The Concept of Predestination - Essay Example

Predestination Predestination is a concept that means that human life is in control of supernatural God. God is the creator of the universe and has the power to sustain everything in it. There are choices that are not for humans to make because God has already predetermined what will happen. When there is faith in God, trusting in him, that He is in control and all is safe, then human life fulfils a much higher purpose according to God’s will as opposed to the individual will of the human beings. Predestination believe that God is alive and purposes to be involved with the lives of everybody. As such, he places the human beings where he wants them to be for fulfillment of his purpose because God made every human being with his own intentions and therefore, no one has the right to abuse it. On the other hand, determinism is based on the notion that everything that happens has a reason and is influenced by something else. The decisions made by people on how they want their lives to turn out, or the results they expect from their behaviors are based on something which happened earlier and influenced their lives. As such, determinism is not influenced by religious affiliations and beliefs, but rather by choices and consequences. This means that life is free and has no preset conditions which influence the fate of humans. The choices made determine the kind of life’s outcome to expect. Eliot’s Silas Marner is a book that starts with predestination and ends with determinism. The book is set in two different places - Lantern Yard and Raveloe. Lantern Yard is highly religious and salvation is highly predestined there. Cleanliness in faith is not a guarantee that you are predestined to serve God. This is because there are already those who are predestined to serve God there even when they are very unclean. For instance, William, who demonstrates the opposite of the faith he claims to exercise is predestined to serve God while Silas is predestined not to exercise salvation despite being very innocent and pure. In Raveloe, people’s lives are controlled by determinism as morals as opposed religion are upheld. As such, people suffer the consequences of their own actions. Silas Marner Predestination is witnessed through the analysis of the character of Silas Marner. He seems to be born with a predestined personality and no matter what he does, he has no control to change the course his life is taking. Religion in Lantern Yard is very strict and salvation seems to the based on predestination. Silas is a very staunch believer of faith but he loses all of it because of his bets friend’s betrayal. In Lantern Yard, no matter how clean a person is, if he is not predestined to serve in the church, he will be driven out leaving the most unclean people in the church to serve. Silas Marner is predestined to lead a poor life where is repeatedly suspected and mistrusted leaving him lonely and isolated. Marner is a wandering linen weaver who are described by Elliot as “remnants of a disinherited race” (1) this shows that Silas’ life of poverty is already predestined and he has no control over. As such, there is nothing he can do to impact the destiny determined by powers beyond his control. In Lantern Yard, a best friend he had trusted betrayed him and the church too declared him guilty. The betrayal by his best friend and the church leaves him utterly disinherited by his close friends and driven out. He moves to Raveloe where life seems to be fine until a good deed of helping a sick woman further delineates him from the rest of the common. He feels lonely and views his life in Raveloe is as if he is “hidden even from the heavens” (14). Lack of friends or any faith for solace draws him to his coins which he regards as his new friends. Throughout the book, Silas is very passive but he suffers mainly because of his association with others who act on him. Later, his fate changes when devoid of his efforts, Eppie, knocks on his door and he takes her in as her own daughter. She brings so much happiness in his life and marks redemption for him from all the suffering he has gone through. Godfrey Cass The Godfrey’s life is based of determinism. Events happening in the Cass’s family have no bearing on any supernatural power. The people of Raveloe to a large extent are controlled by morality as opposed to religion. As such, events happening to Godfrey are not random at all, they are not predetermined, but rather, as they are a total outcome of his own actions. Godfrey faces so many problems throughout the book. Eliot portrays him as moral coward who is weak-willed when he is faced with a decision to make. He is married to an opium addict- Molly Farren even if he knows that this will upset his father. As a result, he faces mixed feelings of cowardice and guilt for lying to his father. As a consequence, he has to suffer the consequences as his brother Dunsey laying traps for him to make his life difficult by blackmailing him about revealing the truth from his father. Eliot describes Dunsey as a person who takes "delight in lying, grandly independent of utility" (36). Due to Godfrey’s cowardice he has to accommodate his brother’s mistakes. Most of the time, Godfrey stays paralyzed in the book until something happens and he suffers for his cowardice, selfishness and poor decision making. His life is filled with excuses that form insufficient defense to excuse him off his irresolution behavior. Largely, his moral cowardice is attributed to his selfish need of keeping his secret marriage and retaining his father’s inheritance. Although Godfrey is finally delivered from Molly and Dunsey by accidents, he cannot recover her daughter Eppie as she has already replaced him with Silas. Nancy Lammeter The Nancy’s life is based of determinism. Due to Raveloe’s rusticity and isolation, she has programmed the course of her life and the resultant effects of her actions are a consequence of her own doing. Just like Silas, her life goes through changes. However, the difference is that, while Silas’ life is predetermined and influenced by factors beyond his reach, Nancy’s changes are influenced by her maturity which resulted into realization of self which is something that was originally inherent in her. Her actions are determined by the codes of behavior she has set for herself. She is very strict and highly principled. Although she loves Godfrey, her high principles makes her express disappointment for his weaknesses. Nancy seems to be sure of the outcome of her life as her actions are controlled by inflexible belief and code of behavior. Even her feelings are programmed to feel specifically for a specific reason such that she already has answers for any question that she may be asked. Her actions are geared to making her appear strong as opposed to representation of thoughts or reason. Nancy is unable to adjust her codes and they forbid her to adopt a child. She views this act as a defiance of God’s plans for her. It is for fear of this strict principles that Godfrey was worried about telling her that Eppie was her biological child as he feared that her codes will forbid her from loving him anymore. Fortunately, for him, she is already fully overcome by her love for him and she feels sympathetic for him and accepts him regardless of his flaw. Work Cited George Eliot. Silas Marner. Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England. 1994. Print. Read More