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Chapter 1

Introduction

“There is no such thing as chance; and what seems to us merest accident springs from the

deepest source of destiny.”- Friedrich Schiller

Both fate and coincidence have given rise to a whole host of theories, which range from

those that are supported by statistics, to those that view these phenomena as supernatural

intervention. One name in psychology stands out among the rest Carl Gustav Jung. The

psychoanalyst, first follower of Freud, and founder of his own school of thought dedicated much

of his work to these phenomena. He was the one who postulated the interesting concept of

synchronicity.

One of the first people to ask questions about coincidence and fate was Hippocrates, the

father of medicine. According to this wise Greek doctor, all components of the universe are

linked by “hidden affinities.” In other words, he believed there were laws that explained

everything, we just didn’t know them yet.

Arthur Schopenhauer, a well-known German philosopher, thought something similar:

“the destiny of one individual will invariably adjust to the destiny of another, and each one is the

protagonist of their own drama, while simultaneously playing a role in the other’s drama. This is

something that exceeds our ability to comprehend.”

With Sigmund Freud, the concept of the “collective unconscious” started to take hold,

while Carl Jung was the one who gave it a definitive form. He defined as content that is beyond

our awareness and is common to all human beings. It includes memories, fantasies, and desires
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that we’re not aware of, but that are present in all of us. The collective unconscious is the origin

of unconscious communication between people, which would explain a lot of what we call

coincidences.

Later on, the psychoanalyst developed the concept of synchronicity, which he defined as

“temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events.”  In other words, it is the confluence of

two situations, neither of which cause the other, that have complementary content. Over time,

Jung’s theories derived into magical thinking. While Jung’s theory is very attractive, it’s not the

only one that can explain coincidence and fate. For Freud, the father of psychoanalysis and

Jung’s teacher, it was quite the opposite. In his view, fate does not really exist. Humans are the

ones that create it through their stubborn insistence on giving meaning to everything that

happens, and also because neurosis causes people to repeat traumatic situations.

People tend to see meaning in coincidences where there is none Neurobiologists have

discovered that when there’s an increase of dopamine in the brain, it increases the tendency to

see patterns in everything, causing people to erroneously attribute meaning to coincidences

where there is none, and to establish links, sometimes strange ones, between things that aren’t

actually related. Perhaps the situations we view as fate are more due to the guiding hand of the

unconscious. Without realizing, we seek to be in certain situations or have certain experiences.

Maybe human beings aren’t as free from fate as we think. Our unconscious fantasies and desires

are the things that design what we call destiny. It’s just that giving it a magical tint in some way

gives us a certain amount of satisfaction.

This project aims to view how characters and fate are interconnected with reference to the

novels Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. ‘Destiny is Fate and

Fate is Destiny’. Fatalism, the attitude of mind which accepts whatever happens as having been
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bound or decreed to happen. Such acceptance may be taken to imply belief in a binding or

decreeing agent. The development of this implication can be found in ancient Greek and Roman

mythology, with its personification of Fate, and in Norse mythology with the Norns. Later

doctrines of fatalism may be described loosely as synonymous with determinism, but it is useful

to make a distinction. Whereas determinism can be represented as compatible with moral

responsibility, fatalism properly understood would reduce practical ethics to nothing but the

advice that humans should resign themselves indifferently to the course of events.

The project aims to find the relation between character and destiny, on different times.

On analysing the characters in the plays Oedipus Rex and Macbeth by Sophocles and William

Shakespeare respectively. And for the present situation, one of the most influential online

gaming PUBG is also taken into consideration. PUBG is a shooter that’s as invested in creating a

smart, nuanced survival experience as it is fun, action-packed combat. The term ‘survival’ links

these three topics. And this survival crisis is accounted with the help of destiny or fate.

Sophocles’s Oedipus is a victim of that fate. The play is the tragic tale of King Oedipus’s

downfall. The cursed fate of Oedipus coupled with his curiosity lead him to his utter ruin.

Oedipus is a magnanimous tragic figure whose fall from power and fame is a spectacle captured

in this play by Sophocles. The play is named after Oedipus and he remains in the focus

throughout the play. The play unfolds the drama of his sudden descent from the heights of glory

and power. Oedipus, the glorious king of Thebes, is flung to the very nadir by his fate. The play

underlines the uncertainty of human life and explores the crucial role that destiny plays in it. The

tragedy of Oedipus is shaped by his own natural curiosity and the adverse destiny. His strong

curiosity expedited his destined downfall. t. He is apt to worry about Greek 'fatalism' and the

justice of the downfall of Oedipus, and, finding no satisfactory solution for these intellectual
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difficulties, loses half the pleasure that the drama was intended to produce. Perhaps we trouble

ourselves too much cocerning the Greek notions of fate in human life. How is the tragedy of

Oedipus to be reconciled with a rational conception of life? and how does Oedipus himself

comply with the Aristotelian requirements for a tragic hero.? Aristotle finds the end of human

endeavor to be happiness, that is, an unhampered activity of the soul in accordance with true

reason, throughout the complete lifetime. This happiness, as Aristotle discovered by careful

observation during the length of his thoughtful life, does not result principally from the gifts of

fortune, but rather from a steady and comprehensive intellectual vision which views life steadily

and distinguishes in every action the result to be attained. By the light of this vision the wise man

preserves a just balance among his natural impulses, and firmly and consistently directs his will

and emotions toward the supreme end which reason approves. He has, therefore, an inward

happiness which cannot be shaken save by great and numerous outward calamities, and,

moreover, he attains an adequate external prosperity, since, other things being equal, the most

sensible people are the most successful, and misfortune is due, in large measure, to lack of

knowledge or lack of prudence.

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet

and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's

greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" or simply

"the Bard".  His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets,

three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have

been translated into every major living languages and are performed more often than those of

any other playwright.  He remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language,

and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.

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Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he

married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children Susanna and

twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in

London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain’s

Men, later known as the King’s Men. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to

Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this

has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearence, his

sexuality, his religious beliefs and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were

primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these

genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them hamlet, Romeo and

Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the

English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragic comedies also known as romances

and collaborated with other playwrights.

Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy

in his lifetime. However, in 1623, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, John

Heminges and Henry Condell, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a

posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that included all but two of his

plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson that hailed Shakespeare with the now

famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians at least one of whose plays has

survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those of

Aeschylus, and earlier than, or contemporary with, those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote over 120
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plays, but only seven have survived in a complete form Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis,

Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost fifty years, Sophocles

was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens

which took place during the religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia. He competed in

thirty competitions, won twenty-four, and was never judged lower than second place. Aeschylus

won thirteen competitions, and was sometimes defeated by Sophocles; Euripides won four.

The most famous tragedies of Sophocles feature Oedipus and Antigone: they are

generally known as the Theban plays, though each was part of a different tetralogy. Sophocles

influenced the development of drama, most importantly by adding a third actor attributed to

Sophocles by Aristotle; to Aeschylus by Themistius, thereby reducing the importance of the

chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his characters to a greater extent than

earlier playwrights.

In Macbeth, the vivid portrayal and the ups and downs of the plot show us the process

of Macbeth's changing from a hero to a regicide traitor. As a meritorious general for

counterinsurgency, Macbeth's lust for power is ever expanding. The personality of id, ego and

superego fight with each other repeatedly, making Macbeth lose the control of personality, and

finally leading him to a dead end. This paper explores how the desire for power makes Macbeth

lose his mind gradually and ultimately get self-destructed. Macbeth is the darkest of

Shakespeare's great tragedies. The personification of "Valour" fortifies Macbeth's strength. This

quality makes Macbeth him. The combination of meanings of the witches' interpretations hints

at Macbeth's final downfall. Both Macbeth and his wife are victimized by the witches. Macbeth

pretends to be friendly with Banquo. But underneath his beautiful skin there is a relentless heart.

Lady Macbeth's desires for political powers are stronger than Macbeth. What Duncan and
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Banquo think and say forms a sharp contrast to Macbeth's thoughts and actions. Macbeth is

marked by his destiny and by the false creation from his fevered brain. He was the responsible

for the fate in his life. Unlike Oedipus, Macbeth was misleaded and his doing made his fortune

for the rest. The Witches are the outer cause, and Macbeth before they meet on the heath for the

first time. The paper will also discuss the theme of fate, whose characteristics also belong to the

witches who serves as the outer cause tragedy in the play. Fate as mentioned before, weave the

threads of all the events in man’s life into cloth and finish the work before he is born. And

interestingly enough the words or the expressions as t cloth, or rather clothes, are used so often in

Macbeth, which helps to emphasize the shadow theme of the fates. Are the witches merely

prophets who impart to Macbeth their knowledge knowing full well that Macbeth would be

unable to change it if he wished, or, by telling Macbeth his fate are they in fact insuring that a

certain course of events will take place? In other words, in this scene do the witches function

merely as a device for the audience, like the kind of foreshadowing we generally get from

soliloquies, or do they function causally and actually exert power over Macbeth and the course of

play by speaking with Macbeth directly. Although Macbeth cannot control the circumstances or

the ramifications of his actions, he does choose to act which gives him the appearance of agency,

although whether that agency is legitimate or not depends on interpretation. There is simply no

immediate, clear answer to this ambiguity over the role of the weird sisters and the role of fate in

this text.

PUBG is a game with great relevance today, it is played and downloaded by over fifty

million people across the world. The research found out that a majority of PUBG players, that is

24.3%, spend at least eight hours on an everyday basis while those who play the game for less

than two hours amount to 15.9 %. The study also found out that Indians prefer to fight for the
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“Chicken Dinner” mostly at night. The battle is between the characters and the fate. Some may

take it more personally and there are many case studies regarding this subject. This personal

level is more dangerous than mere addiction. It may lead the player to do many horrible things

in his real life. It happens because of the overinvolvement of the players into the gaming

characters. Certain studies says that the students and the youngsters are more those who got

involved in the games so far. The covid days and the quarrentine days also played major role in

promoting the game unknowingly.

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Chapter 2

The Theme of Fate in Macbeth

While perusing Macbeth we can turn out to be exceptionally keen on the manners by

which destiny acts inside the play and started to contemplate whether a nearby assessment of the

subject will modify the play's translation. Obviously the occasions of the play are in numerous

ways foreordained by the thoughts and values that were overwhelming during the time that

Shakespeare was composing. To find actual success and have his plays preformed and partake in

any sort of progress they should adjust to certain acknowledged norms of the medium. In large

numbers of Shakespeare's plays, be that as it may, we see him unobtrusively undermine these

acknowledged norms and values for a huge part of the play.

We see this sort of disruption occurring in Merchants of Venice when Shylock gives his

popular, refining discourse which challenges the assumptions that the theater-going crowd had

about Jewish individuals, Albeit in the end Shylock is rebuffed and the more socially strong

Christian worth framework is maintained. In Twelfth Night a lady dresses in drag and goes gaga

for a man and has a lady experience passionate feelings for her and limits of orientation

personality and heterosexuality are addressed. Yet, eventually, the hetero-regulating esteem

framework is maintained with the commitment of customary relationships. The dinky

significance of Macbeth (I was unable to help myself on the similar sounding word usage),

notwithstanding, appears to be more hard to decipher. A piece of this trouble is expected to the

presence of the witches. Without them, this play would fall all the more perfectly into a

classification. It would be a play about scrutinizing the authenticity of influence, a piece like

Richard III. Not withstanding, we can accept that the all-encompassing idea of destiny, as it is
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addressed by the bizarre sisters, gives this play other layers of importance and questions the idea

of the heavenly right to run the show. It is my affirmation that the idea of destiny in Macbeth

works on two levels, first that it influences the mentalities and ways of behaving of the

characters in Macbeth, and second that it questions overall worth frameworks, both in terms of

scrutinizing the heavenly right and the idea of sovereignty as well as independence, that in the

end carry the play to its unavoidable, socially satisfactory closure without settling these worth

clashes.

When we start this investigation as the play opens. The three witches open the play and

vow to meet again to address Macbeth. Obviously the witches are alluded to as the strange

sisters, and as the commentary in the Norton Release recommends, the first spelling was wyrd

sisters, furthermore, this associates the witches with destiny in a certain manner. Every one of the

three witches talks multiple times (the reference to threes is very logical a reference to the three

destinies from traditional folklore), and afterward all serenade the last couplet which is

suggestive of a spiritualist serenade of some kind or another or on the other hand spell. As

Stephen Regan writes in Texts and Settings:

"The alliterative choric couplet is profoundly critical, since it starts the language of

mystery and equivocalness so emphatically normal for Macbeth. The 'mist and disgusting

air' allude to clouded vision and the slow climate that immerses a significant part of the

activity in the play. 'Fair' infers things that are wonderful and lovely, yet in addition

things that are simply, which 'foul' alludes to both soil and perniciousness. The

breakdown of any firm differentiation between these terms expects the ethical

ambiguities of the play." (92)

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Obviously in this scene the odd sisters capability as an outlining gadget for the play that sets up

certain assumptions in the crowd about what they are going to see. The crowd gets it that we will

be acquainted with Macbeth, and that he has an association with these three peculiar ladies.

In the following scene, nonetheless, the crowd's assumptions are not met as we are not

acquainted with Macbeth. Rather we meet Duncan, Malcolm and different others as they hear a

injured solider talk about Macbeth and his personality is examined and outlined for the crowd.

His portrayal in this scene differentiates significantly from the past one as Macbeth is hailed as

"bold Macbeth", "like courage's crony", "brave cousin", "commendable noble man" (1.2.10 - 25)

and other such depictions that paint a picture of a brave solider. This portrayal doesn't network

excessively well with the sort of man who might be the object of consideration of a threesome of

witches.

Currently Macbeth's personality appears to be incoherent which signals the crowd to give

close consideration to this generally befuddling character. The scene changes again to the

witches who are trusting that Macbeth will appear, and at the point when he does they hail him

as the Thane of Cawdor and the future ruler. Obviously Macbeth does not yet realize that the

Lord has chosen to make him the Thane of Cawdor, and believes being above all else is similarly

as incomprehensible. At the point when Duncan comes and welcomes him as the Thane of

Cawdor, Macbeth starts to give confidence to the witches predictions, and his own desires start

to bloom. In this scene the witches prophesize Macbeth's and Banquo's future and it places into

question the witches' association with the course of occasions.

Are the witches just prophets who give to Macbeth their insight knowing full well that

Macbeth would not be able to change it assuming he wished, or, by telling Macbeth his destiny

are they as a matter of fact protecting that a specific course of occasions will occur? All in all, in
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this scene do the witches capability only as a gadget for the crowd, similar to the sort of hinting

whereby and large get from monologues, or do they capability causally and really apply control

over Macbeth and the course of play by talking with Macbeth straightforwardly. Kiernan Ryan

writes in Shakespeare: Third edition:

"Whether the predictions happen consistently relies upon Macbeth's conscious

complicity, in spite of the fact that their full importance and outcomes are brutally shut to

him. The 'blemished speakers' of the heath can anticipate, yet they can't constrain. Inside

the verifiable limits of his circumstance, as he is socially obliged to see it, Macbeth's

destiny is crafted by his own human hands."(page 91)

Ryan upholds this statement with this understanding The handmaidens of Hecat highlight the

way that Macbeth in all actuality does without a doubt form his own destruction, yet does as such

under conditions which he has neither made nor picked himself, furthermore, over whose

extreme consequences he has no control by any means." Ryan uncovers an extremely muddled

part of the idea of destiny. In spite of the fact that Macbeth have zero control over the conditions

or the implications of his activities, he decides to act which gives him the appearance of

organization, despite the fact that regardless of whether that office is genuine relies upon

understanding.

There is just no quick, unmistakable response to this uncertainty over the job of the

bizarre sisters and the job of destiny in this text. Regan recommends: "Instead of seeing the

witches as obviously malicious, we could attempt to envision them as the exemplification of the

relative multitude of nerves, threats and fears that alleged edified society routinely abuses. Seen

according to this point of view, the witches become an assigned gathering inside a specific social

and political request; they imply all that is degenerate and unreasonable as per the biases of the
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decision tip top." In Macbeth, the main characters that are unreasonable and weird and exist

beyond society are the bizarre sisters. The other characters fit effectively inside generally

characterized jobs and, for the most part, act in the ways that they are supposed to. The

undeniable special cases, obviously, are Macbeth and Woman Macbeth who disregard accepted

practices by committing regicide, which is most certainly not an acknowledged, normal practice.

Macbeth additionally abuses social assumptions as he keeps on carrying out murders that are

superfluous, awful, and break the praiseworthy limits that he ought to have as a man as well as

an officer. It would be straightforward, nonetheless, to discount the witches as specialists of

fiendishness. It would be simple to say that their job is just to entice Macbeth, and thusly, do as a

matter of fact cause the activities of the play. As Ryan expresses: "Such a perusing, in any case,

doesn't endure a nearer literary assessment, directed both by authentic information on what

Shakespeare's theatrics was inclined to see, and by the current targets of extremist analysis" (90).

I concur that understanding is very restricting and I can't help suspecting that this excessively

shortsighted 'powers of good versus powers of evil' translation would consign Macbeth into the

class of a profound quality play. Regan composes:

"Misfortune in the mid seventh century took its direction from traditional models,

however likewise from a scope of additional neighborhood and prompt impacts. One potential

source was the Christian 'ethical quality plays' of the fifteenth and mid sixteenth hundreds of

years - plays, for example, Everyman and Humankind - which are basically stories of

enticement, sin and reclamation. It is now and again recommended that the misfortunes

composed by Shakespeare what's more, his counterparts owe something of their moral or

instructive accentuation to the prior ethical quality plays.”(page 82)

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It is natural that the Fates who weave cloth threaded with all events in man's life

beforehand can foretell his future with ease. For them the future of man is the past. Spenser also

refers the power of the Fates to foretell the future in Faerie Queen, which is striking similar to

the scene where Macbeth goes to the Witches to ask them to foretell his own future. In Faerie

Queen Fay, worrying about her three sons' future, visits the Fates. The dwelling of the Fates is in

the ground from tract of living went, Downe in the bottom of the deep Abyss, where

Demogorgon is the ruler. Arriving at the dwelling, 'There she them found, all sitting round about.

The direful distaff standing in the middle. The dwelling of the Witches which Mabeth visits can

be presumed dark Hell as that of the Fates by the words of Hecate "And at the pit of Acheron/

Meet me in the morning (Ill, v, 15)", though the stage directions say only "a cavern". There

Macbeth finds a cauldron in the middle instead of a distaff, and the Witches around it instead of

the Fates. Fay asks the Fates about her sons' future sometimes with boldness and sometimes with

a plea, which closely resembles Macbeth asking the Witches about his own future. It is quite

natural to think that Shakespeare knew about Spenser's Faerie Queen when he wrote Macbeth in

1606, for Faerie Queen was written between 1590 and 1596.

The Fates, as mentioned before, weave the threads of all the events in man's life into cloth

and finish the work before he is born. And interestingly enough the words or the expressions as

to cloth, or rather clothes, are used so often in Macbeth, which helps to emphasize the shadow

theme of the Fates. In Act I scene iii when Macbeth is informed by Ross that he has been given

the title of the thane of Cawdor, he cries inspite of himself.

Although it is a reasonable assumption that Shakespeare had been influenced by morality

plays, to assume that this accurately describes his purpose or the ultimate meaning of his works
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isn’t supportable. It is true that Shakespeare’s plays tend to end on a socially normative note that

leaves intact the world view of his audience, however, to say that this is the same thing as a

religious allegory in which good wins out over evil is to completely deny the scope and

relevance of these texts. Since taking the position of viewing Shakespeare as a writer 7 of

morality plays is untenable, the answer to the question previously posed about the nature of the

role of the witches and fate in Macbeth must lie outside of this narrow interpretation. As Regan

suggests, “If the witches embody the repressed elements of an enlightened society, acting as

scapegoats for an ugly set of prejudices, they are also capable of threatening that society by

exposing it for the sham it is”.

The weird sisters, by nature of being witches, are vaguely threatening. Their existence

within the play, with their chanting and spell-casting and potion-making, is eerie and unsettling.

Yet, other than act strangely, what do they actually do? They tell Macbeth that he will be king

and Banquo that his son will be king. If they do have some power over the events of the play and

can affect the course or outcome of the play, what is their motivation for doing so? By setting

these events in motion they would be exposing the weakness of the system that oppresses them.

If power is all it takes to decide what is right and what is wrong then the person who is in power

need not be virtuous by nature, just powerful. For the witches, exposing the hypocritical nature

of the society they live in, where an unjust man can decide what’s just, where a regicide wields

the same power as a legitimate king, makes sense as motivation. Even before Macbeth kills

Duncan, this play calls into question the legitimacy of power. Regan writes: “Macbeth is

sometimes seen, in a rather facile way, as a play about the conflict between order and disorder,

but the early scenes of the play raise important questions about the kind of order that exists

before Macbeth seizes the crown”. Macbeth becomes the Thane of Cawdor by defeating an
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enemy who was himself vying for the throne of Scotland. It is though violence that Macbeth is

promoted, and the nature of this violence can only end the physical existence of the person who

represented this stark individualistic avarice, leaving these values completely unaddressed. 8

After Duncan gives Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor, he tells Macbeth that he deserves

more. After one part of the witches’ prediction had come true Macbeth assumes that Duncan will

name him as his successor. Shortly after this Duncan does make an announcement about his

succession, but instead of choosing Macbeth he chooses his son Malcolm, which incites an

extreme jealousy in Macbeth, who believes that he should have been named the next King of

Scotland. His jealousy carries him a long way towards committing regicide. As Regan points out,

“It is unclear whether Macbeth means to challenge or recruit the workings of ‘Fate’, but his

sense of determination appears strained. The opening words of the Soliloquy – ‘To be thus is

nothing’ – anticipate the despairing nihilism that descends in Act 5”. Macbeth is troubled about

the prophesy of the witches. On one hand he is ambitious and wants to be king, but on the other

he is afraid of what he will have to do in order to become king. This dilemma is very compelling.

Fate once again complicates the issue. If Macbeth is going to be king, if it is truly fated, then he

has no choice in the matter, and therefore it would seem that he has no agency. In this way the

invisible knife that Macbeth follows to kill Duncan can be seen as the intruding hand of fate. If

he has no agency and is compelled by some outside power, like fate or witchcraft, to murder

Duncan, then he should never regain his agency.

However, after the murder of Duncan we see clear signs of his independence and agency

as he stops taking his wife into his confidence as he no longer needs outside forces to make

decisions for him. He is clearly in control when he orders the murder of Banquo and his son, as

well as the wife and children of Macduff. Whatever role fate takes in Macbeth, he clearly makes
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his own decisions. However, once in power Macbeth does not become a kind a tolerant ruler. He

is paranoid, and rightfully so. Now that he knows that the King was not a sacred being who was

protected by any sort of divinity or more-than-human power he is inescapably aware that he too

is just a man 9 and afforded no extraordinary protections.

This brings us to the question of how fate operates in this play in terms of its overall

value structures. Of course understanding these value structures requires context which Regan

provides on this subject: “Shakespearian tragedy is similarly poised between the breakdown of

older forms of social organization and a new, uncertain future; in some ways, it cannot help but

anticipate the political turmoil of the English Civil War (sometimes referred to as the English

Revolution). If tragedy served at one level to restore and legitimize the role of the king, it also

served to demystify and even degrade the sovereign image. The cultural theorist Franco Moretti

argues explicitly that Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedy was one of the decisive influences in the

creation of a public that for the first time in history assumed the right to bring a king to justice:

‘Tragedy disentitled the absolute monarch to all ethical and rational legitimation. Having

deconsecrated a king, tragedy made it possible to decapitate him’.” The fact that Macbeth is able

to kill Duncan is problematic as it does not coincide with the beliefs that Shakespeare’s audience

would have had about kingship: “An audience watching Macbeth in 1606 would have been

accustomed to a much more refined and elaborate idea of kingship, strongly informed by claims

to absolute power and divine right. In a subtle way, Macbeth draws on conflicting ideas of royal

power; it raises uncomfortable questions about succession, about the personal qualities of kings

and about what constitutes effective rule.” Duncan, as far as we are aware, is a good king by

most accounts. He may be naive and trust too easily, considering that he trusted Macbeth which

was a fatal mistake, but everyone around him seemed to respect him. If Duncan was a good king,
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and a legitimate ruler, then he should have 10 ruled with absolute power because he had the

divine right to do so. If God had chosen Duncan to be king, then how was Macbeth able to

murder him while he slept and take the throne so easily? The easiest answer is to again cast

Macbeth and the witches into that pit of absolute evil, but this would reduce the whole work to

the level of a parable, and Macbeth is far too complex to be so simplistic and so it demands

another interpretation. Either Macbeth also had the divine right to rule and fate as it is

represented by the witches is an odd mask for some sort of divine plan, which seems unlikely as

he is a homicidal lunatic, or there is no divine right to rule and legitimacy is not measured by

God but rather some other, human, set of standards. However, once the king is no longer a divine

being but a man just like every other man, he is deconsecrated and subject to the same laws and

rules as everyone else. Macbeth was first performed around 1606, almost forty years before the

English Civil War, and yet there are these ideas and ideals that are new, different, modern.

“King Lear and Macbeth are not just stories about exceptional individuals with tragic

flaws of character, but works that emerge from, and respond to, the constitutional and

ideological upheavals of the early sixteenth century. They are works written at a time of

increasing skepticism about the natural and supernatural order of the universe, and about

the social and political order established in close relation to that overarching, hierarchical

design. In both plays, tragedy has important social origins and social repercussions; it

emerges not from the failings of solitary individuals, but from the interaction of those

individuals with prevailing structures of power.”

Macbeth thus engages the central problem of a Christian metaphysic, the conflict between

divine omniscience and human free will, and emerges with the gloomiest of verdicts, as neither

Divine Providence nor human volition can account for the action of the play. The idea of free
 19

will is dissipated in the failure of naturalistic questions that produce a causal chain that runs from

motivation to action to consequence. The inadequacy of such questions shows through the prose

of the foremost of Shakespeare's character-and action interpreters when Bradley describes

Macbeth's feelings at the murder Duncan: "The deed is done in horror and without the faintest

desire or sense of glory—done, one may almost say, as if it were an appalling duty; and. the

instant it. is finishedu its futility is revealed to Macbeth as clearly as its vileness had been.

revealed beforehand. " It was, however, the futility of the act which Macbeth had noted well

before it took place. He wished that the assassination could trammel up the consequences and

"be the be-all and end-all here" (17.2-5) but he finally came to acknowledge the inevitability of

retribution saying in these cases We still have judgment here; that we but teach Bloody

instructions, which, being taught, return to plague the inventor: this even-handed justice

Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice To our own lips (1.7.7-11)

Macbeth says that he has no desire to kill Duncan "I have no spur / To prick the sides of

my intent," (1.7.25—26). He sees that the prophecies mean that there is no necessity for him to

do anything in order to become king: when he says "If Chance will have me King, why, Chance

may crown me, Without my stir" just after the meeting with the Witches (1.3.143—44), this

suggests that the prophecies, rather than inciting Macbeth towards the killing of Duncan, should

have led him to view Malcolm's nomination as the royal heir with an equanimity born of the

certainty of his over eventual accession. And he shows no sense of accomplishment even

immediately after he has performed the murder: "Wake Duncan with thy knocking: I would thou

couldst" (2.2.73) he says, only minutes afterwards.

Why then, does Macbeth kill Duncan? Bradley's description of Macbeth's motivation toward

the murder is that it is "as if . an appalling duty." It is, Bradley sees, more accurately described as
 20

a compulsion than as a decision, and Bradley's attempt at a quantification of what drives

Macbeth to the act of regicide, that "neither his ambition nor yet the prophecy of the Witches

would ever without the aid of Lady Macbeth have overcome . . . [Macbeth's] resistance" to the

idea of killing Duncan will, to a modern ear, too easi.ly recall "The woman gave me of the tree,

and I did eat," to sound like a balanced assessment of blame. Macbeth's action is not entirely

explicable in psychological terms, and the terms of any explanation are greatly complicated by

the means of representation, in structure and language, of the murder itself, A significant feature

of the representation of Duncan's murder is that it takes place offstage. This is a departure from

the Shakespearean norm, and even from the norm in Macbeth, where Banquo.. Macduff's son

and Young Siward are murdered onstage, and Macduff e:xhibits the severed head of Macbeth.

When this unseen murder is placed between Macbeth's wish that "I go, and it is done" (not "and I

do it") and his emphatic assertion just after the killing that "I have done the deed," where the

rhetorical finality expresses his desire to send the deed to a safely completed, "trammelled up"

past, the psychological dimension of the dramatic absence of the murder becomes clear; the play

is representing Macbeth's avoidance of any thought of the act.

1606 was a time when people were open to new ideas, new ways of understanding things,

new kinds of social relationships. Macbeth didn’t fail because the nature of his ambition was

inherently evil, or because he was possessed by evil when he desired the witches prophesy to 11

come true. Macbeth failed because he had to fail to maintain a socially acceptable outcome, in

the same way that happened in The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. We can say that

Macbeth’s fate is dramatized as this man’s subjection to these vicious imperatives, rather than as

proof of our collective enslavement to some malign, metaphysical statute, which we are

powerless to repeal. Macbeth fell victim to “our self centered capitalist culture” in which the
 21

individual is all that matters, and it is Macbeth’s failure to act in the interest of anyone other than

himself that ultimately leads to his doom. For Ryan, Macbeth was not a victim of fate at all, but

rather he was a victim of his own selfish ideologies. In the end, as Macbeth’s head is stuck upon

a pike for all to jeer at, the problems of Macbeth as a king (and thus moral authority) as well as

Macbeth as a murderous lunatic have been solved. However, the ways in which the construction

of fate within the play has challenged the ideas of the legitimacy of moral authorities as well as

“our self-centered capitalist culture” remain after Macbeth has died. True, the physical

representation of these challenges to accepted standards has been disposed of, but the challenge

remains.
 22

Chapter 3

Oedipus as a Victim of Fate

Oedipus in Oedipus Rex is necessarily a victim of fate and his own psychology. His curiosity

brings about his downfall. Ancient Greek plays weren't just portrayals of some obscure tale, but

were insights into human nature. Oedipus, although a victim of circumstances, digs his own

grave by curiously unravelling his past. Jocasta foresees his doom and begs him to stop, but to no

avail. The curiosity of Oedipus forces him, almost like a drug, to explore the mystery regarding

his birth. This curiosity is not something extraordinary in Oedipus - it is an intrinsic attribute of

human nature. Knowledge is not always desired - whether it is Adam or Oedipus, their curiosity

caused their eventual downfall. Oedipus was ill-fated since birth. He did not know that Laius was

his biological father and therefore killed him. He arrived at Thebes, solved the riddle of the

Sphinx, and married Jocasta without knowing that she in fact was his biological mother. He

begot children and was living happily with his family when a sudden calamity struck Thebes.

The calamity, though at first seemed public in nature, but later proved to be very personal for

Oedipus. It drives home the fundamental truth about uncertainty of human life. That Laius was

slayed by his own son, even after much precaution, proves the helplessness of humans in front of

the designs of fate. Oedipus's mutilation of his eyes is also fated. It was committed by him in the

heat of the moment and was certainly not a rational decision. Destiny treats him unfairly.

Oedipus, in fact, defends his actions in Oedipus Rex in its sequel Oedipus at Colonus.

The research paper discusses the unhappy fate of Oedipus and the role of destiny and his own

curiosity in achieving it. Textual analysis has been adopted as the principal methodology in this

research paper. Oedipus Tyrannos or Oedipus Rex or Oedipus the King or King Oedipus is the
 23

first part of the trilogy of dramas by ancient Greek dramatist Sophocles regarding the myths and

legends surrounding the Royal House of Thebes. Oedipus carries his past in his very name. He is

actually the biological son of King Laius of Thebes. However, hearing a divine prophesy about

her soon being destined to slay Laius, King Laius’s wife Jocasta hands over the new-born to her

servant to kill the baby. However, Oedipus is rescued by another man from Corinth, who finds

him with his ankles riveted. He carries Oedipus to Corinth, where King Polybus of Corinth who

had no children, adopts Oedipus as his own son. Oedipus grows up believing Polybus to be his

father. However, the old terror returns as Oedipus gets to know the divine prophesy by the

Oracle of Delphi regarding him. He flees from Corinth in order to escape the terrible prediction.

He reaches Thebes and finds it to be in absolute disarray with its King Laius been murdered by

unknown assassins. Oedipus is successful in solving the problem of the Theban people by

answering the riddles of the deadly Sphinx and destroying its power. Oedipus receives a hero’s

welcome. He becomes the king of Thebes and also marries the widow of King Laius, Jocasta.

They live happily for several years until tragedy strikes Thebes again.

It is at this point that the play Oedipus Rex begins. The play begins with the people of

Thebes, led by a priest, appealing to King Oedipus to save them from the terrible calamity all

around in Thebes. King Oedipus pledges to help them in every possible way. Creon, Oedipus’s

brother-in-law, comes back from the Pythian shrine of Apollo with the divine directive that the

killer of Laius must be found out and banished from Thebes in order to end the ongoing tragedy

in Thebes. Oedipus promises to solve the mystery of Laius’s murder. Teiresias, a revered blind

prophet who had been summoned to Oedipus’s palace, declares Oedipus as Laius’s murderer,

much to Oedipus’s fury, disgust and suspicion. Oedipus embarks on a rash interrogation-based

investigation in order to find out the truth about Laius’s murderer and his own birth The chorus
 24

is a unique feature of ancient Greek plays. The chorus has a crucial role to play in Oedipus Rex.

The chorus provides insightful commentaries on the statements made by the major characters

and the events unfolding on stage. The chorus also often acts as a mediator and interjects with

very important comments. The chorus expresses its view in one voice – it is a symbol of

collective public opinion. The major characters, Oedipus, Creon and Jocasta, often engage in a

conversation with the chorus.

The chorus provides perspective to the incidents happening on stage. The chorus is the

companion of Oedipus in his venture to unravel the mystery of King Laius’s death. Oedipus is

often advised by the chorus during the investigation, like the idea to summon the blind prophet,

Teiresias. It tries to intervene when Oedipus gets into a verbal duel first with Teiresias and later

with his brother-in-law, Creon. Oedipus comments that – “A fine peacemakers’ part your

worships would have played!” The chorus is confused when Teresias declares that Oedipus is the

killer of Laius. They are in a dilemma between their allegiance and respect for their King and the

straight allegations raised against him by their revered prophet. They say – “We cannot believe,

we cannot deny; all’s dark. We fear, but we cannot see, what is before us.” It is the chorus that

enquires about Jocasta and Oedipus’s fate at the end of the play. The chorus makes very

important observations regarding various dramatic situations on stage. After the mystery of

Oedipus’s birth is solved, the chorus makes the following observation – “All the generations of

mortal man add up to nothing! Show me the man whose happiness was anything more than

illusion Followed by disillusion Here is the instance, here is Oedipus, here is the reason Why I

will call no mortal creature happy.”

It is interesting to note that the chorus is never judgemental about Oedipus but rather

blames his destiny for his eventual ruin. Role of Destiny Destiny or fate is the most important
 25

theme of Oedipus Rex. Oedipus becomes the King of Thebes by his own ability. But he is

shattered completely by the designs of fate. There is no rational explanation as to why the curse

was imposed upon him. Oedipus tries his best to evade his predicted destiny, but in spite of his

efforts, he fails. Oedipus believed he could survive, given his resourcefulness and power. He

declares to Creon that – “Kingdoms are won by men and moneybags.” Oedipus is proved wrong

at the end of the play. Creon becomes the King without having either men or money and Oedipus

loses everything. Jocasta makes an apt observation – “Chance rules our lives, and the future is all

unknown.” That Oedipus should suffer thus all his life, bearing the dangerous predictions

regarding him, seems pre-destined. Oedipus is a happy man in the beginning of the play. He is

loved and respected by fellow the Thebans. He has good relations with his brother-in-law Creon.

There is Research Article Journal of humanities and cultural studies R&D also marital bliss

between Jocasta and Oedipus as is evident when Oedipus tells Jocasta – “You are more to me

than these good men”.

The ultimate tragedy of Oedipus is shaped by coincidence and his own destiny. Oedipus

is hailed as ‘the greatest of men’ by the chorus at the end of the play. Yet such a great man had

such a lowly fall. The role of fate is aptly summarised in these concluding lines of Oedipus Rex

– “Behold, what a full tide of misfortune swept over his head. Then learn that mortal man must

always look to his ending. And none can be called happy until that day when he carries His

happiness down to the grave in peace.” Oedipus is a miserable victim of Fate’s fancies. It seems

as if the unseen forces of destiny have plotted against Oedipus to bring about his downfall. It is

indeed by a very cruel coincidence, that Oedipus murders his father, marries his mother and

begets children – without himself having the slightest hint about his own misdeeds. A modern

reader would never blame Oedipus for his ‘sins’. Oedipus is an unconscious offender. He is like
 26

an alien in a foreign city, who is caught for breaking the rules that he himself was not aware of.

Indeed, it is a moment of great dramatic irony when Jocastsa exclaims upon hearing of the news

of King Polybus’s death – “Where are you now, divine prognostications! The man whom

Oedipus has avoided all these years, Lest he should kill him – dead! By a natural death, And by

no act of his!” At this point, Jocasta and others on stage are not aware that King Polybus was not

the biological father of Oedipus.. Oedipus actually unknowingly fulfilled the divine prophecy by

slaying his biological father Laius at Phocis. That, Oedipus has a noble bent of mind is portrayed

by the fact that the moment he gets the proof of his own wrong doings, he convicts himself

guilty. Oedipus laments – “Revealed as I am, sinful in my begettting, Sinful in marriage, sinful in

shedding of blood!” He blinds himself as a way of self-punishment and repentance. Interestingly,

at this point, Oedipus does not present any argument to defend himself and his actions.

He, however, does so in Oedipus At Colonus – “He whom I killed Had sought to kill me

first. His ignorance is his biggest claim for acquittal. Ancient Greek Plays as Commentaries on

Human Nature Ancient Greek plays dealt with various traits in man and his inherent nature.

Through tragedies, comedies and satyr-dramas, the Greek playwrights showcased the human life

and its twists & turns – situations that the audience could relate with. Sophocles, Euripedes &

Aesychlus were masters of this art. Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is a perfect example of Greek

tragedy. Sophocles drew the story of Oedipus Rex from popular myths regarding the Royal

House of Thebes. However, Sophocles brought about a number of important modifications in the

play. The final plot of the play must been shaped The fall of Oedipus, is a grand moment of

tragedy. The fall of Oedipus also highlights the uncertainty of human life and the crucial role

destiny plays in it. All of Oedipus’s resourcefulness could not save him from his eventual ruin.

Oedipus alludes to his past achievements in the play, but they are not enough to save him. In his
 27

personal crisis, destiny was definitely not on his side. The play Oedipus Rex ends on a tragic

note with Queen Jocasta committing suicide and King Oedipus blinding himself. The life of

King Oedipus is shattered forever. Oedipus would carry this burden of infamy throughout his life

as is shown in Oedipus At Colonus. The fatal curiosity of Oedipus Oedipus Rex is about the quest

of King Oedipus in search of knowledge about his own past. He declares philosophically and

very significantly – “Born thus, I ask to be no other man Than that I am, and will know who I

am.” The curiosity of King Oedipus brings about his downfall. He begins the quest with a vow to

discover the killer of King Laius. Teiresias, the blind prophet, was reluctant to tell the truth about

the killer of Laius. However, Oedipus’s insistence makes Teiresias declare that Oedipus himself

was the killer of Laius. After the revelation by the messenger of Corinth about King Polybus not

being his real father, Oedipus leaves no stone unturned in his quest to solve the mystery of his

own birth. He is advised by Jocasta refrain from searching the truth – yet his curiosity leads him

on. Oedipus summons the shepherd who used to work under Laius and who was the sole witness

of Laius’s death. In spite of the shepherd’s reluctance, Oedipus forces him to speak the truth.

Jocasta reproaches him for his unfaltering urge to learn the truth – “Doomed man! O never live

to learn the truth!” Oedipus is determined to find the truth – he almost seems to be under a spell

to find the truth – “Let all come out, However vile! However base it be, I must unlock the secret

of my birth.” It is a great dramatic irony that, when Oedipus gets to know the complete truth, he

cries – “Alas! All out! All known, no more. Oedipus solves the mystery of Laius’s death and his

own birth, only to approach his own destruction.

Oedipus Rex is the tragic tale of King Oedipus’s downfall. The cursed fate of Oedipus

coupled with his curiosity lead him to his utter ruin. Oedipus is a magnanimous tragic figure

whose fall from power and fame is a spectacle captured in this play by Sophocles. The play is
 28

named after Oedipus and he remains in the focus throughout the play. The play unfolds the

drama of his sudden descent from the heights of glory and power. Oedipus, the glorious king of

Thebes, is flung to the very nadir by his fate. The play underlines the uncertainty of human life

and explores the crucial role that destiny plays in it. The tragedy of Oedipus is shaped by his own

natural curiosity and the adverse destiny. His strong curiosity expedited his destined downfall.
 29

Chapter 4

PUBG: How Fate Overrun the Truth

PUBG is a game with great relevance today, it is played and downloaded by over fifty

million people across the world. The research found out that a majority of PUBG players, that is

24.3%, spend at least eight hours on an everyday basis while those who play the game for less

than two hours amount to 15.9 %. The study also found out that Indians prefer to fight for the

“Chicken Dinner” mostly at night.

The game can be seen as a modern day parrellel to Odepus Rex by its structure. Every

player in this game know that they are going to be killed or is vulnerable to the enemy. Their

duty is to get survived or not get killed and ‘not’ to make that oracle comes true. To win means

to get survived, so that the players in the game are working on that known truth, and ultimately

wins the game and overrun the truth.

Although it has only been on the market for a short period of time, the online game PubG

(Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds) has become a worldwide commercial success. Although

livestream gaming-related research has been pursued in many parts of the world, there is dearth

of research that links the interpretation of the kinds of strategy adopted that leads to the

enormous success of such games. Approaching the issue from a Blue Ocean perspective, this

research provides a critical interpretation of the correlation between the strategy adopted and the

success of the online-gaming industry in general, and PubG in particular. Thus, the aim of this

study is twofold to critically interpret the strategy behind the success of online game PubG; and

to explore users’ perspectives and opinions towards this game. The results showes that investing
 30

mobile platforms is one of the main ways in which competitive advantage can be gained as it

acts as an excellent substitute for other platforms, including PCs and other gaming devices.

Furthermore, PubG users worldwide offer excellent evidence of changes in consumer behaviour

towards acceptable marketing tactics. For vulnerable groups such as adolescents and emerging

adults who have psychological predispositions and or other comorbidities, engrossing

videogames which take up many hours a day such as PUBG may pose a risk which in the most

extreme cases may be fatal. Most research demonstrates that videogame playing has positive

influences on players' psychological health, and can have beneficial social, educational,

therapeutic, and cognitive benefits. The coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has

significantly disrupted normal daily activities worldwide. Stay‐at‐home orders and quarantines

have led to increased utilization of digital entertainment, including online gaming and associated

online activities. While most of this technology utilization is positive, it should be noted that

significant increases in gaming may not always be advantageous and that a small minority of

individuals, including teenagers, may be at risk of gaming disorder. Among those affected,

problematic gaming is associated with disturbance in sleep patterns, physical health problems,

and harms to mental health. For an even smaller minority, gaming disorder may lead to a

gaming addiction where gaming becomes the only activity in a person's life and is done to the

neglect of everything else. In May 2019, the World Health Organization officially recognized

gaming disorder as a mental health disorder.

One game that has been associated with gaming disorder and gaming addiction

is PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG). PUBG is a multiplayer online “battle royale”

endurance game where players are parachuted onto an island and must find weapons and then

kill everybody else on the island to win. Some of the well‐known consequences of
 31

playing PUBG to the neglect of everything else include exhaustion, eye strain, headaches,

obesity, insomnia, poor quality of sleep, withdrawal symptoms (irritability and rage), drug abuse,

and suicide. Some scholars claim the game has a negative influence on children and youth and

that it promotes cruelty, violence, and aggression. In extreme cases, there have been case reports

of self‐harm and suicide, among PUBG players who have been asked by their parents to stop

playing the game. Here, we briefly present three further PUBG‐related suicides that occurred

during the COVID‐19 pandemic. These three suicide cases all occurred within a few days of

each other and all in Lahore (Pakistan). All three were young males aged 16–20 years and their

suicides appear to be related to PUBG addiction.

A 20‐year‐old male from Saddar Bazaar (Lahore) committed suicide. He was a 2nd‐year

student at Forman Christian College. The report claimed he was addicted to PUBG, playing the

videogame almost all of the time. A day before committing suicide, he argued with his father

about the amount of gaming he was engaged in. His father reprimanded him and prohibited him

from playing the game. He got angry with his father because of his actions and committed

suicide by hanging from a fan in his bedroom.

A 16‐year‐old teenager from Hingerwal (Lahore) committed suicide by hanging himself

from a ceiling fan after he missed a PUBG mission in the game that had been assigned to him.

The teenager used to play game for many hours on daily basis, and was said by those who knew

him to be addicted to the game. He committed suicide after not being able to complete the task

while playing the game. Police found his mobile phone near him in his room with

the PUBG application still running. His parents had told him many times to stop playing the
 32

game. On the day of the suicide, the teenager was alone and he had locked the door of his room

while playing game and then killed himself.

An 18‐year‐old male residing at the Punjab Housing Society (Lahore) committed suicide by

hanging himself from a fan in a room of his rented house. The victim's brother who he lived with

confirmed to police that his brother was addicted to playing the PUBG videogame. It was

reported that the victim had made a video call to an unidentified girl before taking life. The

victim also left a suicide note in which he described PUBG as a “killer online game.” According

to one news report:

“The letter read that excessive violence could trigger aggressive thoughts, causing

violent behavior; addiction to complete the mission caused pain, agony and anxiety,

resulting in depression and stress; the players spent more time in playing the PUBG,

which meant they ended up becoming less socially active and sitting in front of the screen

for too long caused disruption in sleep pattern, resulting in deterioration of physical and

mental health” ( Smitha Gupta, Times of India ,page 7)

Being in lockdown and other preventive measures have been implemented throughout the

world in an attempt to minimize the spread of COVID‐19. Millions of individuals have been

restricted to their homes with lots of spare time to fill. Engaging in activities like gaming via

smartphones has become more frequent. Gaming can be unhealthy for a minority of individuals

who use it as coping mechanism and escapism from reality. Consequently, online gamers in the

lockdown period may be impacting psychologically because of the persistence of excessive

 33

gaming. The present‐report highlights what appears to be the first online gaming suicides during

the COVID‐19 pandemic globally and the first gaming‐related suicide cases in Pakistan.

The three cases highlighted here appeared to be addicted to the PUBG game (based on

corroborative reports), and their failure to stop playing the game and/or failures within the game

appears to have been the precipitating factor that led them to suicide. Previous cases of negative

consequences, self‐harm, and suicide among Indian youths addicted to PUBG cases have

previously been reported. Various consequences of problematic PUBG gaming led to exam

failure by a formerly studious teenager who had a distinction in his Secondary School Certificate

but ended up writing how to download and play PUBG in his exam questions running away

from home because of being brainwashed by online PUBG team‐mates hospitalization of a

fitness trainer who lost his mental balance and started hitting himself and got being injured after

completing one of the PUBG game rounds drinking acid instead of water by mistake while

being engrossed playing dying of neck pain nerve damage after playing PUBG for 45 continuous

days and being hit and killed by a train because of being so engrossed in playing the PUBG game

at a railway station.

The same study also provided evidence of a suicide attempt and suicide completion

because of PUBG. More specifically, a 14‐year‐old boy allegedly attempted suicide by

consuming poison in a fit of anger after his mother took away his mobile phone in an attempt to

stop him playing PUBG. Another boy hung himself because his parents refused to buy a new

smartphone for playing the PUBG after an argument with his family members. In another case

from Bangladesh, Mamun and Griffiths reported that an 18‐year‐old student committed suicide

with issues related to gaming although there were other multiple suicide factors including not
 34

getting the highest marks in an exam (which may have been because of excessive gaming) being

very stressed about an upcoming exam not being happy with his physical appearance that is,

weight and skin color suffering from some mental health problems including depression

probably because of his poor exam performance and dislike of his physical appearance and being

addicted to playing videogames. His suicide note read “even in death, I will be hero” which was

a reference to one of his videogame avatars

During lockdown, there appears to have been an increase in use of digital entertainment

consumption including viewing online video content, videogame streaming, e‐sport viewing, and

playing online games. The Telecommunication Company reported a 75% increase in online

gaming activities in the US and a 70% increase in Fortnite‐gaming‐related internet traffic in

Italy. Large gaming increases during the pandemic have also been reported by various Indian

gaming companies. Additionally, psychoactive substances and other escape‐based activities for

example gambling, gaming, pornography consumption can be used to relieve tension, anxiety,

and depressive moods. However, for a small minority with addictive behaviors, negative

consequences may occur if they are unable to ingest psychoactive substances or engage in

escape‐based activities. For some, such negative consequences may start with pain and

hopelessness, and then physiological, and/or psychological states which have the capacity to

facilitate suicidal ideation if such disruptions persist continuously. There may also be impulsive

suicide occurrences where people commit suicide without prior suicide planning due to not

succeeding and or failing in their gaming, a situation which appears to have occurred in at least

one of the previous case.

 35

In the modern era, Internet use has become an important and essential part of daily life.

Some online activities can lead to potentially addictive and harmful behaviors. Online gaming

can be addictive, although there are debates as to whether gaming addiction can be as harmful as

substance addictions. For some, excessive use of online activities is used as a way of coping with

negative psychological states such as anxiety, depression, and stress, psychological states that are

also predisposing risk factors for suicide, particularly depression. Despite the many positive

benefits of online gaming, it may pose a risk for vulnerable groups such as adolescents and

emerging adults who have other predispositions and or comorbidities, and in very extreme cases

may also be a factor in suicidal ideation.

In the game, up to 100 players parachute onto an island and scavenge for weapons and

equipment to kill others while avoiding getting killed. The available safe area of the game's

playable area decreases in size over time, displacing the surviving players into tighter areas to

force encounters against each other. The last player or team which eliminates the others get a

chance to win the round, for which they are rewarded with experience and bonus points which

includes points for the number of people killed in each round. PUBG received many positive

reviews from critics as it presented new types of game play that could be easily approached by

players of any skill level and most importantly it could be played with a different approach every

single time. The game received several ‘Game of the Year’ nominations, among other prizes.

Following the success many other video games, copied the battle royale-style genre. PUBG

Corporation has run several small tournaments and introduced in-game tools to help with

broadcasting the gameplay to spectators. Following the Chinese publication deal for the

Windows version, Tencent Games and PUBG Corporation additionally announced that they were

planning on releasing two mobile versions based on the game in the country. The games had a
 36

combined total of 7.5 crore pre-registrations, and ranked first and second respectively on the

Chinese iOS download charts at launch.

In another instance, a 19-year-old boy, who was arrested for allegedly killing his parents

and sister, was addicted to online battle game PUBG, as quoted by a senior Delhi police officer.

Suraj alias Sarnam Verma killed his father Mithilesh, mother Siya and sister in the early hours of

Wednesday and later ransacked the house to make it look like a case of robbery. He was arrested

the same evening. In Jammu and Kashmir a fitness trainer began playing this game and within a

span of ten days was very addicted. According to various news reports, this man started hitting

and injuring himself by blows after completing each round and was hospitalised when people

noticed this unusual behaviour. According to one of the doctors, “The patient is unstable at the

moment and has partially lost his mental balance.” He furthermore added that he is still not

conscious and his mind is completely under the influence of the ‘PUBG’ game. The Jammu

Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) requested Governor Satya Pal Naik to immediately

impose a ban on PUBG. Which according to them was “more concerning than addiction to

drugs,” said deputy chairman Raqif Mahkhdooi. Many schools in Bangalore have already

advised parents about the game’s addictive nature, as cases of addiction to PUBG have been

reported to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences. In the international

scenario a young boy of age 13 years died after he jumped from a high rise building in east

China. The mother has blamed the cause of the death on a popular online video game. The boy

plunged to his death from the 4thfloor in Haimen city after midnight on August 30. He was

reportedly playing PUBG, on his iPad prior to his death. “The video game caused my son's

death. There is no other reason”, the devastated mother told reporters, saying that her son jumped

to see if he could survive like the characters in the video game. PUBG sounds plain enough and
 37

initially the player needs to just jump off the plane and head to somewhere in the map away from

the line-of-fire to find equipment and weapons. That’s the easy part, which everybody can do;

however, from there on, the competition drastically increases. The players will need to survive

the choice of sneaking into the play area, avoiding confrontation, or go in all guns blazing with

an aggressive mind-set. It’s that increasing difficulty curve as the game progress that makes it

addictive. The most important strategies include the decisions made in the current match and

which is different from those in the previous one. The type of weapon chosen is crucial for the

individual. All these questions get answered only with experience. This experience can be

substituted with fate, as not everyone can achieve that mastering the game, they search for the

subsidiaries, these are the reason for the psychological change in the players who plays the game

irrespective of age or time. Some players may forget their own surroundings or family to

overrun the fate, because this game gives them a feeling of imprisonment inside the game. This

is the reason why they will find the alternatives to overcome their fate. Many examples can be

found in our own society. Some case studies that are mentioned above can be seen as the

example to substantiate the point. The suicidal tendencies can be evaluated as the mind set of the

players who accepted their fate of dying inside the game to a more personal level and taking that

as their parallel life, where there is no repressed feelings of the society and thus the characters

are more free to do against the rules of the society, that accepting of the game into a more

personal level can be more dangerous than it seems.

In view of the consumption potential of students to the game, a survey collected 119

validated questionnaires by questionnaires method to explore the influences of game loyalty. The

results show that the consumer’s social experience and the operator’s game design are both

promoting their loyalty. Among them, trust has some intermediary effect on the influence of
 38

game design and social experience on game loyalty. In addition, gender plays a significant role

in the relationship between trust and loyalty, that is, the more the trust of women in teammates

and game operators, the more their loyalty on the game. Furthermore, women have a stronger

influence on this aspect than men. Game design, social experience and trust are important factors

that influence players' game loyalty. Therefore, the game operators should improve the game

loyalty in the following three aspects: To improve the game's own quality and enhance its market

competitiveness. To enhance after-sales service and retaining user groups. To meet the needs of

different users and enhance the trust of the game. In addition, according to the analysis of

moderating effect, the more women trust their teammates and operators, the more loyal they are

to the game. Therefore, game operators should seize potential customer groups such as women

strengthen women's trust in the game by matching women to teammates with high trust values

and paying attention to women's feedback on the game, which can improve their game loyalty.
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Chapter 5

Conclusion

Macbeth is the darkest of Shakespeare's incredible misfortunes. The all-encompassing idea

of destiny, is addressed by the unusual sisters, gives this play different layers of significance and

questions the thought of the heavenly right to run the show. The idea of destiny in Macbeth

works as it influences the perspectives and ways of behaving of the characters in Macbeth, that

in the end carry the play to its unavoidable, socially satisfactory closure without settling these

worth contentions. Allow us to start this investigation as the play opens. The three witches open

the play and vow to meet again to address Macbeth. Obviously the witches are alluded to as the

unusual sisters, and this interfaces the witches with destiny in an unpreventable manner. Every

one of the three witches talks multiple times (the reference to threes is very possible a reference

to the three destinies from old style folklore), I and afterward all serenade a spiritualist serenade

or spell of some kind.

Sophocles' Oedipus is the of his destiny. The play is the tragic tale of the Ruler Oedipus'

defeat. The reviled destiny of Oedipus combined with his interest lead him to his sheer ruin.

Oedipus is a generous sad figure whose tumble from power and distinction is an exhibition

caught in this play by Sophocles. The play is named after Oedipus and he stays in the

concentration all through the play. The play unfurls the show of his unexpected drop from the

levels of brilliance and power. Oedipus, the heavenly ruler of Thebes, is flung to the very nadir

by his destiny. The play underlines the vulnerability of human existence and investigates the

essential job that predetermination plays in it. The awfulness of Oedipus is formed by his own

normal interest and the unfriendly fate. His solid interest facilitated his ordained destruction.
 40

Over fifty million people have downloaded and played the game PUBG, which has a lot of

importance nowadays. According to the study, 24.3% of PUBG players spend at least eight hours

playing the game every day, compared to 15.9% of players who play for less than two hours.

Indians like to fight for the "Chicken Dinner" at night, according to the study. The game's

structure makes it comparable to Odepus Rex in current times. Every player in this game is aware

that they will die or are exposed to the opponent. Their responsibility is to survive, avoid being

killed, and refrain from causing that oracle to appear. Every body can play the game but to

master it needs something more. If a player is not able to master it then there are alternatives in

the game itself. There are many accessories and weapons that are more advanced than the

present one. Therefore the fate can be overrun, thatis the fate of each player is to get destroyed

in the field. It is a mere factor of luck. The problem is when the players take this game more

personal. The over involvement will affect the players more psychologically. The students or

the youngsters are the major victims of this game. Afterall it is just a game and should approach

it in that way. The known fate of dying inside the game is knowingly rewriting by the players.

We may also see the after effects of the rewriting of the destiny. That is the time when the game

hit the players more personally, and leads to many medical traumas.
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