Blog 5: Who is to Blame?

BLOG FIVE - GOODBYE DAYS

Written by Aaliyah Strayhorne 

In the book, the number one question is, who is to blame? As we know, Carver had texted his friend while they were driving, which as his friend was attempting to respond, they got into a car accident, ending with the death of all Carver’s best friends since they were all in the car at the time. In the book, there seems to be a debate over whether Carver is to blame or not. Carver did text his friend while he was driving and also demanded a text back, which does make it seem like Carver’s text is to blame for the entire situation. Many characters in the story believe it is his fault. I mean, if he never sent the text, his friend would not have had any text to feel obligated to respond to. However, it is the driver’s responsibility to stay off their phone while they are operating a vehicle. It is illegal to go on your phone while you are driving. So when you look at it from this perspective, the driver is in the wrong. While Carver wanted a text back, the driver could have easily ignored the text, or even asked someone else to respond for him. Personally, I do not think it’s Carver’s fault. When you drive, you are bound to receive a text message, so it is your duty to wait to respond to them till you are no longer driving. I just truly believe that it’s the driver's fault for picking up his phone and attempting to respond to a text while driving, so I have to blame them. Yeah, Carver shouldn’t have demanded a response, but that doesn’t make it his fault that the driver was actually going to respond instead of asking someone else. Honestly, I couldn’t understand why or how Carver could have been convicted. If him being guilty were the case, there are so many other people that could be guilty of it too since I am sure we have all contacted someone while they were driving. And that is exactly why when it comes down to it, it is the driver’s responsibility to not get on their phone while driving. So, who is to blame? Well not Carver.

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