Free will vs. Destiny

            Are we all destined for specific future?  Will our actions always have a predetermined result?  Or do we determine our future our destiny? Do we have free will to choose who we become?

            The novel “Jasmine,” by Bharati Mukherjee, begins with the main character Jyoti Vijh having her future fortold by an astrologer.  Jyoti was only seven and completely disagreed with the old man.  The book jumps back and forth through time when the main character lived in India as a child and in the United States as an adult.  In the early part of the novel Jyoti name is now Jasmine, she lives in Iowa, and is pregnant. A man named Bud wants to marry her before she has a baby even though he is twice her age.  At this point in the novel I feel that Jasmine is in control of her life, she chose to go to Iowa, and change her name. 

            Jasmine seems to make sure that she is always in control of her life, and tries to avoid what she does not want to become.  Jasmine narrates her feelings and says, “I had a past that I was still fleeing.  Perhaps still am” (p34).  So it is hard to determine whether Jasmine is running from India, or running towards America.  Did Jasmine go to school because she wanted a good education or did she want her education so she could leave India.

            At the end of chapter eight in the novel Jasmine is describing an event in her past as a child.  It was a time when she was attacked by a rabid dog.  In this scene as the dog is growling at her she decides that she doesn’t want to die and is reading to do what is necessary to survive.  When the dog lunges forward to attack Jasmine she strikes it with a staff in mid air, killing the dog.  Later when she got home Dida said, “All it means is that God doesn’t think you’re ready for salvation. The individual effort counts for nothing” (p.57).  Jasmine feels that she was the reason why she is still alive, not because of some unseen force.

            Free will versus destiny.  Jasmine shows many signs of free will.  Many of her actions could not have been predicted be anyone.  However she is in a relationship with a crippled man who is twice her age, so the prediction that she will become a widow appears to be coming true.  I think that the character Jasmine has a destiny and also free will.  The idea of a destiny is a supernatural thought.  I feel that we all have a destiny, but I feel that your destiny can’t be predicted by anyone in any natural way.  I don’t feel that having a destiny means you have no control of your life