As the novel progresses, Paul gains the ability to see different paths ahead of him. He even questions whether or not this ability to see everything is a good or bad thing. Despite these questions about his ability, he makes decisions based on them. Do you feel that the decisions Paul made, using his visions, were good or bad? Give an example. Would you all want to be able to have these same type of visions in your life?
157 Comments
Kalpana Vaidya
7/26/2015 04:24:02 pm
1. Paul was able to start seeing the future after he drank the “Water of Life.” The same one that Jessica drank to become the Reverend Mother. After that he obtained the power to see not only the past and future but also the present – the “now.” I think for the most part Paul attempts to make decisions for the better but in the end, the outcome is the same. In some sense, being able to see what else is going on at the same time aids Paul in his attempt to take back Arrakis, but at the same time, it harms him in the sense that he knows what he has to fear. For example, Paul sees that a bloody war will begin after he rises to power as the Kwisatz Haderach. Thus, he resists admitting that he knows the power that he holds. I think in this instance, Paul is just prolonging the inevitable. Herbert makes another reference to the way society works. It is metaphorical for life because even though we know that we are going to die in the end, we try to make the best of our lives. In this case, Paul is trying to make the most of his time before total destruction.
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Smrithi Ramachandran
7/27/2015 12:39:16 am
I still think that the Fremen would have defeated the Harkonnens. The process to do so would vary if Paul's powers were taken away, but the outcome would remain the same. Herbert develops Paul as a complex, round character that clearly has certain capabilities that surpass those of an average human. And with the special powers on top of that, he equates to being a Prophet. Without these powers, Paul is still intelligent enough and equipped with special training to have figured out how to emerge as successful in the end. That being said, I personally admire how Herbert later gave Paul special powers, because that is what let me, a reader, develop his character into someone I could connect with and understand.
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Madison McClendon
8/22/2015 07:29:25 pm
While Paul was certainly a unique and interesting character of his own accord, I think he served a definite role in the novel. Though it is easy to assume that, because he is the "main" character, the novel is about him, but I believe that this novel was written to address much greater issues than the life of one young noble, however intriguing that life is. Though the Freman were a force to be reckoned with independent of Paul and his abilities, the nature of their tribal religion and their fiercely loyal nature meant that any truly effective uprising would necessitate a strong and convincing leader. Paul's powers seem to play a greater part in his future role as war-king than they do in his role of tribal leader. The Freman were a people weary of waiting, and I feel they were so eager to find the prophesied "one" that they would have relied on Paul's leadership, powers or no-which they did for the vast majority of the novel. I agree with Smrithi, the rising of the Freman was already in the works well before Paul arrived in the scene, he was merely the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. His powers seem to have much more to do with what is to come in the events of the Dune sequels than with Dune itself.
Sabrina Shaikh
8/27/2015 01:01:23 pm
I have to agree with Smrithi. Paul's ability does not solely derive from the powers. He is naturally talented and intelligent enough to formulate a potent stances in order to be successful. Although I wouldn't want the power that Paul had because of how it would effect my ability to have free will and lead a normal lifestyle, I have to give him props for the extensive training and abilities he gained through determination. Definitely something I can understand.
Luca Tomescu
7/28/2015 03:23:46 am
I agree with Smrithi in that the Fremen would have still won the day regardless of Paul's ability to see into the future. The Fremen were simply too determined and too ferocious to have not won the battle. Even on a regular day, the Fremen could easily outmaneuver and defeat a Sardaukar army, but this was by no means a regular day - it was the day in which the Fremen took back their planet. People fighting for a true cause always have a certain advantage over the other side. Take the American Revolution as an example. The American colonists were vastly outnumbered and outgunned by the British redcoats, but while the colonists were fighting for their homelands and their livelihoods, the British soldiers were only fighting for their pay. This proved to be a key difference in the war for American independence. In this sense, the final battle of the novel is a great parallel of the American Revolution, but I think the Fremen were at much less of a disadvantage against the Sardaukar than the colonists were against the British.
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Marina Zafiris
8/18/2015 11:13:39 am
Reminder that the American colonies first must have had to unify in order to defeat the opposed. Paul's powers was a calling for him to be a leader of the seemingly unlead. The Freman take great pride in making their own judgment and own mistakes rather than relying on a hero. Paul was unifying leader or messiah for the Fremen to follow. Despite their individual strength and tenacity, the sietches alone, without coalition, would not be able to defeat the Harkonnens.
Shravya Arra
8/26/2015 12:42:52 pm
This is funny to me because I was literally thinking the same thing when I read this part of the book. The Fremen might have seemed weaker since the book builds up on how strong the Harkonnens were, but when they ultimately prevailed, I thought of the American Revolution as well. The Fremen would have no chance against the Sardaukar, but with the drive they had to fight the Harkonnens, they succeeded. There is a story in Hindu mythology in which five brothers have to fight everyone they know and love. The other side had God's army, and the five brothers had God Himself. Even though, the numbers were unmatched, the five brothers won. In the same way, the side that seems like they would be the underdog, the Fremen, can actually win if they have the right motivation.
Caitlyn Wingerson
8/4/2015 12:11:48 am
Along with Smrithi and Luca's responses, I believe Paul's powers had little effect on the Fremen's victory against the Harkonnens. Paul trained the Fremen in combat styles he learned from Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho to emulate the Saudakar. Paul didn't need his powers to do that. Also, from the very beginning, Herbert portrays Paul as a competent, capable person even without his powers and I believe he could have led the Fremen to triumph regardless.
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Andrew Zheng
8/7/2015 07:44:53 pm
Even in the case that Paul did not have his powers, it would be quite inevitable that the Fremen would retake their home world. The impact that Paul's powers had on both the Harkonnens and the Fremen was not the decisive factor in their victory, but rather a catalyst to ease the coming of the revolt. Although, even without his powers, Paul still would be an important factor for the Fremen, his intelligence, compassion and capacity for adaptation all would make him a valuable addition to the leadership of the Fremen. Yet even in the case that Paul were not to be at the helm of the Fremen forces, the home front advantage in combination with the inexperience of the Harkonnen troops on Dune, would lead to the Fremen victory.
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Jesse Chao
8/27/2015 11:46:35 am
The problem is that even though the Freman would retake their home world, the Empire and the plot of the BG would still be in place and continue with a setback. The power that Paul got allowed him to look at how to lead the Freman to not only win the planet, but also bring the Emperor to him and place him in a position where the Paul held the all the cards to beat him and take whatever he wanted.
Janie Hu
8/20/2015 05:59:24 am
Along with the other responses, I agree that Paul’s powers did not greatly impact the Fremens’ ability to defend themselves from the Harkonnen invasions and attempted takeover because his visions only provided a forewarning for future attacks. Talking about the Fremen, they were ready to fight at any moment because their aggressive nature, skills in weaponry and fighting, and evident unity, developed in adaptation to their environment, enabled them to fiercely protect themselves from any foreign threat. Additionally, they understood the desert-like environment on Arrakis better than the Harkonnens and had developed more effective and efficient ways to fight. In other words, I believe that Dune’s conclusion would not have been altered that much because the Fremen would have become victorious in terms of reclaiming their territory after defeating the disadvantaged Harkonnens on their homeland, Arrakis.
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Andrea Rosales
8/26/2015 12:24:07 pm
Although Paul was able to see "the future" there was really no significant change in what was eventually going to happen. The decisions Paul made were helpful to the Fremen in regaining their territory, however the ability to see what lies ahead is a burden I wish on no one. Why would one want to live knowing what happens next? It takes the excitement and will to experience out of the equation.
Asma Virani
8/20/2015 09:43:13 am
I think the novel would have ended the same way even if Herbert had not given Paul these powers. The Fremen had been oppressed by the Harkonnens for many years and all they needed was a leader to help rebel against the rulers of Arrakis. Paul was trained to become his father's successor which shows that he possess leadership skills. He is thoughtful and observant. He also has excellent fighting skills. Even without his ability to see into his future, he is strong and would have been able to successfully take down the Harkonnens.
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Andrea Rosales
8/26/2015 12:29:30 pm
I completely agree with Asma. Paul was a character created for these types of situations and like a stated before, the fact that the Fremen had been oppressed for so long, only confirms that there would be an uprising. The people of Arrakis needed some guidance and a strong leader. Whats better than a tactful "future seer" ?
Marwan Madi
8/22/2015 02:11:20 am
I agree with Smrithi that the Fremen would have still been able to defeat the Harkonnens even if Paul did not have his powers. My primary reasoning behind this is that Paul was extremely well trained since childhood and he had a firm grasp of the concept of Desert Power that his father had taught him. The Fremen had the homefront advantage and since they had adapted to the desert life and could even use the worms (which the Harkonnens considered dangerous) to their advantage by riding them and using their teeth as knives, they had a clear upper hand. Combine this with unity and leadership under Paul and the Fremen become a seemingly unstoppable force while on their home turf. It was Paul's leadership that ultimately strengthened the Fremen by unifying them - not his powers.
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Marwan Madi
8/22/2015 02:37:25 am
I feel that the decisions Paul made using his visions had good intentions and were generally good. Paul understood that if he always chose the safest path through his visions then he would ultimately fail like the Guild had done by the end of the book. Most of the decisions Paul made using his visions were in an attempt to prevent the jihad in his name. Paul later realizes that the jihad would be inevitable, yet the decisions he made along the way were ultimately good since by the end of the novel he ended up victorious. An example of a good decision Paul made with his visions was the decision to be with Chani. Although it may not seem significant, Paul's relationship with Chani helped him become more of a Fremen and fit in with their society. Chani was also the person who "revived" Paul from his three weeks of unconsciousness after drinking the water of life, so without Chani the tribe may have went on to kill Paul to get his water believing he was already dead. Even the Bene Gesserit trained Lady Jessica wasn't able to "revive" Paul.
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Chandni Patel
8/23/2015 01:35:37 pm
I believe the Fremen would have successfully taken down the Harkonnens even if Paul wasn't given the powers to see the future. Paul had been trained well before the family even came from Caladan. His training and intelligence was put to the test when Feyd-Rautha attempted to cheat in the final duel. However, because of the exceptional training Paul had, he discovered the knife before Feyd-Rautha could use it against him. Additionally, Herbert wrote how easily the Fremen took down Sardaukar troops. The Fremen were determined, strong, and unified against the Harkonnens. Ultimately, the Fremen and Paul would have easily taken down the Harkonnens.
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Hoorain Momin
8/24/2015 07:30:26 am
I completely agree with Chandni that although Paul's powers did give him the ability too see the future and decide what to do beforehand, Paul did not entirely rely upon them to take down the Harkonnens.His mother has been training him since he was young, so i think that he already had established these natural instincts and could've defeated them. Overall, I do also believe that his powers gave him a greater advantage in addition to his well preparedness.
Sarah Thomas
8/27/2015 10:40:44 am
I agree with Chandni in that Paul did not depend entirely on his ability of knowing what the future beholds, rather he used it as an extra resource. Since his mother, Jessica, had trained him starting at a young age, he had a greater chance in defeating the Harkonnens. Even though his powers had an impact on their victory, it was not the primary influence. His powers certainly gave them the upperhand, but his focus and hardwork was also necessary. In the end, it was not only his power that helped the Fremens.
I would not categorize Paul’s decisions as either or bad. Rather, his decisions were accurate. There were times in which his ability was incapacitated forcing him to rely on his instinct and survival skills, unaware of what was to come, and reminding him that reliance on his gift would lead to his doom. He was able to see the consequences of the majority of his actions and acted accordingly. Whether that meant following one of the available paths or creating a new one altogether, which seems a little logically unsound.
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Kynnedi Sonnier
8/26/2015 10:11:19 am
I agree with your argument that Herbert should have also revealed the new prescient paths that were inspired by Paul's actions and the actions of those around him. I felt Herbert did the reader a sort of disservice by saying that among many of the paths Paul saw ended with his dead body with a large gaping stab wound. However, this may have something to do with the latter portion of the story where Paul's visions have trickled to a halt as a result of his new Fremen life (a diet that is based on the spice) and his relationship with Chani. The lack of Paul's visionary skills could point out a flaw in the legend of the Kwisatz Haderach (although we didn't have much to work with), as he is not always omnipotent, that he is still somewhat human. Maybe he has the power to turn the visions on and off like a switch? The mythology was not as thoroughly explained as the Bene Gesserit's were. In response to Kalpana's question, I doubt the lack of Paul’s powers would have had any great effect on the novel because while it provided insight, he mainly relied on the skills he developed as a part of his Bene Gesserit training. In the same way that teaching the Fremen the weirding way was one of the large advantages for the Fremen, against the Harkonnens, the Fremen needed Paul, but not necessarily his ability to see into the future. Paul is magnificent without his gift and does not require an aid to accomplish that which was destined to be his from the beginning, with or without his power.
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Kelly Fan
8/25/2015 11:42:09 am
Though it is true that the special power Paul gained after drinking the water of life caused him to become fearful to some extent, I still believe it was for the better that he was able to see it. He at least knew what to fear and try to prevent, and to me, that's a win. Ultimately, he succeeded in his pursuit, so I would say his ability to have seen the future was more of a benefit to him and his family.
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Viren Joopelli
8/25/2015 12:31:27 pm
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Nimesh Patel
8/27/2015 10:27:16 am
Based on how the story went down, no matter what he tried to do to stop his vision, it ended up coming true anyway. So if nothing else about this world was changed other than the fact that he did not have these powers, I believe the exact same outcome would have happened. I think the Fremen would still have been successful as it was all decided before hand as their fate. It seems as if all the major points will happen no matter what, and everyone in the story simply has the option to choose how that will occur.
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Hannah Nöelle Johnson
8/27/2015 02:41:42 pm
In response to your question, Kalpana. I do still believe that the Fremen would have defeated the Harkonnens because that is the way that the author intended it to be. Like Smrithi said, all the in between from the point where the enemies are established to the point when the Fremen demolish the Harkonnens would alter. Despite that fact, the ending would be left unchanged. Paul was chosen the protagonist for a reason. He is the right one for he job, with powers or not! Honestly, I believe that Paul would have been just fine without his powers, for he posses character traits that of a leader/hero. His bravery, intelligence, and will to make decisions based on the population, are the least he needs to get the job done.
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Luca Tomescu
7/28/2015 03:13:42 am
1. All Paul's decisions are made with the best of intentions, and they are all aimed to steer his path away from a Fremen jihad of the entire universe because that is the last thing he wants weighing on his conscience. Paul is inherently a noble, kind-hearted person, and ransacking the universe is not something that correlates with his personality. The problem is that this crusade isn't just a possible outcome of the future, but a preordained destiny that may be inescapable for the young boy. One decision that Paul makes in order to prevent his rise to power within the Fremen society is to allow Stilgar to remain head of Sietch Tabr. By not becoming the true leader of the sietch, Paul tries to lessen his influence to some degree so that the Fremen won't as easily follow him. Additionally, he wants to change the Fremen culture of blood and violence and fights to the death with a more civilized and sustainable society. If the Fremen truly are on the verge of taking over Arrakis and making it into their own world, they must change from their ancient tribal ways. In this situation, this is clearly the best decision that Paul could have made because killing Stilgar would have only riled up the Fremen even more and made them more committed to embarking on their destruction of the universe. Furthermore, Stilgar is simply a strong leader, and killing him in cold blood would have been a tremendous waste of his abilities and loyalty. Ultimately though, this is a decision meant to delay Paul's destiny, one that may be unavoidable.
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Kalpana Vaidya
8/1/2015 02:49:44 am
In my opinion, I think more often than not the characters that have the ability to see the future are more jovial and outgoing. Even more than that, they are almost always are the leader of the group. There is always the classic example of Raven from That's So Raven. Throughout the series, Raven seems to be a very personable character, almost coming across as obnoxious sometimes. However, she is always the mastermind behind every plan in the show because she knows the predicted outcome. The same thing can be said about Paul. On the other hand though, I do not think that Paul is necessarily jovial. Paul is undoubtedly the leader of the Fremen by the end of the novel. That is unquestionable. Still, his personality does not match with an outgoing personality. He tends to be more logical and reserved. I think the only generalization we can make about characters with a psychic ability is that they are in authority positions.
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Caitlyn Wingerson
8/4/2015 12:47:20 am
I agree with Kalpana's generalization that people with the ability to see into the future are in positions of authority. In Greek mythology, the Oracle at Delphi is a woman who incoherently babbles and foams at the mouth with visions supposedly bestowed upon her by Apollo, yet people revere her as an authority figure and flock to her from all over. Because of her condition and her status, I don't see the Oracle as a very outgoing, jovial person.
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Eric Tsai
8/10/2015 11:26:01 am
Usually characters who can tell the future are more (I wouldn't say jovial) active. Take for example, Professor Trelawny in Harry Potter who teaches a fortune telling class at Hogwarts. Throughout the class or scenes where she is present, we can see that she moves about the classroom a lot and loves to talk and interact with her students. It may just be because she is passionate about what she teaches, but, in my opinion at least, usually characters who can tell the future or have visions about what is to come are more active because they want to avoid an unfavorable outcome. People, more often than not, are willing to do what is necessary to positively benefit their future, so if someone has a vision of something negative that is to come, they will usually be more active and seek to change their future. Raven from the TV show really is the perfect example of this because she takes active measures to avoid something that is unfavorable, like in the episode where she has a vision of her parents saying "let's split up." Without context, Raven thought that this phrase meant that they were going to get a divorce. During the episode, Raven is seen doing little chores and crediting them to either her mom or dad so that they won't get divorced. Much to her relief the parents say "let's split up" in order to find their pet hamster that had gone missing.
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Chelci Harris
8/17/2015 03:02:24 pm
To put it as simply as possible I would say that rather than being jovial or reserved alone, characters with psychic abilities tend to have more of a confidence about themselves. Some--like Raven Baxter from That's So Raven--appear more jovial because their psychic abilities allow them to escape the apprehensions that most normal--whatever that is--human beings wrestle with by offering them the chance to change the fates that they see and don't like. However, there are definitely stories and scenarios that contain characters that are more reserved--say for instance, the Fates in Greek mythology. The three witches separate themselves from the rest of humanity but still have an authoritative personality as a whole...well...as long as they have the eye. This goes back to the main point which is that the trend I see in most psychic characters' is that their confidence lies with their psychic abilities. It's clear to the reader and the characters that surround Paul in the story--his mother, the old witch, his father, and many others--that Paul's abilities give him more of a confidence than anything...even his royal status.
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Cody Nkrumah
8/26/2015 01:38:17 pm
I completely agree with Chelci. It is true that most characters with psychic abilities to portray a "larger than life" persona. They believe that they can literally get away with murder, but in all actuality, that's not how it works. The analogy given by Chelci through the Fates of Greek Mythology, three witches distance themselves from mankind, and still manage to portray a gallant persona. I believe it is safe to say that these characters without psychic abilities would be less than normal, because they're so used to having them that wouldn't know how to adjust.
Caitlyn Nguyen
8/18/2015 03:29:37 am
I would think that people who could see the future would be more outgoing for many reasons. They are outgoing because they are never satisfied with how the future is. They are constantly trying to change every detail so that the future ends up perfect. However, they never achieve the goal and end up going through great lengths to change their life. They're also outgoing because they have this level of bravado since they feel invincible. Nothing can happen to them because they know every detail they're about to face.
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Asma Virani
8/20/2015 09:07:19 am
Most characters who can view the future tend to be active and have authority. Their ability to see into the future allows them to have control over certain situations and gives them the responsibility to make sure that the people around them are protected. For example, in My Little Pony, Pinkie Pony reveals her ability to predict events in the near future which she calls her "Pinkie Sense". She is a very jovial character who loves to laugh and help those around her. The inhabitants of Ponyville often rely on Pinkie because of her special power. Even though this example is based on a cartoon, this seems to be a trend among all characters who can view the future.
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Gabrielle Humphrey
8/24/2015 12:37:04 pm
While this is an effective example of a character whose precognition serves to be completely beneficial, it is important to remember the context of Pinkie Pony and her (or his?) Pinkie Sense. As a cartoon geared towards a younger audience and intended to maintain a primarily jovial tone, every reality of the ability to see into the future is not exposed in My Little Pony. The reality behind the ability to see one’s future doesn’t dismiss human error. Simply because one can see into the future does not mean that they will always know to make the decisions that will result in the cheerful future they may have envisioned. Regardless of the good intentions and jovial personalities of some characters, we can’t really generalize all characters based on that of those in cartoons. I think every character’s reality who has the ability to see into the future is highly dependent upon the writer’s intended tone and plot for the story (which is vastly different between genres, media types, etc.). With this in mind though, I do agree with your claim that every character with these abilities possess a certain level of control and responsibility in making sure that those whom they care about are protected. Human’s are essentially wired to protect those that they care about and do what is best for humanity (except for the select few that serve as our villains).
Caitlyn Wingerson
8/4/2015 01:49:23 am
1. As it's known, Paul makes decisions with good intentions. He understand the value of people and wouldn't intentionally cause them problems or grief. This is apparent in his concern for the Jihad that will bathe the universe in blood. His limited precognition abilities allow him to see possibilities of the future, but there's no evidence of him possessing the ability to alter it. Overall, I feel Paul is trying to make the best decisions he can for the benefit of everyone around him, but he's still human and capable of error and making a bad decision.
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Maggie Cheung
8/4/2015 01:30:49 pm
1. While many of Paul's decisions were based on his visions and the different paths of the future he saw, it seemed that he also had to make decisions at a few different points in the not knowing what the outcome would be no matter what "direction" he took. At the very end of the book, Paul makes the decision to fight Feyd-Rautha though he does not know whether he will live or die. He mentions that he is blind at that moment in the time winds and that it feels like the universe is focused on that moment at that time. Paul does what he feels he must do in those situations based on what seems plain to him at the time and what he knows he cannot fix or change. In that sense, the ability for Paul to at this moment NOT see future paths allows him to make decisions based on only his knowledge and beliefs, which I reckon happens for a reason. Seeing or not seeing different paths of the future seems occur at times when the outcomes of both could differ. It is then up to Paul to decide what the future will hold. I believe that Paul makes the best decisions that he can (and feel comfortable doing) using the information that the different paths give him, even if the information is that the future paths are obscured at that time for reasons not clearly understood by him.
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Ching Liuhuang
8/27/2015 01:18:39 pm
I do definitely agree with you in terms of Paul making his decisions to the best of his abilities, and in turn makes him a good person but does not necessarily means all his decisions are the best that could be made. But after all, sometimes it’s the thought and intention that counts. On the other hand, I do see your point that seeing the future can be advantageous; however, if the future does hold unwanted circumstances, the inability to change such situations would be much worse and dreadful. After all, don’t we all feel desperate when we cannot fix what we know is wrong?
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Andrew Zheng
8/6/2015 05:27:14 pm
1. In Dune, it is shown that as Paul matured with the Freman, so did the vividness and detail of his visions. Yet, it is not explained until the end of the novel, that in fact, these visions are not prophesies, but rather, possible outcomes that Paul is able to get a glimpse into. This realization is extremely important to both Paul, and the progression of the story, as once he realizes that his fate would not be set in stone, Paul is able to fully use the visions not as an omen of his life's end, but as endless possibilities that hold infinite outcomes. Of these frequent visions, the vision of an intragalactic jihad in Muad'dib's name concerned Paul the most. Thus, as the now wised Muad'dib, Paul takes his options into account and decides to not challenge Stilgar as leader, this action was made purely out of Paul's desire to not indirectly spark a bloody war that would ravage the entirety of humanity. This decision made by Paul truly demonstrates both his respect for the preservation of human life, as well as his capability to retain wisdom even in a tense and hostile situation.
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Melinda Cloudy
8/8/2015 07:14:38 am
Paul’s visions of the future seem to be much more confusing and doubt inducing than helpful. I give him a lot of credit for handling all of that pressure and stress while rallying the entire Fremen population and planning to overthrow the Harkonnens and take on the Padishah Emperor. For the most part I think he did a good job of using his visions to make decisions. There is one instance where that is not the case- when Paul drinks the water of life. From outside that is a totally crazy challenge to attempt, seeing as every other male who tried it died. But Paul was not raised to be a wimp. He needs to try in order to strengthen his prescience so he can take on the clouded future.
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Danielle Edmonds
8/8/2015 08:56:01 am
1. For the most part, Paul's decisions as a result of his visions were good. He demonstrated that he cared about the people and the world around him throughout Dune, so he obviously never considered using his powers for anything that would detriment them. For example, he decided he would marry Princess Irulan and become the new Emperor even though it would make his life much more difficult because he hoped it would allow him to prevent the jihad from taking place. In fact, the majority of the decisions Paul made after foreseeing the bloody war were aimed at saving millions from unnecessary deaths. The only negative side to this was that his initial motivation for avoiding the war seemed to be partially attributed to the fact that he did not want the Bene Gesserit to succeed. Although he understood that the Bene Gesserit were only trying to diversify the gene pool, Paul strongly resented the group as a whole and how they used their powers to get what they wanted from the time he met the Reverend Mother Mohiam on Caladan. He wanted to do anything but become the Kwisatz Haderach they wanted him to be. In the end, he was forced to accept that he was the Kwisatz Haderach and probably just bought himself more time to deal with the imminent jihad.
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Phillip Valdecanas
8/23/2015 08:06:20 am
Knowing more knowledge than everybody else would definitely result in great amounts of extraneous pressure. In addition, one would experience feelings of guilt if a wrong decision were to be made regarding the future. If one accidentally made a decision that resulted in catastrophic events for society as a whole, with no way of compensation, that individual would consider himself/herself responsible for the unfortunate events.
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Abigail Cloudy
8/9/2015 02:17:50 am
1. Paul does not take his gift of foresight lightly and always tries to use his powers to make good decisions. Many of the decisions he makes are influenced by his desire to avoid the jihad. Paul makes good choices at the time, however the novel ends before the reader can truly know if Paul makes the correct choices to prevent the jihad. Paul’s decision to marry Princess Irulan in order to become emperor seems like a good decision because Paul has proven himself a noble and worthy leader with how he led the Fremen. But, the book ends before the reader gets to witness the full effects of Paul’s decision.
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Fariha Ahmed
8/21/2015 10:02:40 pm
I agree with Abigail because given the circumstances and events he had foreseen, Paul managed to take preventative actions accordingly with grace and wiseness far beyond his age. For someone so young, such a giant power is definitely more of a burden than a blessing, yet he handled it as best as he could.
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Jasmine Banks
8/9/2015 11:21:43 am
1) Paul made his decisions wisely as he was always consulting the future, not so much as to change it once he realized that the Jihad was inevitable, yet more so as to keep it on a steady track and to go as planned. He knew how powerful future sight was and he tried to not abuse it. He thinks of it even when a vision has not been upon him recently like he did when first riding a "maker", always constantly paying attention to not only the present yet the future as well.
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Rushabh Mehta
8/10/2015 03:15:00 am
1. I think the use of his visions, despite the fact that he is only delaying the inevitable, is in good mind. He knows that the Jihad is coming, but he tries to prevent it and also makes it so that he is ready to fight it with his people. This is exhibited by his urge to change tradition to preserve Stilgar's life. By doing this he has prolonged the time table in which the jihad would come by denying a strict position of authority while also keeping a strong leader of the Sietch Tabr to lead in the eventual Jihad to come. By preserving his life Paul knows that at least the eventuality is well prepared for.
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Vibhav Joopelli
8/25/2015 11:05:19 am
Rushabh,
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Alvaro Iglesias
8/11/2015 03:39:19 am
1. It seems that Paul often makes thoughtful, unselfish decisions with his vision that further his Fremen brethren. While he knows that the war between Fremen and the Great Houses was inevitable, he continues to try to find an answer that leads in a different direction. For example, when Paul first rides a maker, he and other Fremen new that a fight for leadership between Stilgar and himself was customary in their culture. However, Paul changes this custom knowing well that he could beat Stilgar, deciding not to fight him. This gives the Fremen continual leadership while allowing Paul to keep around a friend he could trust. Paul also recognized that, in the event of a jihad, Stilgar's leadership and war strategies would be ever more helpful.
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Jonathan Wang
8/11/2015 06:27:50 am
1. Although it is hinted at the end of the book that his visions of a jihad like wave going across the universe under is name will come true, his fruitless attempts to evade it were still noble in character. Unlike the Baron or Emperor who would likely simply allow such an event to occur due to the jihad being a symbol of power, Paul instead had no lust for power and therefore wanted peace throughout the universe without a violent jihad. This is shown throughout the novel by Paul's inner thoughts and decisions to avoid the religious war. This motive, while having no actual effects in the end, still gave Paul the attribute of being humble in obtaining power from the greedy Baron and eventually the Emperor.
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Laura Paglicawan
8/11/2015 04:27:36 pm
1. Paul’s decisions were good in the sense that he allowed his ability to aid him. Instead of ignoring it or being crippled by it, he took full responsibility of his powers and steered his own course despite knowing the final destination of his life. He did not simply rely on his vision but instead took decisive actions. In other words, he worked for his future instead of foolishly believing it would simply be handed to him. Not to mention how his decisions were informed by his teachings and were highly considerate of the circumstances. They reflected best his Bene Gesserit training, Atreides upbringing, and his strong sense of principles. Furthermore, his skill of integrating his morals and experiences into his decisions allowed him to have control over how he was to arrive to his future. For instance, he took over his father’s former Arrakis stronghold so that it may be a symbol of his authority over the land. He could have simply stayed in the comforts of the Fremen civilization and away from the modern world of shields and poison darts but this would have been a weak decision. Through his vision, he knew this would allow him to achieve strength in both worlds and achieve a fuller understanding & fulfillment of his future. By creating a bastion for the future jihad and being in the center of it, Paul knew he could have better control of the movement. His decision was molded by his cunningness, sense of loyalty to his father’s land, and devotion to justice.
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Danielle Edmonds
8/12/2015 06:04:59 am
I think the way that time is incorporated into the novel makes some aspects of it more complex and others less complex. The chronological order of the story makes it easier to follow because there's enough going on already with as many characters, conflicts, and settings are involved throughout the novel. Princess Irulan's insight at the beginning of each chapter usually provides background information that relates to what the chapter focuses on, but we don't find out that she is recounting these stories and pieces of information after the fact until later in the novel. In contrast, the Reverend Mother's insight into the past and Paul's ability to see possible paths of the future seem to add another element of fantasy into the novel. Obviously, these powers don't exist in our world, but Herbert allowed us to visualize how things might be if they did by making them part of the universe that exists in Dune.
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Amy Chen
8/12/2015 01:48:13 pm
As Danielle said, I think Herbert writes the story chronologically so that it is less confusing for readers to follow. However, I also think that Dune is set up over the course of years in just a couple hundred of pages so that readers can follow the course of Paul's life in transition from a boy to a man and leader. After all, this novel is a story about perseverance and vengeance for both Paul in the redemption of his family for the death of his father, and also the native Fremen in the retaking of their planet from Harkonnen rule. The story needs Paul to grow up and mature, because the novel would definitely not be the same if he remained a 15 year old boy throughout the entirety of the book.
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Ahad Haidry
8/14/2015 12:17:08 pm
I believe that Herbert employs time, and the interpretation of it, as a reoccurring motif in Dune to highlight the overarching theme of fate. Herbert is trying to get the point across that the when doesn't matter (past, present, future), fate will always run its course. Herbert might also be trying to fix with the writing style of Dune into a more universal platform. While reading Dune, the reader is aware of what will occur yet they keep reading on. Why? Because the story is captivating. One can think of life in the same way. Even if we can't change anything in life and everything has already been fated, we can still enjoy life, because we derive enjoyment not necessarily through what we do in life, but by the experience of doing it. In this way Herbert might have integrated the notion of time in Dune to tie back to the idea of fate and the enjoyment of life.
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Eric Tsai
8/12/2015 03:03:20 am
1. I think that, based on his visions, Paul made good decisions. It is only natural that someone with the power to see into the future will make decisions that are beneficial or that point toward a more favorable outcome. In his visions, Paul sees that the jihad is going to come and try to fight and fend off Paul and House Atreides from taking over Arrakis to control the extraction of the drug Spice Melange. Paul is able to make decisions that allow him to avoid war with the jihad long enough so that he is able to marry Princess Irulan and establish peace throughout the universe by joining the two families together. Although, most of the time, the end result is the same as what was revealed in the vision, Paul's decisions are quite honorable in the fact that he tries to protect those that he cares about and can be seen as good decisions in that sense.
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Zach Hall
8/23/2015 03:23:39 am
I agree with Eric’s idea of how Paul did the best that he could in order to control the situations presented to him in his visions. Paul’s ability to delay a war with the jihad shows how he is an advocate for peace and that he knows the value of his life to everyone that supports him. Although he had a psychic ability and some of the occurrences that he saw ahead of him were inevitable, I think that Paul did the best he could with the visions, ultimately ending with a merger between the two most powerful of families in the universe. Also, with the power to see into the future I do believe that some characters are sinister enough to not make them beneficial to the people yet only beneficial to themselves, as many characters are driven by the desire of power.
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Hussain Azeem
8/23/2015 11:39:32 am
I agree with both Zack and Eric's comments. Paul did the best he could to delay the war with the Jihad and how he continuously did the best he could do to find peace in the galaxy. Paul also did not want power but just cared for the well being of his people. Even though there were some stuff he could just not stop he did the best he could. And you can see none of his work went to waste as the two families became one and he became emperor.
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Ahad Haidry
8/13/2015 08:00:56 am
1. I believe Paul made the best of his abilities, and his decisions were wise and well thought out. Paul's ultimate goal is to stop the bloody holy war that is to come, and his decisions reflect this goal. Using his abilities, Paul discovers that if he blindly follows his mothers advice the holy war would only be brought about that much faster. So Paul realizes that he must fight on his own against this bleak future, not being able to confide in those closest to him. This is also partially the reason why Paul took Chani as his lover. By the end of the novel it is shown that Paul can not stop the bloody holy war that is to come, but this stands not as a symbol of Paul making any blunders. No, in fact it is the opposite; even though Paul made all the right decisions it shows that fate is simply unavoidable.
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Carter Heard
8/18/2015 02:34:03 am
In response to your question, I believe that no matter how far Dr. Yueh sees into the future the answer will always be the same: no. There is a possibility he could see just to the point where he, his wife and Duke Leto are dead and the Baron survives. In that case he would probably not choose to betray the Duke and House Atreides because his main goal is to free his wife and to be able to see her again. Even if he sees further into the future, he and his wife are still dead and any person who knows they will eventually be killed will probably change their mind about the actions they make. Dr. Yueh knew how smart and capable Paul was and would probably put his trust in him and the House Atreides knowing he could be killed in the future.
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Karthik Reddy
8/21/2015 05:18:04 am
Yueh cooperated with the Baron for only one reason, to find out if his wanna (wife) was still alive. Yueh knew he was in the wrong. He loved the Atreides and would never wish to harm them, but he loved his wanna even more. Yeah plotted to kill the Baron only out of his hate for the Harkonnens. If Yueh could have seen that his wife was already dead, he would not have betrayed the Atreides. All other outcomes were irrelevant to him. If he could have saw that he and the Duke would have died and that the Baron wouldn't have, he still would have proceeded with his plan with one goal in his mind...set his wanna free of Harkonnen treachery.
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Gordon Chen
8/22/2015 03:52:37 pm
Response to your question. Even if Dr. Yueh was able to foresee into the future, his motives will still be the same. The reason for his betrayal towards the Duke, is to get close towards Baron Harkonnen. His eagerness for revenge overcomes his mind. Especially, when the Baron tortures his beloved wife. So therefore, his desire for the Barons death must be accomplished by himself and only... himself.
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Hussain Azeem
8/23/2015 11:46:08 am
In response to Ahad's question I do believe there could be a sneraio where the Dr does not betray the family and kill the Duke.If he could see further in the future to when his wife is kidnapped he could have have prevented her from being taken and warned the duke. Yes he loves his wife very much but if he had the slightest knowledge that his wife would be taken and he would have been blackmailed to kill the Duke he would have found a way to prevent just as any good and loyal person would.
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Kasey Zhang
8/23/2015 01:56:48 pm
Honestly, the only reason why Dr. Yueh betrayed the Duke is because the Baron had took captive of the thing he loved most. He was trained to have the greatest loyalty and devotion towards his masters, but the captivity of his wife is the only thing in his way. He did hate the Baron with all of his heart, and that's evident from when he was talking to the Lady Jessica, who can detect the truth and falsehood in the way people spoke. She knew that he hated the Harkonnens, and therefore did not suspect him. I think that if Dr. Yueh had the ability to see into the future, he would first be able to see that his wife would be under the hands of the Baron and would try to stop that first. In the end, I would say that he would not have betrayed the Atreides, for he would also have seen that the Baron would not have died from the poisonous tooth and it would be pointless to know that the Baron had killed his wife already.
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Konan Mirza
8/24/2015 09:54:55 am
If Dr. Yueh had the ability to see into the future he would not have betrayed Duke Leto. The primary reason he even succumbed to taking orders from Baron is because his wife had been captured. Had he known his wife was already dead then he would have probably been even more angered with the Harkonnens and continue to side with Leto. Ultimately this would shift the entire course of the novel for it would be likely that the Atriedes family take full control of the planet. All in all Dr. Yueh committed an act of treachery but his intentions were good. He only to see his precious wife.
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Sahiti Rudravajhala
8/25/2015 01:29:25 pm
I personally do not think Dr. Yueh would have betrayed Duke Leto. His motives for betraying the House Atreides is simple: to get to his wife. If he had found out ahead of time that his wife was no longer alive, he probably would not have betrayed the Duke, but rather he would have fought the Harkonnens alongside him. Dr. Yueh, essentially has a soft spot for Atreides and his guilt makes it clear that, had he the choice, he would not have wasted it siding with the Baron.
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Kartik Talwar
8/27/2015 09:14:21 am
I think that if Dr. Yueh had the power to see in the future, he would not have killed Duke Leto and betrayed the House of Atreides. Yueh never wanted to betray them, it is just that he loved his wife more than he loved Duke Leto and the Atreides family. Yueh would have also been able to foresight that his wife was going to be kidnapped and prevented the whole situation from ever happening, which would change the entire story line of the novel.
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Chidera Azubike
8/27/2015 12:28:29 pm
no, i think had he been able to see into the future he'd have known that he would've been killed following his betrayal, his wife still would've been dead, and that he'd have known that he would be remembered in history as a traitor.
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Janie Hu
8/16/2015 02:26:57 pm
1) Possessing the ability to see various paths ahead in the distant future, Paul had made well intended decisions in order to prevent the jihad because he thoroughly weighed his options before pursuing any of his plans. He took advantage of his powers by utilizing them to create as much tranquility, unity, and authority as possible while exerting his dominance on Arrakis. Keep in mind that Paul creates a shared Theocratic power with Stilgar, a well established and respected Fremen leader, after being pressured to challenge him for ultimate supremacy. This specific event demonstrates his innate selflessness and responsibility because he realizes that by usurping all power from a revered figure would result in resentment and turmoil from the aggressive Fremen and this would divert them from the important goal: preparing for war. Consequently, Paul Atreides’s choice guided by reasonable conscience and futuristic foreshadowing represents his consideration for Fremens’ lives and other communities vulnerable to the evident holy war. This whole entire time Paul knew that this jihad was unavoidable from the visions and his actions shine light on his fear for danger. Throughout the novel, the upcoming Kwisatz Haderach was cautious of his capabilities and persistently refused to fully accept his role as an omnipotent ruler until Paul intrinsically knew he could handle his newfound leadership. If Paul approached this whole situation with a false sense of credence and security provided by mythical means, then I believe he would not have been as competent because he might have pushed for a one man show on Arrakis, ousting Stilgar from his noble position, and resulting in total chaos among the Fremen society. Arrogance would have been his harmartia in this case because he would have been blinded by his own selfish objective to achieve great influence rather than focusing on the wellbeing of intergalactic inhabitants and cushioning the jihad’s impact. At Dune’s conclusion, Paul’s journey of self discovery is complete and through experience he matures to accept the title “Kwisatz Haderach” since he is confident in his stable support system formed with the guidance of his visions. Here, the goodness of Paul’s visions manifests itself: the jihad will pursue and Paul will be at the forefront of battle skillfully fighting for morally justified causes. Moreover, he does realize without a doubt that hundreds of deaths will occur, but enhanced insight on the future allows for effective course of action and better use of strained time.
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Caitlyn Nguyen
8/17/2015 05:30:25 am
1. The decisions Paul made based on his visions were all to avoid the jihad, and while it still occurred, I believe he made the right choices. Though many people died, including his son, he was able to defeat the Harkonnens, gain the political power he sought after, and take control of Arrakis once again. One example of a good decision Paul made was not challenging Stilgar to a Tahaddi challenge because the he knew that his strength, not only physically but as a leader, would be needed when they were to attempt to bring down the Harkonnens. Though both he and Stilgar knew this, the Fremen culture demanded that they battle to the death to declare the absolute ruler. Paul however, was able to convince the Fremen that blood shed was not needed and thankfully avoided having to challenge Stilgar.
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Skyler Williams
8/23/2015 01:26:53 am
I completely agree with Caitlyn's first point. Paul knew that Stilgar was an essential part of the Fremen overthrow of the Harkonnens. Many of the decisions Paul made and the actions he committed worked in the best way regarding the Fremen's culture and beliefs. He was able, like his father, Duke Leto, to challenge and change a very old culture's long-lasting traditions. He did this not with his superior fighting skills but with his mind and his voice. These qualities prove what a great leader Paul was among his people.
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Jullianne Lee
8/27/2015 09:53:59 am
I agree with your first point. Although he did challenge the beliefs of the Fremen, he managed to convince them to follow him without resistance, showing his strength as a leader. Knowing what was valuable to him, he acted upon his needs to keep Stilgar as he was a valuable asset to Paul in his fight against the Harkonnens.
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Hisham Iqbal
8/17/2015 06:31:10 pm
1. For the most part, Paul uses his powers to look into the future to the best of his ability. Knowing what is bound to happen is not an easy thing to cope with and Paul used this ability to the best of his power. Rather than avoiding the inevitable jihad, Paul used the ability to see into the future as a way to delay it and better prepare the Freman against the Houses. He was also able to protect more lives with the ability to see into the future than if he was not to see into the future. During a particular instance, Paul had the oppurtunity to defeat Stilgar and become the new leader. In fact it was regarded as customary for the fight to occur. Knowing that Paul himself does not have adequate experience, Paul did not have the fight happen even though he could have defeated Stilgar. This act was used to better prepare the Fremen and is looked as a positive act done by Paul.
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Geo Aickareth
8/27/2015 09:30:50 am
Hisham I agree with most of what you are saying. The idea of having the ability to see the future is absurd and in my opinion unnecessary. Even if you intend to help someone else out i believe that they are meant to not be helped. The reason I say this is because people have to fall into problems so that they can learn the power of perseverance and overcoming obstacles. I think if the future is given to us we will be lazy and not act upon it properly, completely demolishing the point for it. An example of this would be from Thats So Raven where Raven makes problems even bigger by intervening and “ helping” at her brother’s expense.
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Pooja Tunikipati
8/19/2015 07:57:08 am
Being able to see the future is probably something everyone would wants, but after reading Dune I felt reminded that with great power comes great responsibility. Because Paul had the ability to see the future he also had a great burden on his shoulders, to stop the Jihad, and to prevent all out war in his universe. One of the problems, I believe, was whenever he saw a problematic future; he tried to prolong the inevitable, or stop it from happening altogether, which may have ended up making the situation worse, despite his honorable intentions. For example when Paul and his mother joined the Fremen, Paul decided that both he and Stilgar would remain in powers of position, so as not to rile the violent Fremen by killing and taking the position of their current leader. However he ends up leading the Fremen anyways, according to his visions.
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Cody Nkrumah
8/19/2015 01:11:01 pm
It is obvious that Paul gains the ability to see what will happen in the future by drinking the "Water of Life' which is in face the same water Jessica drank in order to become the Reverend Mother. Since Paul gained this ability, he tries to make decisions to prevent what will happen in the future. In all honesty, Paul did "the most" to delay the inevitable. No matter what Paul did to change the outcome; the outcome always turned out the same. For example, Paul envisions a blood-thirsty war happening after he claims himself the Kwisatz Haderach, a powerful figure that changes what happens in the future; how convenient. In order to stop that from happening, he denies the power that he obtains to other people. In this circumstance, he is in fact delaying the inevitable. The Kwisats Haderach will be "crowned" unto him eventually; so he might as well face the fact now, and deal with the possible outcome later.
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Carter Heard
8/20/2015 02:35:33 am
1. With his ability to see into the future Paul realizes how important the decisions he makes are. I believe that he has the right motive toward the decisions he makes and for the most part they are good. One of Paul's many decisions is the one to marry Princess Irulan. As a result of this he takes the right to the imperium throne and gains political power. With this newly gained power Paul now has the ability to prevent the death of millions of people which he kept seeing in his visions. At the end of the book Paul has placed himself in a spot where he has the greatest capability to control the jihad.
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Asma Virani
8/20/2015 12:55:34 pm
1. Paul makes good decisions using his ability to see into the future. He intends on protecting people and preventing bad things from occurring. For example, Paul contemplates the Jihad he foresees and tries his best to prevent it. Eventually, he realizes that he cannot stop it from happening and tries to use his power to control it. Paul could have by gained power by killing Stilgar, but instead, he shares the power with Stilgar so that the Fremen do not become violent. Paul knows that there are other ways that do not cause bloodshed. The ability to see into the future can bring about a lot of responsibility since the person who has that power knows what is about to happen next and has the power to stop it. Rather than acting like a coward, Paul uses his power to make the world a better place. He wants to get rid of his enemies and make society more civilized.
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Karthik Reddy
8/21/2015 04:18:48 am
If ir recall correctly, Paul began to see different path's of his life as soon as book two started, right after the fall of House Atreides, but had visions in his dream even before that, as noted in the beginning of the book. When Paul drank the water of life, his power kind of zoomed in, or became more specific. Paul initially didn't act upon the knowledge he knew of the future because he knew it was not for sure, just as he didn't die on the floor of the cavern after the battle with Jamis. Paul is jut like a mentat, calculating the many variables and concluding which outcome is most probable, but he cans ee some things mentats can't. Eventually he does use his knowledge of the future, first when he names himself Muad'Dib, and later, to prevent the Jihad that he thinks so often of throughout the last two parts of the book. The Kwisatz Haderach made no good or bad choices, only the most probable and efficient choices in the situations he was faced with.
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Fariha Ahmed
8/21/2015 09:59:48 pm
1) Paul, as the "good guy" character, obviously tries to make the best of his circumstances and unusual abilities. After drinking the Water of Life, he gains the ability to see the past present and future. This giant ability not only is power, but it is also responsibility. We must not forget that at the end of the day, Paul is still a young boy, just like us. He feels overwhelmed by what he has on his shoulders and fears misusing it, intentionally or unknowingly. That's why when he finds out that the bloody war in the future is inevitable, he avoids acknowledging his abilities and tries to make the best of it.
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Chelci Harris
8/22/2015 03:44:29 am
I would venture to say that Paul's decision making was a key part of the novel's adventure. I rarely ever agreed with Paul's decisions but I knew that there was reason behind why he chose do whatever he chose to do. For instance, I initially did not agree with Paul's decision to marry Princess Irulan was unnecessary. The relationship between he and Chani was clearly meant to be and yet he'd made the decision to give up real love, similarly to his father, for power. I realize now that in marrying Princess Irulan, Paul basically gained the whole planet of Irulan, and that his decision, while not necessarily moral, was still selfless and wise.
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Gordon Chen
8/22/2015 04:26:43 am
I believe the decisions Paul made were beneficial for himself and also for Arrakis. Some may argue that Pauls altercation of the inevitable Jihad was considered selfish. We must acknowledge the fact that Paul is still a young boy who carries an immense amount of responsibility. Even though Paul may seem to come off as attending out for only himself, he was able to assist the Fremens in fighting against the Harkonnens. The Fremens suffers from the lack of water, because of the universe addiction to the spice they call Melange. Even though Paul has not yet transformed Arrakis into a lustful paradise, his optimism and intentions were morally in that respect. Paul, even though he is young, he holds the lives of hundred thousand upon his hands to save, therefore in my perception, his ability to see the future is a good thing.
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Daniel Cheung
8/22/2015 12:03:12 pm
1. I don’t think Paul did evil with his visions, but he should have made some different decision. However, we must keep in mind that his prescient abilities are not complete. He only receives fragments of the future even after taking the Truthsayer drug; after all, he does not expect his son's death while he was battling the Harkonens and the Emperor. With that in mind, it’s hard to blame Paul for his actions, especially when he carries the responsibility of the Duke of the Atreides as well as Maud’ Dib of the Fremen. Credit must be given; he sticks to his purpose of preventing a bloody religious crusade, carefully navigating Fremen waters to keep them submissive and peaceful. However, he turns violent by the end of the book, and clearly ruthless in Dune Messiah. Many of these mistakes may be reactions due to the death of his family, especially his firstborn. As a young ruler, he definitely makes better decisions than decisions than the emperor or Baron, but his blindsided devotion to his ambitions can be dangerous.
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Madison McClendon
8/22/2015 07:51:02 pm
1) As the proverb goes, to him who much is given, much will be required. Paul's ability to see potential futures is obviously an amazing power, and of course, comes with its fair share of burdens. Young Paul realizes early on in the novel that he is called to a terrible purpose, and soon realizes it is a great and bloody jihad. Knowing this, he seems to live his life as one great attempt to avoid that fate. He takes steps to attempt to change destiny, but I can't shake the feeling that he never did quite enough. For example, when he and his mother first stumbled into the Freman cave after escaping the Harkonnen take-over, Paul understood that the events of that day were a nexus, a point in time that could potentially change the future. Knowing this, and given his great intellect, he surely must have realized that -should he and his mother die there that day, as no more than two anonymous travelers- the jihad may be avoided. He instead, acted out of self-defense, he listened to both his own drive for survival and that of his mother. I certainly do not fault him for this, he was a fifteen year old child at the time, however skilled, no one that young is truly ready for the immense responsibility that was laid on his shoulders. I believe that, though he always had pure intentions, Paul was not always able to take the extreme and at times, risky chances that may have given him a greater chance at avoiding the jihad. Many times, it seemed that he simply could not let go of his sense of control on the situation; I feel he believed that, come what may, it would be better for him to be alive and at the head of the jihad than dead and fodder for the legends that would fuel the bloody crusade.
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Stephanie You
8/23/2015 07:13:30 am
I believe that Paul made his gift great, not the other way around. Guildsmen also attained prescience through consuming great amounts of the spice, and while they used that to ensure safe space travel, Paul truly brought this gift of foresight to the next level. I think it takes a lot of character to use something that was given to you for the purpose of a greater good. Paul already had good intentions before he could see into the future. I doubt the Harkonnens would have put that much thought into stopping a jihad that seemed to be unstoppable, partially because they're pure evil and partially because they are self-absorbed. (If they died during the jihad, then action would probably have to be taken to prevent at least their own deaths.)
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Vivan Kothari
8/25/2015 08:53:01 am
I have to agree with Stephanie on this one-- Paul made his gift great. Paul made his gift great and worthwhile for the benefit of others. He made decisions that helped the Arrakian people and the Fremen only for the reason of keeping peace alive in the galaxy. Compare hi, to someone like the Emperor, who wanted to commence conflict with the Fremen. Even with the ability to have visions, a power so unique and special, the Emperor would have made decisions only to benefit his own pride and greed. What you do with a power such Paul's relies on what you were before you gained the powers. Paul's logical, helpful personality aided him in making the best of his powers and led him into doing things that would benefit a vast amount of people. His ideas led him to make his power worthy of something huge, and his beliefs prior to acquiring his "powers" helped in making them worthwhile.
Seamus Gildea
8/23/2015 12:33:42 am
1. Paul gains the ability to see nearly infinite possibilities for the future, and he decides to attempt to guide the universe to the least bloody of them. Paul uses his powers to help prevent the loss of too many lives. Even though he does not necessarily desire power, he marries Princess Irulan at the end of the novel in order to give himself a position of power in the universe so that he can better control the conflicts around him. That decision came with great sacrifice as he gave up a life with Chani, who he truly loved, but his foresight showed him that there was no possible future in which they could live together peacefully. So Paul uses his "power" to make the best out of bad situations and takes on responsibility to truly be the Kwisatz Haderach.
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Hussain Azeem
8/23/2015 11:49:53 am
I do not agree with Seamus's second point because i believe if you saw that a loved one was going to get killed or was going to die instead of killing yourself, they would much rather find a way to save them so they wont have to actually experience that. When given the power to see the future you should do everything in your power to prevent catastrophes, wars and fatal incidents instead of mourning on it.
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Skyler Williams
8/23/2015 01:17:22 am
Many responses to this question are in agreement- the Fremen most likely would have defeated the Harkonnens regardless of Paul's involvement on Arrakis. They were quite superior before Paul and the Duke's party arrived. However, I do not believe the Fremen's overthrow would have happened as rapidly as it did. Paul, and his ability to see into the future, simply instigated the process.
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Zach Hall
8/23/2015 03:24:43 am
1. Paul's attempts to get away from the inevitable jihad through the use of his visions were the best that he could have done given the situation. The desire of peace that Paul seems to contain within him shows why he so was so desperately attempting to delay the religious wars, and he used his visions of the future to the best of his ability to prevent violence, although the religious wars did occur and many that were close to paul died as a result. Also, Paul's ability to recognize the value of his power and his livelihood to the ultimate eventuality of not only Arrakis but the universe as a whole is genius, because he is far less willing to run into a fight to the death. This genius shows when in the end of the novel Paul ends up taking the emperor's power and he defeats the Harkonnens. Also, his visions are able to help him to become more of a savior to his people, as he can now prevent the millions of deaths he sees in his visions by exerting the power that he has gained.
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Stephanie You
8/23/2015 06:54:41 am
When I read the novel, I personally thought that the visions were less about what Paul’s decisions were and more about what his decisions said about his character, and his inability to stop the incoming jihad that he kept on envisioning. Paul chose to let Stilgar remain leader of his sitch because he did not want the Fremen to look up to him any more than they already did. Each choice Paul made served the purpose of trying to stop the jihad. When evaluating this, Paul’s decisions were good because the intentions were good. His actions in his attempt to stop the jihad demonstrated his noble and compassionate behavior, contrasting with the Harkonnens, whose sight into the future only went so far as into the next year or so. The Harkonnens’ greed for power and riches blinded them from the consequences of killing off an entire race of Fremen, who were unexpectedly civilized and powerful. Like essentially everything in the novel, the whole “seeing into the future” gift further illustrates that Paul is “good” and the Harkonnens are “bad.”
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Elaine Messiha
8/23/2015 11:32:22 am
Diet is a factor that contributes to the actions we make but it is not the only factor. I feel that if the Baron added spice to his diet and ate enough to attain prescience, he would've been more aware of his decisions but, being the manipulative and malicious man he is, not much would change. His entire personality is not gonna shift overnight just because he added spice to his diet. His decisions are also a reflection of what he thinks will help him keep power. His mindset, dietary intake, and sexual appetite are all contributing factors to the actions he takes and I don't feel changing one will make too much of a difference to what he believes. With that said, if the diet change was made and Baron foresaw the death of Feyd-Rautha's death, his actions would represent exactly what he would want. Most likely, he would've done whatever it took to be saved. Baron will forever be the devious and malicious person we see him for and his actions would represent that.
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Phillip Valdecanas
8/23/2015 07:59:33 am
Paul completely realizes the great responsibility and consequences that accompany his powers to glance into the possibilities of the future. All in all, I think that Paul's power was ultimately a positive ability to possess. Seeing into the future allowed Paul to subsequently decide on which actions were best to take regarding their situation on Arrakis. Keeping in mind that Paul was a fifteen year old boy> Although he had the potential to become a mentat and was very gifted in his abilities which were further groomed by the education of his mother, I do not think Paul would have been able to survive without the additional insight caused by the "Water of Life". The decisions that Paul made based on these foresights resulted in positive outocmes such as defeating the Harkonnens and ultimately avenging the death of his father.
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Sahib Chandnani
8/23/2015 09:27:39 am
1. Paul's prescience, in all of its glory as a power special only to him, seems more like a burden than anything else in my eyes. His visions lead him to see a future in which he brings the destruction of so many others, and this forces him to make certain decisions to try and avoid such a fate. However, as good as his intentions are, he was clearly not successful, for the book ends by outright saying the jihad is inevitable. At no fault of his, the choices he makes to do right by his people all backfire. As he assumes power as Muad Dib and fulfills his fate as the Kwisatz Haderach, his divine status leads to a die-hard following of Fremen (Fremen willing to die for him in battle). So while the decisions might have held good intentions, the result was largely the same. Nevertheless, Paul truly did not have a choice in the matter. By taking the "water of life" and becoming the Kwisatz Haderach, he was equipping himself to deal with the situation at hand in the best way he knew possible. With more power, his influence would only grow and in his eyes, this meant he would have more control over his own path. There was no way for Paul to know that his assent to fame would only increase the possibility of the jihadist regime that loomed like a phantom over his every action. He just did what he felt was right, and no one can truly blame him for that.
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Elaine Messiha
8/23/2015 11:19:22 am
I feel as a whole, Paul attempted the make good decisions throughout the book. And personally, I see why he struggled. Paul might have known the future and the now but the period of time between is what would've really complicated things. Paul needed to know the consequences of each of his actions in order to completely make the right decision, and that's a sight that not even Paul was capable of seeing. Personally, i would be too stressed with the same power as Paul. I'd must rather just go with the flow. Paul was able to start seeing the future after he drank the “Water of Life.” The same one that Jessica drank to become the Reverend Mother. After that he obtained the power to see not only the past and future but also the present – the “now.” I think for the most part Paul attempts to make decisions for the better but in the end, the outcome is the same. From one angle, being able to see what else is going on at the same time aids Paul in his attempt to take back Arrakis, but from another angle, it hurts him in the sense that he knows what he has to fear. For example, Paul sees that a bloody war will begin after he rises to power as the Kwisatz Haderach. Thus, he resists admitting that he knows the power that he holds. I think in this instance, Paul is just prolonging the inevitable. Herbert makes another reference to the way society works. It is metaphorical for life because even though we know that we are going to die in the end, we try to make the best of our lives. In this case, Paul is trying to make the most of his time before total destruction.
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Hussain Azeem
8/23/2015 11:58:41 am
1.I believe the choices Paul made when he saw the future were overall very good and actually saved alot of people from dying in a war that was unnecessary. Paul is able to make decisions that allow him to avoid war with the jihad long enough so that he is able to marry Princess Irulan and establish peace throughout the universe by joining the two families together. Although most of his visions do come true you can see he did his best to prevent the events he foresaw and bring peace. All these acts can be seen as very honorable.
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Albert Chen
8/23/2015 12:13:41 pm
The decisions that Paul made are all for the better cause of Arrakis. Being able to see into the future, Paul tries to avoid the catastrophic Jihad of ever happening. One way he tried to stop the jihad is by treating Stilgar and himself as equals. By doing so, he would have less power in controlling the Freman society. No matter what methods Paul decides to partake, it is all in the good nature of stopping a violent war throughout the universe. But all the decisions that he made would it really alter fate? For me personally, I believe that Paul made the right choice in trying to deny the future, but denying fate would always result in nothing. No matter how hard Paul tries to veer away from the Jihad, there is no way he is able to change the future. The vision that he saw is an inevitable rock, and Paul himself is unable to move it. Paul is not a god; he is merely a normal human with extraordinary skills.
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Sakshi Shah
8/23/2015 01:27:05 pm
I feel that the decisions Paul made, using his visions, were good. Paul was trying his best to “fight against the coming of the jihad” but the more he fought, the more hurdles and obstacles came in his path (Dune 629). Paul allows himself to lead a little differently then what the Fremen were use too. Even though it was clear that according to Fremen way of life Paul should be the leader, but instead Paul allows Stilgar to remain in his position. Regardless of these noble decisions, there was a moment where Paul had misused his gift. That moment was when he had decided to drink the Water of Life. In Dune, the author had informed us that in the past several had lost their lives because of this act. If I had an opportunity to have the same visions in my life, I would probably not want to have it. The simple reason is because I believe in destiny and that everything happens for a reason. So instead of trying to change the future, I would just want to take decisions to the best of my ability and hope for the best.
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Selina John
8/25/2015 07:59:56 am
To answer your question Sakshi, I believe the songs that that were mentioned in the book had a purpose in bringing up the social aspect of the people in the story. For instance, I believe the song Paul sang to Chani was only to give a Paul a more compassionate personality to the readers' liking. Since Paul is the main protagonist of the story, Herbert uses every way to make him likeable for most of the readers. If these songs were taken out from the story, the novel would loose some of its complex built up social structures it already contains.
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Kasey Zhang
8/23/2015 01:46:30 pm
1. I would have to say that Paul’s decisions were carefully delivered through the use of his visions even though he was still an amateur at having to deal with the concept of knowing what was ahead of him. His denial of being the Kwisatz Haderach and his attempts to stop the effects of a jihad reflect his conflicting emotions about acknowledging his powers entirely. He does eventually develop a greater sense for controlling his actions and makes use of this ability, which is when I think he comes to realize how great of a power he holds. We can see from the first few chapters that he had already been seeing visions in his dreams, as he reveals that there had been a girl calling him “Usul.” These dreams help to reveal to the readers that Paul is indeed special, even before drinking the water of life. He tries his best to obtain the loyalty of those around him just as he had seen his own father succeed at it while sabotaging the spice and saving everyone from being killed from a sandworm back in the first book. From the perspective of Kynes, we can see that he is surprisingly impressed by the actions of the Duke Leto as well as Paul, and I think that the loyalty of the Fremen helps to nourish his civilized personality. He makes the right choices when following his vision, by affiliating himself with a stable group of Fremen and remaining in his rightful place by not overpowering those who have already gained his trust. He results in wedding Princess Irulan in order to avoid the religious war even though it adds another relationship to his life.
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Hannah White
8/23/2015 02:05:36 pm
Pauls precognition is perhaps the most useful of his powers, as well as most worrisome. It gives him control to shape his, and others fate. The problem is that Paul is conflicted because he has a fear of attaining too much authority over others, as does Fremen, yet feels driven to achieve his ultimate goal of gaining control of the universe. So his decisions were able to balance out occasionally because he had two totally different sides of the spectrum in his head. Whenever Paul saw possibilities for the future, he recognized whenever disaster may lie in the path the Bene Gesserit may have taken, as well as others; besides the Golden Path that eventually led to the salvation of the human race. The very existence of the Golden Path, and the dangers it tried to avoid, were factors that the Bene Gesserit really could not have planned for.
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Chandni Patel
8/23/2015 02:27:15 pm
In my opinion, Paul made all decisions from the visions he had with good intentions. Paul’s main concern was to prevent the jihad from occurring and avoiding bloodshed of hundreds. However, as the book goes on Paul realizes the jihad will be inevitable. Paul works as a leader to the Fremen in order to train them in the weirding way, which helps him regain the throne of Arrakis. In the beginning of the novel, Paul had a vision of a girl who called him Usul. Later in the book, we come to know the girl as Paul’s lover, Chani. When the Fremen first encountered Paul and Jessica in the desert, Chani was put in charge of protecting and guiding Paul. I believe Chani played a considerable part in the outcome of the story. For instance, because of Chani, Paul was awaken from the spice trance. Even Jessica was not able to wake up Paul from the trance, and the Fremen were ready to declare him dead. If it wasn’t for Chani, the Fremen society would have actually killed Paul, thinking he was already dead, for his water.
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Michael Liu
8/27/2015 02:11:55 am
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Arun Sabapathy
8/23/2015 02:27:26 pm
1. Many of the decisions that Paul made can be described as brash, in which tunnel vision clouded the true impact that the action would have on the perceived destiny set forth early in the novel. An examples that stands out to me is the ingestion of the Water of Life, as it proves to be a high-risk, high-reward action that seem to plague many of the presumptions that Paul makes. I would not say that the craving for the proof of powers he had is a good or bad things, but it certainly says something about his character. Paul is definitely someone that cherishes that which is personal to him, albeit portrayed in visions. This change from innocence serves to equip Paul with the abilities to distinguish what needs to be done, as he matures through the novel.
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Hoorain Momin
8/24/2015 07:45:43 am
1) I think that Paul's ability to have these visions definitely gave him that extra factor, if that's what one would call it. In a sense it made him more superior to the rest and allowed him to exercise his power, as well as building his inner confidence. From the beginning of the novel, he has always been different than the rest of the fifteen year old, and he knew that. His visions contributed greatly, allowing him to prosper as our protagonist in the novel.
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Konan Mirza
8/24/2015 09:38:24 am
1) The decisions Paul made using his gift were ones of good intentions but not necessarily the best decisions. However, Herbert doesn’t really allow the reader to see the consequences of every action so it is impossible to say exactly how beneficial or unbeneficial the decisions were without the repercussions. For instance, one preventive action that Paul made was marrying princess Irulan, the daughter of the emperor. This decision was made as a measure to keep long term peace in the kingdom. In spite of that, Paul recognizes that nothing can truly be stopped if war is meant to happen. That is ultimately the lesson he learned with the Jihad. In essence, the decisions made by Paul didn’t do much to stop any violence. It was made evident in the book early on; the violence was inevitable
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Robin Dimaunahan
8/27/2015 07:05:39 am
In response to your question, I do not think he would've made different decisions. It was made clear that Paul has extraordinary thinking power and was trained to be observant and logical, thus I believe his wisdom was sufficient and his point of view and morals would've remained the same if he were older/more mature.
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Gabrielle Humphrey
8/24/2015 12:49:24 pm
1. It is difficult to classify Paul’s ability to see into the future as strictly negative or positive. Without knowledge of what a life for Paul separate from this power would be like, as readers we can’t really know whether it ultimately benefitted him in any way, or if it was simply “fate” that destined him to make the decisions he did. What can be determined though, are the outcomes of his decisions. As any person’s are, Paul’s intentions for himself and involved are inherently good. In being presented with a realm of possibilities for the future, he chooses to pursue those that he believes to be the best. As far as we know these decisions are for the better and prevent further chaos. For example, his daunting vision of a future jihad serves as incentive to make every effort to maintain universal peace. Despite his yearning to live a life with Chani amongst the Fremen- one that would be indefinitely simpler- his foresight tells him that he must unite the two houses through marrying Princess Irulan and assuming the position of Emperor. Despite intentions and outcomes though, in reality there is no knowing what truly is or was the best, for he cannot see indefinitely into the future for every possibility presented. Who, other than Herbert himself, who never directly states such, is to say that if Paul had chosen to ignore the warnings of what “the future held”, that the outcome may not have been more favorable in some way? Because dealing with concepts as obscure as precognition, fate, and the infinite possibilities the future holds, all that can really be said about Paul’s decisions are that they prove his caution, responsibility and strength as a leader, ultimately being focused on the protection of Arrakis from the jihad.
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Matthew Nevle
8/25/2015 07:33:33 am
1. Paul's use of his ability to see into the future is unknown to whether it was used for good or bad. While in Paul's eyes he was doing what he believed was best for him and his people the Baron and Emperor were doing things they believed was best for their people. Paul might have saved Arakkis and its people, but he doomed the universe to its eventual Jihad. While Paul didn't do anything bad, he didn't exactly do anything good either.
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Selina John
8/25/2015 07:52:41 am
I feel that the decisions Paul made, using his visions, were good. There were many instances where Paul uses his visions as a way to be more careful and cautious about the decisions he makes because of the jihad. Most heroes from literature accept their fate whether good or bad and do what they can before it happens. In this case however, Paul continuously denied his fate to the start of a jihad, or a war, when he becomes emperor of the universe in the future. Without Paul's ability to see the future jihad, he would not have made certain decisions the way he did in the story. Since Paul has such an ability, why not make use of it?
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Kenji Chong
8/27/2015 12:15:04 pm
In a way, Paul did make use of his powers. Through not believing the visions, Paul tries to make a pathway to a future that he believes in. A world with less bloodshed. That is why Paul refuses to kill Stilgar and thus, creates a hierarchy.
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Elaine Wood
8/25/2015 08:12:48 am
Paul attempted to use his knowledge of the future for the best -- this is an inarguable fact. Throughout the novel, his knowledge of the future destruction that would occur because of him caused him severe pain and distress. In one instance, he gives water to the ones that will die and suffer. Paul definitely did his best with what he was given; however, the bloodshed occurred anyway. I do not believe that Paul's decisions impacted the outcome anyway -- as what Paul viewed was the future, he could not avoid it. The different paths he could have taken all seemed to lead to the same place in the long run: chaos.
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Vivan Kothari
8/25/2015 08:41:54 am
Would you all want to be able to have these same type of visions in your life?
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Vivan Kothari
8/25/2015 08:43:17 am
Disregard the first sentence of my response, sorry!
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Sakshi Shah
8/25/2015 11:22:35 am
Hi Vivan, I think Paul's reaction to becoming the leader of the Fremen would have been similar regardless of what power he possessed in the novel. I believe Paul would still have Stilgar stay in power, because he wanted to make a positive difference in the Fremen society. If Paul didn't have his powers, these certain decisions regarding the Fremen life, would foreshadow that he would become the leader of this group.
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Chi Phu
8/25/2015 09:10:53 am
1) The moment Paul started seeing the future is after he drank the "water of life". Now Paul has the vision of the present the past and the future. He can see that after he was named the Kwisatz Haderach a bloody war called the Jihad will happen and there will be a total destruction. Thus Paul is trying his best to resist the power therefore by dragging the time to receive the title he believes that the Jihad will be delayed and maybe an even be avoided. But what is bound to happen it will happen, that is life. You can't change the destiny of your life. Paul realizes that the Jihad will eventually happen which he spends every single seconds to live the best of his life, and have no regrets.
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Thomas Ledford
8/25/2015 10:40:56 am
I believe that with the information that he was given he made the best decision that would work out for the best possible future. While his child did die the future of an entire race and their planet was hanging in the balance, therefore, he had to make the difficult decision and save Arrakis. I honestly believe that if he chose to do anything differently the whole planet of Arrakis could have been lost forever. Also, in the situation that Paul was in, as a young teenager, he was trying his best to make sure that the future that he chooses would be the right one. The stress that this would create would be overwhelming and would be too much for the normal person. Next, if I was given the power it would ruin the whole point of living, working to see what you will become. This power would drive me crazy and keep me wishing I could have a normal life. How could anybody handle this kind of power, seeing the future of your life(s) at all times; you could never live in the present and think about what is going on in your life now. Everyday having to see your possible deaths and how awful they could be, however, also every great possible outcome that could take place, but the negative far outweighs the positive in this case. Overall, in my opinion, having such a super-human power would not be so super.
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Maher Rahman
8/25/2015 10:56:16 am
The ability Paul possess, though at first seems like a powerful or good power, and the decisions Paul made were good in the end, however, I believe the power played no part in the outcome. An example would be he dreamed of the terrible purpose he had, and the Jihad, and yet, despite all of his efforts, and his abilities, it's still going to occur, almost as if his power couldn't do anything at all. It's kinda like the movie Minority Report, where they see into the future and try to stop the crimes from happening, however, it does not go as intended. I personally wouldn't want these powers, because as time goes on, I might become like a photon, as in, I cannot tell the difference between past, future or present, as they will all become indistinguishable to me.
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Pranidhi Dadhaniya
8/25/2015 10:59:23 am
1. When evaluating whether the decisions Paul made based upon his visions were good or bad, I came to the conclusion that his decisions cannot be characterized in such a black and white manner. They were far more complex than that and had far-reaching impacts on his life as well as the lives of those around him. However, I genuinely believe that the decisions Paul made all had good intentions behind them. Throughout the novel, Paul was continually driven by the goal of resisting his fate because he knew it would result in a bloody jihad that would cost millions of human lives. Paul made a plethora of sacrifices in his attempt to achieve this goal. For instance, at the end of the novel, Paul agrees to marry Princess Irulan. Even though Paul truly loves Chani and wishes to live a life of happiness with her, he makes this sacrifice in order to establish peace in the universe and prevent the onslaught of a universal jihad. Although his resistance of his fate only pushes him closer to it, it represents how selfless he is and how greatly he values every single human life.
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Vibhav Joopelli
8/25/2015 11:24:20 am
Do you feel that the decisions Paul made, using his visions, were good or bad? Give an example. Would you all want to be able to have these same type of visions in your life?
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Vibhav Joopelli
8/27/2015 07:35:53 am
Question: How do you think Paul's actions would have changed if he did not have the visions of the Jihad?
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Kelly Fan
8/25/2015 11:56:01 am
When Paul Atreides drank the Water of Life and gained the power of precognition, just as when his mother drank the same water, he was suddenly able to see all things that had happened, would happen, and were happening. This was the first time he ever possessed such a power, so I think it acts as an important precedent of how things would play out in his future of truly having the ability to see into the future. Though he did not have immediate success, Paul did see ultimate triumph. He experienced the visions and was able to learn how to make decisions based on his newly-discovered knowledge. In the end, I feel that it helped him in his victory against the Baron and House of Harkonnen.
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Sri Sridhar
8/27/2015 09:04:15 am
I don't know if it's sufficient to be "prepared for what is to come." Sure, you'll be able to see what's coming but I don't know if the result is the one we always expect, or at least hope for. For example, Jocasta and King Laius thought it was the right thing to abandon Oedipus because they thought they were escaping the prophecy but on the other hand, by knowing their future, they acted foolishly, without realizing they were the ones to blame for their fate. If they were not aware of their future, they wouldn't have abandoned Oedipus, their own son, and Jocasta would not have married her own son. Therefore, I think it is best not to probe into the future because it will allow us to act logically and prevent us from causing pain.
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Viren Joopelli
8/25/2015 12:19:28 pm
1. It is quite evident as exhibited throughout the novel that Paul’s decisions are made with good intentions. He wants to do whatever is necessary for establishing peace in the Universe. Unfortunately, he cannot change the future; he can only envision its different paths. This becomes problematic in the context of the novel because Paul’s attempts to help people through his prescience are ultimately futile. Regardless of how hard Paul tries to prevent the jihad, he is only leading his people closer to it. Thus, Paul’s decisions and actions based on his foresight, while with the intention of choosing a good future, do not generate any positive result. They do, however, allow him to rise up as the leader of the Fremen, and enable the Fremen to fight against the Harkonnen onslaught. So his decisions are wise in the short-term, but he is cursed by the fact that the long-term jihad is inevitable.
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Seamus Gildea
8/27/2015 12:18:52 pm
Viren, a world with everyone knowing the future would be an ongoing play or stage performance, having every human simply reading their lines of life. This is of course assuming that fate cannot be prevented. If fate could in fact be altered then the possibility of everyone being able to see the future would not be possible with so many people changing the future of the world and their fates every second. It is a very abstract thought that can make your head hurt, but the ability to tell the future can only be successful if fate is set in stone unable to budge no matter how hard one pushes
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Jenny Lang
8/27/2015 12:21:58 pm
To answer your question Viren, I think if all the other characters were able to foresee the future like Paul...it would be complete chaos. The political tensions would increase 10x because the acts of war and betrayal would be seen before time and everyone would be on guard or be building massive armies to rival the same strength as the Sardukars in order to protect their House.
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Sahiti Rudravjhala
8/25/2015 01:19:24 pm
1.I believe that Paul’s decisions were not bad, but they were not beneficial either. With his ability to see the future after drinking the Water of Life, he had done everything in his power to escape the future of bloodshed and war. Although his efforts were valiant, it is safe to say that he was only delaying the unavoidable. Whatever the future held, Paul was to face it. As much as he opposed taking the position of Kwisatz Haderach, he was destined to be one and no amount of strategy and plans would change the future.
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Rithica Deepak
8/25/2015 02:42:00 pm
Paul drank the Water of Life which expanded his consciousness and gave him special powers. He was the first and last male to drink the Water of Life and survive, showing himself to be the Kwisatz Haderach. Paul said that, after drinking the Water of Life that he could not only see the future and the past but also the present, which he called "the now." His vision allowed him to see the great Jihad that is about to come as he takes his throne as the ruler of the universe.
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Shaheen Khimani
8/25/2015 02:51:29 pm
1. Paul’s motives behind all his actions are all rather genuine, with no selfish ulterior motive. From the way Paul is described, it is clear to see that he is a moral human being with no intention of wanting to cause an annihilation of Fremen lives in a jihad. Through his visions, he foresees a future marked with destruction and bloodshed. Consequently, he acts upon a path that he believes will protect people from this catastrophe, which is why I believe he’s justified for making the decisions he does. The only objection, however, is that regardless of his course of action, the jihad, much like his other visions, cannot be avoided. The outcome, in the end, wound up being the same. If speaking of Paul’s actions to prevent the loss of life, one such example is Paul choosing to spare the life of Stilgar. Not only this, but Paul also lets Stilgar remain head of Sietch Tabr, dividing the power over the Fremen society between him and Stilgar. By doing so, Paul avoids causing greater turmoil within the Fremen society. He hopes that this will serves as an example of the transition he wishes to make to a more peaceful society, one where people don’t challenge the other to the death. Choosing to save Stilgar’s life delays the future but does not prevent what is bound to happen from occurring.
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Ada Chau
8/25/2015 03:43:51 pm
1. Paul uses what he knows in order to do his best to prevent a bad outcome and to make a good outcome even better. With his insight into the future, Paul has the ability to see what is yet to come in order to better prepare for it. I think that Paul's decisions were made with good intentions, even though they may not seem like it. Paul decides to marry Irulan is one great example. Although he loves Chani and wants her to be his wife, he knows that one way to ensure peace was through marriage. For the sake of the people, he pushes aside his own desires in order to achieve something long lasting and necessary, and I think that says a lot about both Paul and Paul and Chani's love and understanding for each other. Because of this, I feel that Paul's decisions were essentially good, even though some may have not so great side effects.
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Nimesh Patel
8/25/2015 03:49:39 pm
1. Paul tried to fix the things that he saw in his visions by taking various actions that would stop it from happening, however whenever he took one of these preventive actions, they ended up hurting his cause and helped his vision come true. It seems as if it’s the same conflict of fate versus free will, because the war that he saw in his visions ended up happening even when he made the decision to try and stop it. Regardless of the fact that his decisions were not successful, he still did them with good intentions. He tried to stop the jihad from happening and that is a noble action. The only problem is he did not know that it wouldn’t help.
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Michael Liu
8/26/2015 08:36:47 am
Near the end of the novel, Paul has acquired the abilities to see in every distinct possibility. He can see the past (“Other Memory”), future (Precognition), and present (Visions of the Now). He becomes omniscient just like the narration of the book. I believe that Paul with this power achieved a satisfactory result. His goal was to become the emperor of the Imperium and at the end he did acquire the throne. For a teenage boy his visions furnished a great deal of burden that seemingly a few characters in the Dune universe could had handled. Even though he is able to perceive all the possible outcomes, it would be increasingly difficult to understand how this “future” would be viewed by all other individuals in his world. There is a distinct difference between intelligence and wisdom. Despite his superior thinking, Paul has yet to fully develop to the man he will be and experience the consequences of certain actions. His revelations show a glimpse of the unfolding rather than a life with that outcome. He would be judging the vision like a first impression. With the choice he made, came a fair conclusion; one that meets our expectations of a hero. With all the thousands of other possibilities out there, undoubtedly he could have made a mistake and failed his men. More people could have died including his sister, mother, friends, and warriors and the Baron could had gotten away a second time. As for the death of his son Leto II, we can understand the situation was out of reach for Paul to decide. Paul could have had won the throne and lost all his friends and family. Now I would consider that to be a bad ending.
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Jason Tran
8/27/2015 10:57:20 am
I am convinced by Michael’s viewpoint of having the ability of seeing the future that if people knew I had the ability to see the future I would constantly be bothered. I probably would not be able to carry on my daily life. I probably would feel a responsibility to change the future for the better but knowing I can’t change anything would eat me alive from inside out. However, having this ability would make me famous.
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Kynnedi Sonnier
8/26/2015 10:33:47 am
Its hard to come to a consensus on whether Paul's decisions where good or bad as those terms are extremely subjective to personal opinion. Often, doing what's you believe to be right is at odd's with someone else's morals. That being said, Paul's decisions were appropriate for the situation. I think the best example of this is Paul's anticipation of Feyd's challenge at the end of the book, in fact, he welcomes it as he has a score to settle with the Harkonnens and ending the Baron's bloodline would be a crucial step in preventing the impending jihad. Paul goes into this knowing that this could be the moment he dies, that this is the end of that path and Arrakis will be thrown into chaos, yet he accepts and fights Feyd by his own faith and wins. For Paul, the visions were often burdensome as they were so gruesome and morbid. By releasing himself of that vision and using on pure instinct and advice Paul is able to win. Imagine entering a fight already having seen yourself die a thousand times. For me, having the ability to see the future would be a beneficial yet daunting. I could only imagine just starting my senior year of high school and knowing that by the end of it I might only get a 3 on my AP. It'd be depressing! It would drive me to work harder of course but there's a niggling part in the back of my brain saying that this is exactly the path I go down and end up with the same result. On a lighter note, it'd be cool to see other things like when we'll get the hoverboards we were promised, but on the other hand, the future is sometimes at odds with the lives we've imagined for ourselves.
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Nikki Gandhi
8/26/2015 11:10:08 am
Throughout the whole book, specifically book II & III, we see that Paul struggles dealing with his ability to foresee a jihad, the bloody war. We also see his ability to forsee his sister and be aware of an oncoming attack from the Harkonnens. Now, just because Paul can see the future, that does not mean he can easily have an advantage or easily change the outcome. More often than not with these types of stories, the actions to stop the future only lead to the future that was envisioned to happen. After all, the future is inevitable. However that doesnt mean he cant find ways to change it a little. Towards the end of the book he tells the Revered Mother he will not carry out the deeds of the Bene Gesserit, showing his discontent for their goals. With his future seeing self, enhanced by drugs and his skills as a Mentat and a Bene Gesserit, he was still able to prepare the Fremen and himself for the possibility of war. For this reason, I believe what he chose, to prepare but still heed the possibility of war, he made the correct decision. Had to thrown himself head strong into a Jihad, thinking that there was no way to avoid this outcome, he may have caused destruction of worlds by the end of the story.
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Robin Dimaunahan
8/27/2015 07:01:13 am
1. I believe Paul's intentions were good. Whilst knowing the inevitable end he still decides to make an effort for a better one. In his decision to marry Princess Irulan rather than his love,Chani, it is evident that his actions were good. Risking his happiness for the greater good was an incredibly selfless act.
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Victor Guo
8/27/2015 07:38:27 am
The way that paul uses his visions cannot be classified in a black and white manner. Sometimes they were good and sometimes they were bad. Paul isn’t a hero he’s not the knight in shining armour. Paul is out for vengeance. Using his visions to threaten the guild and to convince Chani that them being together for the best could be considered a forceful use of his visions however like most of the time when he uses his vision for personal benefit it falls into a grey area.
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Pheba Joshua
8/27/2015 08:29:10 am
1) Paul's visions were not necessarily good nor were they bad more so like a weight put on him to protect the others from the dangers in the future.Paul used his visions with good intentions although we do not see the end results at the end of the novel we can only assume he used his visions for good. For example, when he saw the vision of war even though he tried to prevent the bloodshed but as always destiny got the best of him.
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Quyn Westfall
8/27/2015 08:32:56 am
Paul uses his visions for the general good of society. He has the best intentions, though some of the decisions he makes primarily benefits himself. For example while battling Jamis, Paul has a vision of himself lying bloody on the floor. This vision causes him to take the battle more seriously, enhances his concentration, and ultimately leads to his victory. Throughout the entire novel he has visions of the future where people are battling in his name and he does everything he can to avoid this outcome. I would not want to have these visions because part of the experience of life is not knowing what will happen next.
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Sri Sridhar
8/27/2015 08:40:39 am
Even though, Paul had the power to see the future, after drinking the Water of Life, I don't think that was the prime reason as to why the Fremen defeated the Harkonnens. Even though, Paul's ability to see the future might have altered few events, I still believe that the Fremen are strong enough to defend themselves because throughout the book, Herbert presents the theme of "Survival of the Fittest", as the Fremen could adapt themselves to harsh conditions, which proves them to be immensely strong. Even though, the ability to see the future seems glorious and powerful, I personally would not like to possess such powers. I strongly believe that things would go wrong, if I see the future because viewing the future would alter my actions that may or may not work out in the future and I would extremely despise to regret my actions later on, especially in this case, when I knew that I had a choice to act out my own will. In other words, I don't want to blame my "power" if I know I could have acted in a different manner but looking into my future will only influence my actions and I only like my mind and soul to control my actions; not some ability that I don't know if I can trust.
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Kartik Talwar
8/27/2015 09:01:21 am
1. At the end of the novel, Paul begins to gain the ability to see events that are going to happen in the future, and despite all of his efforts to try and alter the future, to prevent the jihad, he remains unsuccessful. Nevertheless, all of his actions he took were with good intentions. One example of this is when he married Princess Irulan, although Paul did not love her, he put his own personal desires aside and married her because he believed it was the best way to keep peace within the kingdom. Regardless of this, the book makes it clear that war is inevitable and there is nothing Paul could have done to change it.
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Geo Aickareth
8/27/2015 09:28:50 am
Paul’s visions throughout the novel play a critical role in how he acts as an individual. He uses his knowledge of the future to help the greater good. He knows that there is a war or ”jihad” looming and he tries his utmost to stop it. A good deed that Paul did while having notice of the future, would be not fighting Stigler. Paul shows incredible resolve by not being prodded by others to fight a good ally. I believe this single act not only proved to readers what type of character he was, but also to the Fremen. This act proves his maturity and I believe the reason for that is his ability to empathize and the way he can focus upon the future.
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Jullianne Lee
8/27/2015 09:47:16 am
1. I believe Paul’s actions all had good intention, regardless of whether they were good or bad. His actions were not impulsive, but very well thought out as he also thought about the consequences of his actions before he made them. After drinking the “Water of Life”, Paul was granted the ability to see into the future, causing him to see the jihad. All of his actions following the sight were made to prevent this bloody war. Although his actions were made with the best intentions, his actions could not ultimately prevent the inevitable.
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Alex Wong
8/27/2015 10:23:36 am
1). As Paul lived with the Fremen in Dune, the extent of his visions into the future grew in vividness and foresight. However, we find out late in the book that these visions and predictions are not absolute paths that the future will take. They are just possible outcomes that can lead to drastically different results with small changes in the present. Once Paul realises that the future is not definite, he is able to use his gift to see into an infinite amount of possible futures, rather than think that his ability is a curse that will lead to his demise. Of the visions that he sees, the one of the empire-wide jihad is the most troubling. However his decision to not challenge Stilgar for leadership ended up allowing the world to avoid jihad. This decision shows how Paul makes wise decisions using his abilities to see visions of the future as the Kwisatz Haderach.
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Aiyana McRae
8/27/2015 10:41:35 am
Paul's powers did give him a bit of an upper-hand against the Harkonnens, and in a universe where nobody plays fair, it was not wrong of him to use his powers to his (and the Fremens') advantage. However, if he had lacked these powers, it would not break Paul or the Fremens. They were prepared to fight on their own. Paul proved to be a great leader to them because of his character, not his psychic abilities. I would not have used my powers if I had had my doubts about them, but without Paul's strong will, there would not be much of a story.
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Jason Tran
8/27/2015 10:56:38 am
Overall, Paul’s decisions didn’t change the fate of the future. Paul tried many things to prevent what he foresaw, but in the end his actions resulted in what he foresaw. Paul’s intentions were good as he tried his best to prevent disasters and bad omens that were bound to happen. The fact that he is selfless and makes decisions for the better of the future tells a lot about his character. Whether his decisions were good or bad in the end did not matter because the future he saw could not be changed, but he did have good morals.
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Jesse Chao
8/27/2015 11:00:46 am
The decisions Paul made are made without fault as when he sees all of the possible paths, there are still paths that are shrouded and are unknown. This is evident when Paul could see the paths while in the cave and chose a path that was not shown to him and opened a new set of doors. His vision is not perfect and with his mentat prior training, he does the best he can. Even with the events that happen, Paul chooses paths of which he can feel the most confident in. Due to the cave decision, Paul may have made decisions based on understanding the paths as possibilities and that he had to choose the option that he has the most likely chance of being successful in reaching.
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Ayo Shonowo
8/27/2015 11:13:33 am
Paul's power is not omnipotent. In order to make his decisions he had to think of the most likely possibilities based on what he interpreted from his vision. Despite everything, he is only Human. I believe he took the right steps in his attempt to stop the jihad.
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Farah Hashmi
8/27/2015 11:28:42 am
There is a definite theme of fate and free will throughout the book, and it makes us speculate what truly influences one's destiny. It makes us wonder if fate is a true force proceeding over us, or if it's our own choices that determine our future. As for Paul, i believe that the decisions he made because of his visions proved to be beneficial in his quest. Not only did it allow him to survive on Arrakis (as shown through the discovery of the caves and the vision of him bleeding out due to a knife wound), but it proved to bring him one steps closer into making an identity of himself, both as the Muad'Dib and the Kwisatz Haderach. Amid a battlefield of politics and death, one should utilize any upper hand available.
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Kenji Chong
8/27/2015 11:40:03 am
1. From the example that I'm giving, I believe that the decisions that Paul made were good. In book 3, Paul had a vision (of the now) in which he sees the Guild space ships flying above Arrakis. And with this vision, for the good of the planet, he had prepared the Water of Death to destroy the spices. Thus, the Guild will play right into their hands.
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Sarah Thomas
8/27/2015 11:49:09 am
Overall, I feel like Paul’s decisions while using his power to see the future were good. He was able to see the past, present, or what he calls the “now”, and the future, but did not use them for evil. His use of the visions is more good than bad, at least for the rest of the Fremens. Not only does he receive the benefit, so do they. He is the one that has to experience the downfalls of seeing the future. Even though he does not always appreciate his gift, he chooses to help the Fremens, while using is powers. One example of when he used his visions for good was when he helped the Fremen people, to whom he was chosen to be the leader of, defeat the vicious Harkonnens. Although Paul believes it is a curse on him, the power is also a blessing, as he is able to see what may happen, and depending on outcome, change the future to his benefit.
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Melanie Lo
8/27/2015 12:10:36 pm
I completely agree with your opinion on the element of surprise. If we had the same visions as Paul did, us humans would have no excitement whatsoever. Also something to add is this "bad thing" we would be able to see might have relevance to death, and therefore, if we all see our death, what would be the point in living?
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Paige Awodu
8/27/2015 12:02:06 pm
I think Paul's vision was a good and bad idea idea because he was able to use the visions as his advantage. For example, he used the visions of the Harkonnes with a massive army and the way to destroy the spices as a way to get past the army and cripple the Imperial Power. However, Paul nows that he can not control what he sees when he realized that jihad was coming. WIth all this power. i belive he still feels powerless. For me, I would not like to have the power to see visions because even though I will know what will happen, sometimes what you change could make things even worse for not only myself, but other people in my life. Also, there are things that meant to be fate, and if you try to change it, it will be more painful than letting it happen.
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Melanie Lo
8/27/2015 12:06:33 pm
Even though Paul questioned his ability, I feel like he made good use of these visions he had. For example, using his supernatural ability, Paul managed to lower the casualties in the last battle and saves the ones he cares for ultimately improving the situation for the general good. Even if the jihad was not prevented, the Fremen still resulted in victory. However, I strongly dislike any thoughts of supernatural abilities, because I feel like they always come with a risk and result with no merit. For instance, the “That’s So Raven” Disney channel show has a main character who can see into the near future, and more often than not, because of her knowing these visions and trying to prevent them, the future she tries to prevent ultimately happens. This proves that knowing the future is more of a burden than a gift, and I definitely can live without it.
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Jenny Lang
8/27/2015 12:13:44 pm
As many of you have been saying, Paul definitely had good intentions but there were many complications to his solutions. Such as when Paul had suddenly decided to marry Princess Irulan to secure temporary peace among the planets before the arrival of the jihad, he set Chani into the same position his mother was in with Duke Leto, a wife without the title. I would personally never wish the visions that Paul experiences on anyone. At such a tender age, there are so many responsibilities that he has as a heir and on top of that he also has to look out for the fate of the entire universe, how wonderful. I feel like I can barely manage my life right now with college applications and school. With the addition of the visions, I feel like I would be incapable of doing anything else except worry about the impending future instead of living in the present.
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Nithin Kakulavaram
8/27/2015 12:41:14 pm
For the most part, I believe that Paul Atreides used this extraordinary ability to benefit him as he looked to the future for many of his answers, but key word being “most”. Furthermore, with visions of the future, Paul evidentially made decisions that he thought were best suited for that time being, not knowing the fate and destiny revolving around animate objects. Although, his intentions were always in the right place, the results were more or less lack luster. In other words, many of these decisions were not beneficial and served to harm close friends and family members in the long run. Regarding the future, Paul dreads the upcoming Jihad, and tries to do everything in his right mind to stop it from approaching, but the matter of the fact is that the Jihad is inevitable. One of the reasons he married Princess Irulan is for the slight chance that he could possibly stop the upcoming Jihad and unite the houses to bring stability in the universe. In all, it is difficult to decide whether the decision made by Paul were for the good or for the bad, but we can take away that all his decisions were backed up with intentions of being beneficial, not causing harm.
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Paige Awodu
8/27/2015 12:47:30 pm
I also have a question: do you think Paul may have some regrets of his actions based on what he sees in the future? Do you think that even though he has power beyond his comprehension, does he still feel powerless over what he cannot change?
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Ching Liuhuang
8/27/2015 01:17:35 pm
Paul made his decisions in order to do what is best for the universe as a whole; despite his lack of desire to be a “hero” everyone wanted him to be. However, his ability to foresee the future stimulated him to act differently than fate would’ve allowed so, and he does so with his own intuition on what is best course of action. Some of his actions turned out well and beneficial for the future of the universe, while some of his actions did not turn out so well. As a result, Paul’s decisions are not necessarily good or bad; instead, they are neither, as some turned out well, while others didn’t. An example would be Paul doing everything he can in order to alter the formation and existence of the new religion, the Jihad, under the banner of House Atreides. The result of his doings includes his rise to the Imperial Throne, but also the death of his fellow men and acquaintances along the way. I would want to have the ability to see into the future as such skills can allow me to calculate paths of success; much like in the movie and TV series, Limitless.
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Hannah Nöelle Johnson
8/27/2015 02:32:44 pm
1) Considering that Paul always strived to do what is best for the people, I believe that he used his ability to see into the future as a good thing. however, like Ching said, his powerful ability to see everything conflicted with fate, when he chose to act based on what he saw versus fate. When Paul foresaw bloodshed and catastrophe, he chose a path to avoid those fearful outcomes; however, if he had chosen to go through with the gruesome path, he might have caused an uproar, but sometimes an up roar is needed for change. For example, in the Civil War Era the Americans were having controversy over state's rights, so they went to war, sacrificing many lives, in order to achieve more equality between the states governments and the federal government for generations to come.
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