Free will v. Chance

In the books East of Eden by John Steinbeck and Snow Falling on Cedars by David Gutterson there are many different examples of free will and chance.

When the war began, Kabuo Miyamoto had no choice but to pack everything in one suitcase and go to war. He was a kind person and didn't like to fight and kill people, but he had no free will duringt hat time period, same as all the other chinese that had no free will in the United States in the early 1900's.

When Carl Heine gave Kabuo's parents part of the land he owned, that was free will. It was his choice to give the much deserved chinese a piece of land, since they have been working his land for many years. Yet, Etta much disapproved this act of kindness, and as soon as she got her chance when Carl Sr. died and the japanese were off to war she sold their land. Yet it was chance, when Kabuo arrived from the war and wanted to buy his own land back he could not have it. And it was chance, when shortly after trying to persuade Carl Heine Jr. and his wife Susan Marie Carl Heine mysteriously died at sea, being found in his fishing net. It was the sheriff's and everyone in the town's free will to immediately accuse Kabuo Miymaoto. Since he was chinese and they did know how to fight in the war, he obviously had wanted the land bed enough to kill Carl Heine, a childhood friend....right? That's what everyone assumed.

Then in East of Eden, it was not Adam's will to go into the army it was his brother's. Yet his dad made him go into the army and did not let his brother, Charles, for unknown reasons. Also it was not Cathy's choice to go to California, she told Adam many times that she didn't want to go, but he never really listened to her. There are so many examples of free will and choice in these two books, it would take forever to name them all. I believe there are so many examples to show you how Americawas different it the old days, to show you that we haven't always had the freedom we have today.