Jocelyn Rivas
In “Babes in the Woods” by Caitlin Flanagan, a teenager’s mindset and the uneasy nature of a mother is described. The author spends most of the beginning portion of the article focusing on a man trying to catch her attention at the train station. Flanagan quickly proceeds to depict how uncomfortable the situation was. She uses this encounter to develop the idea that the internet is so dangerous to the point where it may welcome a harmful situation. For example, posting where you will be makes it easier to find you and if someone has bad intentions, they will.
Something that peaked my curiosity is when the writer says that the man she hardly knew called her parents. I’m assuming he saw their number from the tag on her bag because right before departing her told her to be cautious about what she writes on the tag. I found this so strange, why would someone do that?
I didn’t like the transition in paragraph six, “The history of civilization…” because the author went from talking about Long Island New York to weaving in the seventeenth century. That paragraph just started off so boring and is so distinct from what was previously said. She had my interest in the beginning but threw me off with the history lesson.
I also didn’t like how much she talked about “To Catch a Predator.” She goes on about that show for four paragraphs, that seems a bit extensive and I think she should have condensed the main point. Shortening what she said about the show could also make the allusion more effective because going on about that one thing could potentially makes readers lose interest.
The first two sentences of the article are very relatable because it explains how distinct the enthusiasm of a teen is when it comes to spending time with family versus a friend. She explained it almost perfectly, it’s not that teens in general don’t like going out with family but it’s more of how much the company of friends change a setting. With a friend, you’re usually more apt to have fun, most likely due to the fact that a family setting is in most cases, formal. For example, when she mentioned that when invited to spend time with a friend in another state, she was “packed by midnight” it reminded me of my annual trips to Six Flags with my cousin. I have things ready the day before for Six Flags, but when I go to the lake with my family, I just find shorts that same morning and that’s it.
I also completely understood Flanagan when she mentions her mother’s advice when it comes to men. Her mother told her to not let a man disrespect her among other things. This allows the writer to portray the protectiveness and troublesome nature of a mother and how her mother’s words creep up at her subconscious during the encounter with the man.
I found the dialogue in the article to be effective, it gives readers more of an insight as to what was going on. I noticed that dialogue also allowed the writer to smoothly describe the way in which certain things were said. This eventually added onto characterization, Flanagan brilliantly describes who she’s interacting with through words such as “something mocking about him” and “respectfully.” I found it interesting how Flanagan mentions that the man was not harming her yet contradicts herself within the span of three sentences and practically calls him menacing.