Sunday, December 5, 2010

Laramie Project Reflection Assignment

 How did you feel when reading The Laramie Project?

     When reading The Laramie Project, I had many emotions. Some i can't explain fully; The ones that stick out to me the most are sad, helpless, disgust, anger but at some moments i feel joy. All of the negative feelings are obvious as to why. This crime, considered a hate crime, is unforgivable and unjust. Matthew Shepard did not deserve this and he is getting punished for his lifestyle. Could you imagine getting beaten to death because you like a certain television show or movie? Its a dumb reason right? Well so is the reason Matthew died for. I feel like it wasn't anyone's business about his sexuality and he should be able to live his life the way he wants, but certain people think it involves them when it truly does not. All the feelings i have for Matthew i think about with a heavy heart.
     I also said i had joy when reading this story. In parts of the play, you see little spurts of joy and hope. For example, when that boy found him tied to the fence on his way home. He didn't usually take that way home, but since he did, he found Matthew and saved him from dying outside all alone. Another part that made me feel joy was when there was a parade. Matthews float had people following it, marching for him. By the end of the parade, the number of people marching for him grew 3 times larger. This goes to show that many people cared about Matthew and he impacted many peoples lives.
     Matthew Shepard's case was an extremely sensational story. It changed peoples perspectives and thoughts on homosexuality and homophobia. After i read this play i did feel sad, but i also felt joy. Joy and happiness are two different things to me. Happiness is something you feel when you are happy, just a feeling that is temporary and can change. Deep joy is something that's indescribable. Its a feeling that you can have even when you're sad. Even though Matthews case is heart wrenching, you can still feel deep joy for Matthew and how he changed lives and how many people loved him and still do to this day.

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