Verdict+JasonK

Verdict • concise 250-300 words (word count excludes quoted material) • states clearly why Position 1 or Position 2 ‘won’ the trial • use at least one piece of textual support that was key to the winning argument Was the following statement PROVED OR DISPROVED in the trial? “The world and everything in it is unplanned accident, existence is meaningless; the past is irrelevant; nothing matters.”

I think that the position 1 won the trial, that "The world and everything in it is unplanned accident, existence is meaningless; the past is irrelevant; nothing matters" is true. Because the students were playing role of the human superiors, such as Grendel and Dragon, position 1 did not fully able to explain themselves from Dragon and Grendel’s point of view. Everything that position 2 stated were based on individuals. They keep on emphasizing the individual’s value and success. However, what is the statement really mean? This statement is referring to the universe not individuals. It’s asking whether the individual’s existence mean anything in the universe. Think about how big the universe is: Earth is only part of a solar system, there are billions of solar system in a galaxy and billions of galaxies in the universe. Dragon said, "In a billion billion billion years, everything will have come and gone several times, in various forms. Even I will be gone. A certain man will absurdly kill me. A terrible pity-loss of a remarkable form of life. Conservationists will howl." (Dragon pg 70) Being a superior of human being and God-like figure in the Grendel. The values that Shaper is making is merely lies. There are lies to make lives seem more glory. Love, friendship, and heroism is made up values of the Shapers to elaborate his stories. Therefore Position 1 won the trial of whether existence is meaningless or not.