The question of fate has been posed by humans throughout the ages. Are our lives determined by what is “destined” to happen, or is it simply a coincidence? Thomas Hardy addresses this question in his poem “Hap,” in which he expresses the belief that the pain of life is simply due to chance and that a vengeful God would be preferable to this state of existence. This idea that our lives are governed by random chance is also woven into Thomas Hardy's novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge, which follows a man named Michael Henchard through his successes and failures in the small town of Casterbridge, starting with the sale of drunken part of his wife. and child. Hardy's characters refer at many points in the novel to chance as the cause of their misfortunes and, in doing so, fail to recognize that these misfortunes are almost entirely due to the choices and failures of the characters themselves. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The poem "Hap" explores two possibilities: the first is that a "cruel and vengeful God" (line 1) is at the root of the speaker's suffering, and the second is that everything in life is left to chance . The latter is what Hardy's poetry ultimately recognizes as “true”; however, in both cases, the discussion of these two possibilities completely ignores the existence of choice and free will. In the poem, the speaker says that "Crass Casualty hinders the sun and rain" (line 11), personifying the concept of chance for the purpose of placing blame on him. Hardy's characters in The Mayor of Casterbridge often display the same belief, attributing their sorrows to a force external to themselves or their peers, and thus failing to realize that it is their choices that are the driving force behind almost all important events during the course. of the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Susan raises the question of the role of chance in her life. The narrator observes of her that: "When [Susan] plodded along in the shade of the hedge, thinking in silence, she had the hard, semiapathetic expression of one who believes that everything is possible at the hands of Time and Chance, except, perhaps, fairness ." Here Susan expresses a pessimistic view not only of life, but above all of chance, which according to her will bring her anything but happiness. She fails to realize that her pain comes not primarily from random events, but as a direct result of the choices she and her husband make. Even the evidence that she herself is not in control of is not due to chance, but to Henchard. Henchard is perhaps the prime example of the denial of the importance of personal choice and action. This is evident in the narrator's statement that "The movements of [Henchard's] mind seemed to tend towards the thought that some power was working against him." Here Henchard searches for an explanation for his misfortune, never considering that perhaps his current situation is simply the result of his own conduct. The fact that Henchard does not take responsibility for his actions, instead looking to external forces to place blame on, is even more evident in Henchard's reflection that: "I wonder if it could be that someone has roasted an image of me wax, or mixing an unholy mixture to confuse me! I do not believe in such power, and yet… what if they had!” While Henchard doesn't blame chance in these instances, opting instead for the vision of a "vengeful God" presented in "Hap," the fact remains that he has not yet come to the realization that his choices have had immense consequences in his life .as well as the lives of those around him.