In year nine my class studied Romeo and Juliet and we were given the above essay question. The obvious answer was yes. The easiest option to argue was yes. Everyone in my class went with yes. I said no. This is the essay that earned me both 100% and a drawing of a cranky face in red pen. Keep in mind I was in year nine when I wrote this, over four years ago, so it may be a little dodgy.~
I have to say No Way! Despite the strong reasons for it (I’m sure you can think of many), I have two reasons that totally over-rule all other arguments. Reason one: Every one has choices, Romeo and Juliet just made the wrong ones, if they made wiser decisions the out come would have been different, more than likely better. Reason two: is there really such a thing as fate? And if so what really is it?
It goes like this- everyone has choices, if Romeo and Juliet made wiser choices they mightn’t have died. For example, if Romeo hadn’t killed Tybolt and instead let the law handle it (Tybolt was going to be executed anyway) then Romeo wouldn’t have be banished and none of the following events would have taken place.
Then you’ve got Juliet faking her own death, if she had thought through her options (skip town for example) they may both have lived.
And you have to agree that turning to that priest was the stupidest thing they could have done. For starters, what kind of priest just so happens to have a date-rape drug lying around? One that can't be trust, that's what kind.
Secondly, the whole fate thing, does fate really exist? There are actually special people who dedicate their lives to trying to find this out. They are called metaphysicians and they try to solve questions that can’t be answered on factual terms. Some of these guys think that if the universe is rational it must be based on a sequence of cause and effect: Every action or effect, must be began by a cause and must form an unbroken chain of causation going back to the first cause, that is, God or the Devine.
So. For there to be fate there must also be a god.
But as the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy says there can be no god because of the existence of the Babel fish. I quote-
‘The argument goes like something like this: “I refuse to prove I exist,” says God, “for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.”
‘ “But,” says man, “The Babel fish is a dead give away isn’t it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves that you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don’t. QED”
‘ “Oh dear.” Says God, “I hadn’t thought of that,” and promptly vanishes into a puff of logic.’
So that also means that all the miracles we have ever had prove God doesn’t exist by the above argument.
So by proving that God doesn’t exist we prove that fate doesn’t either and thus Romeo and Juliet were not fated to die.
Romeo and Juliet were not fated to die because they couldn’t make a good choice to save their lives, literally. And because from a reliable source (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) I have been able to deduce that fate doesn’t exist so they couldn’t have been fated to do anything!
I rest my case.
It goes like this- everyone has choices, if Romeo and Juliet made wiser choices they mightn’t have died. For example, if Romeo hadn’t killed Tybolt and instead let the law handle it (Tybolt was going to be executed anyway) then Romeo wouldn’t have be banished and none of the following events would have taken place.
Then you’ve got Juliet faking her own death, if she had thought through her options (skip town for example) they may both have lived.
And you have to agree that turning to that priest was the stupidest thing they could have done. For starters, what kind of priest just so happens to have a date-rape drug lying around? One that can't be trust, that's what kind.
Secondly, the whole fate thing, does fate really exist? There are actually special people who dedicate their lives to trying to find this out. They are called metaphysicians and they try to solve questions that can’t be answered on factual terms. Some of these guys think that if the universe is rational it must be based on a sequence of cause and effect: Every action or effect, must be began by a cause and must form an unbroken chain of causation going back to the first cause, that is, God or the Devine.
So. For there to be fate there must also be a god.
But as the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy says there can be no god because of the existence of the Babel fish. I quote-
‘The argument goes like something like this: “I refuse to prove I exist,” says God, “for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.”
‘ “But,” says man, “The Babel fish is a dead give away isn’t it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves that you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don’t. QED”
‘ “Oh dear.” Says God, “I hadn’t thought of that,” and promptly vanishes into a puff of logic.’
So that also means that all the miracles we have ever had prove God doesn’t exist by the above argument.
So by proving that God doesn’t exist we prove that fate doesn’t either and thus Romeo and Juliet were not fated to die.
Romeo and Juliet were not fated to die because they couldn’t make a good choice to save their lives, literally. And because from a reliable source (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) I have been able to deduce that fate doesn’t exist so they couldn’t have been fated to do anything!
I rest my case.
~
What do you think? Did year nine Penguins Quack prove her point or do you have a different opinion about our star-crossed lovers?

50 000 words have now been written and Scott, I have finally joined you!