To kill a mockingbird

External Influences--Life’s Determining Factor The human controversy regarding what (or even whom) determines one’s life has been evident for hundreds, if not, thousands of years. Humans are prone to seek out the limits, to see what's possible--it’s in human nature. However, the question still remains: What is the determining factor of in one’s life? Many are hopeful enough to believe that each human has full control over their life. The events in the stories To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet and Anointed With Oils make it self-evident that a person’s life is determined by external influences. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee discusses many examples of injusticeness towards curtain characters through young Scout Finch. An exemplary example of this is innocent Tom Robinson who is ridiculed and tormented for the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell. He is then sentenced to death based on the word of a white man. Tom’s life was completely determined by external influences due to the fact that the racist townspeople of Maycomb are to blame for his unjust death. William Shakespeare was notorious for his tragic love tails; his most famous one being Romeo and Juliet. In this senior play, characters Romeo and Juliet fight against all odds to profess their undying love. Every power imaginable is working against Romeo and Juliet: both character’s parents, everyone involved with either the Montagues or Capulets and lastly fate. The external influences that shape these two lovers life are, in fact, everyone whom they would have considered to be loving family before they met each other. Lastly, in the short story Anointed with Oils, Edith finds herself, despite her obvious efforts, unable to change the life that has been given to her. Edith grew up in a ghetto and never had a chance to make her own decisions in her life until she ran away. During the story, Edith is living in a boarding house paying off rent slowly but responsibly. She enjoys nice things