Girl Leaves Home With Man She Met Online

Seven months ago a 16 year old girl named Kaitlyn Harp, started dating a 19 year old man named Daniel Bridgeman online. Their relationship got to the point to where she wanted to be with him very badly, but she knew her parents wouldn’t allow it. Last Tuesday, Kaitlyn decided to runaway with Daniel. She left a note for her parents then drove off with Daniel without her parents knowing where she is. Her parents went online to obtain any information on their daughter’s location that they could find. They found a picture of Daniel and Kaitlyn together and they noticed that Daniel was dressed as a Chick-fil-a employee. The parents then drove down to the Chick-fil-a at a Jacksonville airport to talk to a manager. The manager, Lita Fannin exclaimed, "I have kids at home the same age, and I would hope if that something like that happened with me, someone would act quickly.” Lita posted the picture on the Chick-fil-a Facebook page and someone quickly responded. Manager, Elio Florin recognized Bridgeman as one of his employees, he quickly contacted Bridgeman and convinced him to take Kaitlyn home.

This news story relates to a book I have read for English class. The book I read was Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl. Linda Brent and Kaitlyn have something in common. They both ran away from their homes. They ran away for similar reasons also. Both knew that they wouldn’t be able to do what they wanted if they stayed home. Plus they both did it for a loved one. Linda ran away to be with her children, protect her children, and to have them free from hard labor. Kaitlyn ran away to be with her loved one also.

I believe that Kaitlyn made a big mistake running off with Bridgeman. There were many wrongs in her actions. First off she ran away from a family that loves and cares about her. There are many children that would kill to have a family that cares about them, but she took it for granted. Another wrong done in her actions was running off with someone she had been dating online. That basically speaks for itself. Why run off with someone you barely know? On top of that they had only been dating for seven months, which is way too early to moved in with your boyfriend or girlfriend, especially when you're only sixteen. There was a chance that Bridgemen could have been a murderer or something similar. She is lucky to be able to return home.

• How does the structure of the text refine and support the author’s claim? Use evidence from the selection to support your answer.

- The structure of the text refines and supports the author’s claim by using quotes to show just how serious the matter  could have been. Kaitlyn’s father showed how serious the matter could’ve been by saying, “Because of their involvement what could have taken days, weeks, or months, only took a matter of two or three hours once they got involved." This shows that Kaitlyn’s parents were very lucky to be able to reunite with their daughter and it could have been a lot worse. The author also added the quote where Kaitlyn’s father says, “It is beyond words, as a parent, this is your worst nightmare.” This shows that the outcome could have been horrid for the parents and Kaitlyn. Luckily it wasn’t and everything worked out well.

“Chick-fil-A Managers Help Find Runaway Teen in Florida”. Yahoo, 24 Feb 2014. web. 24 Feb 2014, <http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/chick-fil-a-managers-help-find-runaway-teen-in-florida-185629961.html?vp=1>

Moore, Brent. “Mark Your Calendars! July 11”. photograph. flickr. yahoo, 27 June 2008. web. 24 Feb 2014, <http://www.flickr.com/photos/94502827@N00/2653720098>

Getting shot for loud music??

This article was about the court case of Jordan Davis’s murder. Jordan and a few of his friends were waiting outside in a car on one of his friends that went in a store. Michael Dunn was parked near them. He noticed that they were playing their music loudly so he decided to demand them to turn it down. Jordan refused to turn the music down and this caused an altercation between them. Not long after the argument started Dunn pulls out a gun and shot Jordan Davis to death. Now Dunn is being tried in court for murder.

This article is similar to the situation occurring in the Crucible. Just like Abigail, Dunn believed that he could cause someones death just because he didn’t like the persons actions or who they are. Abigail didn’t like how Elizabeth was trying to keep her away from John and Dunn didn’t like how Jordan wouldn’t turn his music now. They both thought that those factors should cause the person to die. Another way this article relates is the way that both Abigail and Dunn lie in court to get their ways. Dunn lied and said that Jordan and his friends were carrying a gun in their car. While Abigail lies about seeing people with the Devil.

I could not put into full words on how I feel about this case. I find this man repulsive and heartless. It saddens me that people like this exist in the world. Dunn see’s nothing wrong with what he has done. Although the article states that, “he became "crazy with grief," vomiting and experiencing stomach problems for about four hours before taking a nap (McLaughlin).” How could this be true when he went out to get pizza right after taking another person’s life? This shows just how “crazy with grief” he was. I don’t understand how someone could do something so vile and despicable to someone who didn’t do a thing to you. In my opinion this man deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison.

• What is the purpose for using [statistics/quotations/headings/bullets/personal experience] (choose one of the options and write only on it.) If you have another element that you would like to discuss on this question, get the okay from me before proceeding. Use evidence from the selection to support your answer.

- The purpose of the author using quotations was to get the reader to fully understand what was going on in the courtroom during the trial. The author mainly used quotes said by Dunn. McLaughlin used quotes like,  "My eardrum was vibrating. It wasn't loud; it was obnoxious "(Dunn), to give more of a perspective to Dunn’s side of what went on that night . This quote shows us to why Dunn felt obligated to say something to the teenage boys. "My intent was to stop the attack, not necessarily end a life"(Dunn), is another example of how McLaughlin added quotes to show Dunn’s side. This quote tells us that he really did not mean to end Jordan’s life and it wasn’t in his intentions to do so.

McLaughlin, Elliot. “Defendant in loud-music murder trial says he was 'crazy with grief' after killing.” CNN, 2 Feb 2014. Web. 2 Feb 2014, <http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/11/justice/florida-loud-music-trial/index.html?hpt=hp_t1>  

N.a. “Outline of Gun.” Photograph. Commons.wikimedia. Mediawiki, 14 July 2009. Web. 2 Feb 2014, <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gun_outline.svg>