that hemakes a conscious decision in the eyes of the director. Harry plays a vital role in the prophecy. When his parents were murdered, he was left with a part of Voldemort: his soul. Harry becoming a Horcrux meant that for Voldemort to die, he would have to find all the Horcruxes and destroy them – including himself. Harry never disputed this fact, preparing for this moment throughout all seven novels. said Dumbledore, "Of course you must!" But not because of the prophecy! Because you yourself will never rest until you try! We both know it! Please imagine, just for a moment, that you have never heard this prophecy! What would you think of Voldemort now? Think!" … "I wish he had finished," said Harry softly, "And I would like to do it." "Of course you would!" cried Dumbledore. "You see, the prophecy does not mean that you must do anything! But the prophecy has caused Lord Voldemort to mark you as his equal... In other words, you are free to choose your path, completely free to turn your back on the prophecy! the prophecy. (512). Harry may have been destined to kill Voldemort, but the emotional damage Voldemort inflicted on Harry is irreplaceable. This fury drives Harry with more passion and force than a glass ball saying that. he was destined to destroy Voldemort never could. Harry lost countless loved ones and spent his youth worrying about Voldemort – the prophecy has no impact on the pain that was caused to him. mental determination and reasoning to kill Voldemort, and that is free will. Harry's attitude shifts from disbelief to acceptance as he realizes that no one is more destined to kill Voldemort than he is. “It was,” he thought, “the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a fight to the death and entering the arena with your head held high. Some people might say there wasn't much to choose between the two paths, but Dumbledore knew that - and so did I, Harry thought..." Although he was given a terrifying and terrible task, he lives his life for his friends and hopes he can do it. do well in their book. He wants to avenge the death of his loved ones and avoid any further suffering. This is the spirit of a martyr, willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for something he believes in. Kathy H. in Never Let Me Go is the opposite of JK Rowling's Harry Potter. It is used to harvest organs – a clone of a larger human. Even though she knows she is destined to die so that another can live, she does not fight and has no idea how wrong this is. “I was like you, Tommy. I was pretty much ready when I became a donor. It was good. After all, that's what we're supposed to do, isn't it?' » (6). She feels that since it was her goal, it was what was meant to be. “One of the big ideas behind finding your role model was that when you did it, you would have a glimpse into your future. Now, I don't mean that anyone really thought that if your model turned out to be, say, a guy working at a train station, that's what you'd end up doing too. We all realized it wasn't that simple. » Kathy is made to live her life through a window. She has no future outside of that of a donor or caregiver, so she instead thinks about her clone's life. We see a sense of agency in Kathy H. as her story draws to a close; although her humanity is questioned, given that she has no purpose other than to provide organs for other humans, she aspires to live a fulfilling life. Miss Lucy wants to tell the students how they are treated with a lack of humanity: “.