The title seems awfully depressing, no? do self-invention and tragedy come in a package deal? buy one get one free. self-invention is an inspiring concept because it shows how someone can move through life without a pre-existing blueprint presented to them. these people either make their own blueprint or move through life dodging their fate.

Stories like the Great Gatsby and Scarface project the idea that there is a certain extent to self-invention where fate comes to bite you back from straying from your destined path. However, there is a distinction between a gangster and a typical person.

Gangsters participate in illegal activities while a typical person may not. However, this does not make either party morally better or worse. Some don’t have the liberty. Some don’t have the time. Also, our moral judgements are for ours alone.

With that being said, death eventually comes for these self-inventors. But the same goes for every living thing. One is not immortal just because they chose to stay in their status quo.