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Originally Posted by Durelin
You can choose your own fate.
It's like a game. Like, pick door number 1 to get destiny number 1, door number 2 to get destiny number 2, door number 3 to get destiny number 7...or something confusing like that. And basically there's just a lot of doors. Of course most of them you don't even notice.
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Could it be that for each 'choice' there are a specific number of doors. Each door is associated with some probability (sorry if I start sounding like a math teacher). So, for example, there could be 10 doors that Frodo could have walked through when he was making the decision regarding what to do with the Ring. Door #1 is to throw it away, Door #2 is to give it as a gift to Lobelia Sackville-Baggins when the Nazgul are about to show up, Door #3 is to make Gandalf to take the Ring, Door #4 is to encourage Sam to marry Rosie, and just doesn't Frodo have the perfect ring for the occassion, and Door #5 is to give it to one the dwarves traveling through the Shire and make a bet with them that they can't unmake it (bet gold).
Doors #5-#10 are all associated with taking the Ring to the Fire, but vary on the details. Whereas #5 may be to leave immediately without Sam, #10 may be to leave sometime in the future, preferably after Frodo beats the Gerontius Took in birthdays.
Now, Frodo is a Baggins, meaning that he's a bit contrary (i.e. nuts), and he was selected by Bilbo (a bit more nuts) to carry the Ring, meaning that Bilbo saw something in Frodo that would allow for this privilege/curse. Frodo had a deep love for the Shire and its inhabitants, and also had a sense of duty. He had the companionship of Sam, which also helped shape his character. Gandalf surely played some part in shaping Frodo's character and decisions, as he held the Ring of Fire, loved the Shire and Middle earth (and wanted to save it), and also had a clear sense of duty - Gandalf didn't go off studying birds or shacking up in some tower with a copy of "Famous Rings of Middle Earth" coffee table tome. Frodo, seeing Gandalf as an example, may have wanted to be like the wizard. Plus Gandalf was a friend of Bilbo, whom Frodo loved.
So for Frodo, doors #1 and #2 were out completely (would have a very low probability) as choices, as are #4 and #5. Door #3 was a reasonable choice as it allowed Frodo to save the Shire and save himself the hassle, but Gandalf would not allow it and if Frodo were to sneak the Ring onto Gandalf's person, when Gandalf found out, he would be a bit upset (that is if Gandalf didn't raze the Shire along with the rest of Middle Earth as the new Dark-Grey Lord), and we know that Frodo respected the wizard and his greater abilities - not someone with which to mess.
Doors 5 through 10 were therefore more probable choices. Frodo would need some time to torque himself up, and so #5 was out. Door 10 was somewhat reasonable, but I think that Gandalf had Frodo concerned enough not to forget the task completely.
So the even more probable doors were 6, 7 and 8, which we can assume vary somewhat in the lesser details. We can never know which of these three that he chose. And after that set of doors, Frodo went onto the next ten (with blue cloak, red cloak, no cloak, etc)...
Anyway, so my long-winded point is that Frodo had free will to choose whichever door from the set, but as Frodo was the person that he was, the actual number of choices for him were in reality limited.
Fated? I don't think so, but some events have higher (almost certain) probabilities based on what we know.
I'm going to go and have my brain cleaned now - all of that mathematical thinking (more than was posted thankfully) has just made a mess of the place.
Edit - I think that my thoughts crossed with the phantom's...or not.