Masters of our fates Why Should I Care

Why Should I Care?

It's easy to get behind this one. We're all for hard work, perseverance, and determination to get you where you want to go. You can be anything if you work hard enough. We're betting you've got a mom, coach, or grandparent in your life who's said something along these lines.

Here's the problem. Shakespeare flips the script with what actually happens in the play. Cassius might tell us that we make our own destiny, but the soothsayer is right in the end. What's that mean? Well, there are two ways of looking at it:

• Fate is in charge because the Soothsayer predicted when Caesar would die. 
• Even though the Soothsayer predicted Caesar's death, Cassius and Brutus still made it happen, so they are in charge of their own actions.

Hmm… that's a head scratcher. We could go around and around all day with this one, but as usual, Shakespeare leaves it to us to decide. He wants to know: are we in control of what happens in our lives, or does fate (or some other cosmic force) decide? That one, Shmoopers, is up to you.