Destiny Short Story

The course of events in life is prefixed and is often referred to as destiny or fate. It could be thought of as a planned future, either for society as a whole or for a specific person. Fate is all about the here and now, where every choice a person has taken has brought them to their current situation. Nevertheless, destiny is the belief people have in the future and cannot be influenced by the choices a person makes today.

Ralph Ellison's "King of the Bingo Game"

A man is watching a movie in a theatre. Later he has fallen asleep. In his dream, the nameless black man becomes a little child who is being pursued by a train as he walks across a railroad trestle. While it had followed him off the tracks, he got afraid even though he was relieved to escape in time.

He shouts and runs away as he is mocked by white folks in the theatre. His outlook on life appears to be reflected in this dream. No matter what he tries, he hasn't been able to advance as a black man in a white society. Getting off the tracks is a surefire way to avoid an approaching train, yet he is unable to accomplish this. It portends his inability to avoid his fate.

In his fantasy, he is sprinting down the subway lines with his wife Laura in his arms, a train closing in from behind. They will be struck if he pauses, and the third rail will electrocute him if he exits the tracks. 

Theme

By continuing to spin the wheel, the main character defies fate. It's noteworthy that this refusal appears to be fated out of his control. Based on his observations of the game, he intends to click the button and give the wheel "a brief rapid twirl". Just press the button once. He presses it and immediately understands that "while he wanted to, he could not stop.". It is immediately clear that he cannot defeat fate because events are already beyond his control.

Bingo Game

Ernest Hemingway: "The Killers"

Max and Al, two hitmen, posing as twins, enter Henry's lunchroom, which George manages. They settle for ham and eggs and bacon and eggs instead of the ordered pork chops and chicken meals, which are currently unavailable. Al enters the kitchen and restrains Sam the cook and Nick Adams, a recurring figure in Hemingway's writings. A brief conversation between Max and George indicates that the two guys are there to murder former heavyweight prizefighter Ole Andreson of Sweden for a "friend". The two men go since Andreson does not appear.

To alert Andreson about the two guys, George sends Nick to Hirsch's boarding house and is discovered by Nick dressed from head to toe in his bed. He explains what happened to Andreson. Besides warning Nick not to take any action because there was nothing that could be done, Andreson does not respond. After leaving, Nick returns to the dining area and tells George about Ole Andreson's response. Nick decides to leave town when George no longer appears worried.

Theme

The main theme of Ernest Hemingway's "The Killers'' is fear: From the very beginning of the story, fear rules the entire situation. George grew alarmed when Max revealed that he and I had entered the village with the intention of killing Ole Anderson. Similar to Sam, Nick Adams and other fictional characters also experience fear.

The Killers

Saki's "The Hounds of Fate"

Homeless Martin Stoner frequently gets confused for Tom. The real Tom had upset his family and the community by doing something. Stoner resides in Tom's house for several months while feigning to be Tom. They send him to Punchford one evening so he may hide from Michael Ley, who intends to kill him. Tom Stoner left and made the decision not to come back. Michael Ley tracked him down and killed him as he was riding away.

Theme

You shouldn't make up a persona that you are not. You can't escape your troubles by changing who you are. To trick others, Martin Stoner poses as Tom. Michael Ley shoots Stoner because he believes him to be Tom.

The Hounds of Fate

Summary

The word "destiny" refers to both the inevitability of events as they have played out and the projection of that very same sense of "destination" into the future as the course of events as they will play out. It is the force that some people assume influences what happens in the future and is beyond human control. Events are described as being ordered, "inevitable," and unavoidable by fate. This idea is founded on the conviction that the universe and, in some views, the cosmos have a set natural order.