--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Misfortune is not fair, fate is not just…" description: "\"“Misfortune is not fair, fate is not just, but they exist just the same.”\" — John Steinbeck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/john-steinbeck-71_destiny_misfortune-is-not-fair-fate-is-not-just_1317101.jpg" --- # Misfortune is not fair, fate is not just, but they exist… ![“Misfortune is not fair, fate is not just, but they exist just the same.” quote by John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/john-steinbeck-71_destiny_misfortune-is-not-fair-fate-is-not-just_1317101.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/john-steinbeck-71_destiny_misfortune-is-not-fair-fate-is-not-just_1317101.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/john-steinbeck-71_destiny_misfortune-is-not-fair-fate-is-not-just_1317101.jpg) > ““Misfortune is not fair, fate is not just, but they exist just the same.”” [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests that misfortune and fate are both unfair yet equally present, highlighting life's inherent inequities. **In simple terms:** Unfairness and destiny coexist. Key Takeaway Accept that life can be unjust yet inevitable. Themes philosophy fate misfortune inequity Mood thoughtful somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal setbacks - social injustice - ethical debates - mental resilience Key Concepts existentialism justice human condition Questions to Reflect On - How can we respond constructively to perceived injustice? - Can acceptance coexist with efforts to change fate? A Different Perspective Focusing on unfairness may lead to fatalism rather than agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Misfortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortune/) ## Related quotes > [Free will appears unfettered, deliberate; it is boundlessly free, wandering, the spirit. But fate is a necessity; unless we believe that world history is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/free-will-appears-unfettered-deliberate-it-is-boundlessly-free/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Fate is just another word for people's choices coming to a head. Destiny, coincidence, whatever you name it. It inevitably lies in our hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/fate-is-just-another-word-for-people-s-choices-coming-to-a-head/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [Fate is just a name we give to lucky coincidences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keelan-crowe/fate-is-just-a-name-we-give-to-lucky-coincidences/) Keelan Crowe > [“All of this passes, and none of it means anything to me. It’s all foreign to my fate, and even to fate as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/all-of-this-passes-and-none-of-it-means-anything-to-me-it-s-all-2/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Irony is the sense of humor of fate. From "Just Go" by Twila Vernon”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twila-vernon/irony-is-the-sense-of-humor-of-fate-from-just-go-by-twila-vernon/) Twila Vernon > [I wouldn't change anything. I think that it's important to let things happen, and stay 'happened'. I think that's all part of the learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-peters/i-wouldn-t-change-anything-i-think-that-it-s-important-to-let-things/) [Mike Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-peters/) > [“Fate is just the sum of all our bad decisions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-geissinger/fate-is-just-the-sum-of-all-our-bad-decisions/) [J.T. Geissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-geissinger/) > [“Wherever you need to go … Gods or fate or just pure coincidence and kindness, it was a gift. This was a gift. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/wherever-you-need-to-go-gods-or-fate-or-just-pure-coincidence-and/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [If ever you're gonna leave, please don't say goodbye coz you'll see me cry and my love for you will never die. I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-tien/if-ever-you-re-gonna-leave-please-don-t-say-goodbye-coz-you-ll-see-me/) [Richie Tien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-tien/) > [fate is not just whose cooking smells good, but which way the wind blows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/fate-is-not-just-whose-cooking-smells-good-but-which-way-the-wind/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I'm not a big believer in a thing called luck. I believe it has a lot to do with fate and just really having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marla-maples/i-m-not-a-big-believer-in-a-thing-called-luck-i-believe-it-has-a-lot/) [Marla Maples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marla-maples/) > [“It's fate, but fate just gives us a nudge in the right direction onthe fast lane, I guarantee she doesn't have her hands in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/it-s-fate-but-fate-just-gives-us-a-nudge-in-the-right-direction-onthe/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [“Sometimes fate just plays a strange game of Scrabble with you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pawan-mishra/sometimes-fate-just-plays-a-strange-game-of-scrabble-with-you/) [Pawan Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pawan-mishra/) > [“There’s no such thing as fate. It’s just the word men give to decisions which have worked out badly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-wright/there-s-no-such-thing-as-fate-it-s-just-the-word-men-give-to/) [Kim Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-wright/) > [There's no escaping fate, it just keeps going. Day and night, the future just keeps coming at you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/there-s-no-escaping-fate-it-just-keeps-going-day-and-night-the-future/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More by John Steinbeck > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/prayer-never-brought-in-no-side-meat-takes-a-shoat-to-bring-in-pork/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“And now submarines are armed with mass murder, our silly, only way of deterring mass murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-submarines-are-armed-with-mass-murder-our-silly-only-way-of/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“He was forever inventing a new way of doing an old thing and doing it better and quicker, but he never in his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-was-forever-inventing-a-new-way-of-doing-an-old-thing-and-doing-it/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“You come back a changed man. Samuel, you don’t change him. He changes you. I can see the look of him in your face.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/you-come-back-a-changed-man-samuel-you-don-t-change-him-he-changes/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-find-out-of-long-experience-that-i-admire-all-nations-and-hate-all/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Who in his mind has not probe the dark water?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/who-in-his-mind-has-not-probe-the-dark-water/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [People like you to be something, preferably what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/people-like-you-to-be-something-preferably-what-they-are/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Suddenly he knew joy and sorrow felted into one fabric. Courage and fear were one thing too. He found that he had started to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/suddenly-he-knew-joy-and-sorrow-felted-into-one-fabric-courage-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I am writing this from what we Americans call Yurrp. In Yurrp writers are taken as seriously as Lana Turner's legs are in America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-am-writing-this-from-what-we-americans-call-yurrp-in-yurrp-writers/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I write because I like to write. I find joy in the texture and tone and rhythm of words. It is a satisfaction like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-write-because-i-like-to-write-i-find-joy-in-the-texture-and-tone/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Explore all 1,589 John Steinbeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## More Destiny quotes > [... War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Destiny is the ordained intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/destiny-is-the-ordained-intention-god-has-sacredly-prepared-with-your/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [“There is no interaction without God with interaction with men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/there-is-no-interaction-without-god-with-interaction-with-men/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 7,925 Destiny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Misfortune is not fair, fate is not just, but they exist just the same.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Steinbeck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/misfortune-is-not-fair-fate-is-not-just-but-they-exist-just-the-same/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destiny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/misfortune-is-not-fair-fate-is-not-just-but-they-exist-just-the-same/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/john-steinbeck-71_destiny_misfortune-is-not-fair-fate-is-not-just_1317101.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/john-steinbeck-71_destiny_misfortune-is-not-fair-fate-is-not-just_1317101.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/john-steinbeck-71_destiny_misfortune-is-not-fair-fate-is-not-just_1317101.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Misfortune is not fair, fate is not just, but they exist just the same.” — John Steinbeck", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Steinbeck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Misfortune is not fair, fate is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/misfortune-is-not-fair-fate-is-not-just-but-they-exist-just-the-same/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/misfortune-is-not-fair-fate-is-not-just-but-they-exist-just-the-same/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```