Some people believe they are in control of their lives while others believe their lives are controlled by fate, which begs the question: Are our lives controlled by fate or our choices? There are two texts that try to answer this question. One of them is Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and the other is the story of Oedipus by Sophocles. I think Into the Wild answers the question better than Oedipus. Into the Wild shows how a person chose on their own to leave their life behind and Oedipus seems to answer the question quite well, but it is fictitious. It is a tragedy created by Sophocles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Into the Wild answers the question better because fate doesn't seem to play a role in it. All decisions were made by him and him alone. This quote proves that fate had nothing to do with his life: "Now he was Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny." He knew what fate was and he knew that it had no role in how his life turned out. Another piece of evidence for people's choice is that it didn't influence his decisions much. The main decision in this story is for him to go on this journey. The only thing that influenced his decision was his belief in civil disobedience. The story goes: “He answered to statutes of a higher order: as a latter-day follower of Henry David Thoreau, he took as gospel the essay On the Duty of Civil Disobedience.” This is the only evidence of anything other than his decision making being involved in the entire story. Oedipus does not do a good job of answering the question mainly because it is fictional. When you read the story it is quite convincing that our lives are controlled by destiny, but it is not believable or authentic. The story is about a king who is told the fate that his son will kill him and marry his mother who is his wife. In an attempt to prevent that future, he tries to kill Oedipus as a child, but this only solidifies his fate. It seems like our lives are controlled by fate, but it's just a very tragic story. The great revelation of destiny in this text is stated by the oracle: "I say that you are the murderer of the man whose murderer you pursue." This is how fate should play out, and Oedipus soon realizes what he has done. The entire story is fiction, so it can't be compared to a non-fiction story like Into the Wild. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Both stories prove their side of the truth argument very well, but one is fake while the other is real. In conclusion Into the Wild provides the better argument because it has a better counterargument and better evidence unlike the Oedipus story. The question from the beginning, whether our lives are controlled by fate or our choices, still stands. Into the Wild seems to answer the question better, but I'm sure there are many other true stories that could convince fate controls our lives.