“The Laramie Project” – Things To Consider
** Why does Act I begin with interview excerpts about the kind of place Laramie is? **
- What kind of place is it, according to the residents? Are there different viewpoints?
- What makes a place – simple geography or the physical qualities of the place? Do people contribute to a sense of place? How?
- What does Jedadiah Schultz mean by “Now, after Matthew, I would say that Laramie is a town defined by an accident, a crime. We’ve become Waco, we’ve become Jasper. We’re a noun, a definition, a sign …?”
- How did the theater group feel when they arrived in Laramie, Wyoming? How did they feel eating at the inn? What were their fears? Why do you think they went to Laramie to begin with?
- Why is Marge Murray cautious in her initial interview with Greg Pierotti? What do you think she fears (14-16)?
- How does Doc O’Connor characterize Matthew Shepard? What does he say about the attitude towards gays in Wyoming (18 – 21)?
- Is there a difference between the way Romaine Peterson characterizes Shepard and the way Jon Peacock does? He was a college student, like you; how was he changing or “growing up” according to Peterson and Peacock (19-20)?
- Marge Murray claimed that Laramie is a “Live and let live” type of town. How do Catherine Connolly’s and Jonas Slonaker’s accounts differ from Murray’s?
- According to Stephen Mead Johnson, how did Father Roger Schmitt react to the news that Shepard had been attacked? How does Father Schmitt’s reaction differ from Doug Laws? Which response is the more humanitarian one, do you think?
- Zubeida Ula pretty much grew up in Laramie. What is her view of the town?
- How did the bartender, Matt Galloway, characterize Shepard? What did he say took place the night of the crime?
Assignment — From Prejudice and Hate to Redemption?
“Hate is not a Laramie Value.” “We are like this.” “Good is coming out of evil.” As we saw in the tragic case of Matthew Shepard, people’s deep feelings of prejudice can lead to hate and violence. Matthew was a very unfortunate victim of ignorance and prejudice. The one obvious good that his death caused was that, once again, the nation is engaged in a national discussion of prejudice and discrimination and hate crimes (and now, bullying).
Many of us, to a much lesser degree than Matthew, have felt some of the effects of prejudice. Either people don’t like us because we are immigrants, or Jewish, or gay, or poor, or white/black, or disabled, or elderly, or one of many other things.
You will now write a five-page letter (minimum) to future college students who are coming from a local Long Island or Queens high school about the importance, or the irrelevance, of Matthew Shepard’s story. If you believe the play is a worthwhile one and should be taught, you need to explain the lessons to be learned and incorporate information from the questions to be answered above in your letter. Be sure to focus in on a character or two, showing how they were affected and changed during the course of the play. If you believe Shepard’s story is irrelevant today, you need to explain why it is not relevant. Be specific. Remember, you are trying to convince this student to focus on the most important lessons to be learned and consider how they might be relevant here and now (or you are attempting to claim the issues the town faced do not apply to Long Island).
**Finally, only after dealing with the play and the characters who speak most directly to and illustrate your focus, you may, if you choose, to connect your points to the current day epidemic of bullying or any other matter related to the issues of oppression, discrimination, and/or hate crimes. (such as the marriage equality debate).
Your essay-letter should be substantial (five pages minimum) (MLA format – https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_sample_paper.html). Make sure you write in paragraphs that focus on one point at a time as though you were writing an essay. Instead, ask yourself if you’ve answered the points above in detail more than sufficiently. Include at least three parenthetical citations and a Works Cited page – all properly formatted.
* Is your letter persuasive? Draws readers in and exemplifies YOUR voice?
* Do you think your letter will have an actual impact on incoming students?
* Or does it read superficially, as though you’ve completed a boring assignment for a class that the incoming students will barely look at?
* Is your familiarity with the subject matter evident? Have you actually been thinking about these issues and the characters that embody / enact them in the play?
Your essay should be a MINIMUM of five pages (with a sixth page that is a Works Cited page) typed, double spaced, Times New Roman font and MLA formatted (video links below to help), which means NO extra spacing or bold or excess quotes to pad the length of your essay. In other words, if you add in extra spaces between paragraphs or make your margins bigger or include lengthy block quotes to lengthen your essay, I will reduce your earned grade by an entire letter grade for not following MLA formatting.
**Include at least three parenthetical citations (and a Works Cited page) in your essay, formatted correctly. You may cite from credible secondary sources as well – https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html
I will not accept late essays.
REMINDERS:
* THESIS STATEMENTS IN LITERARY ANALYSIS PAPERS
http://www.syracusecityschools.com/tfiles/folder716/unit%2003-Thesisstatementc.pdf
* Formatting quotes in your essay (MLA style) – https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/03/
* Titles of essays, articles, books, and poems – italicize or use quotation marks? Read the difference here – http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/punctuation/titles-using-italics-and-quotation-marks.html
* Refer to an author or artist in your essay first by the person’s full name, then subsequently by the person’s last name. For example, you would mention “Sylvia Plath” initially, then refer to her throughout your essay as “Plath”. See the first entry here – https://www2.bc.edu/~wilsonc/tenc.html
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HELPFUL INFORMATION (I strongly recommend you review – you will lose points for incorrect formatting, excessive grammar errors, poorly constructed thesis statements, referring to an author by their first name, etc):
- MLA WORKS CITED PAGE
Review this video – https://youtu.be/4Vo8_Jw71JI
- IN-TEXT CITATIONS
Review this video – https://youtu.be/HTaUHS1mnv
- MLA ESSAY FORMATTING
Review this video – https://youtu.be/24Y31UrG2q4
CITATIONS FOR SOURCES WITHOUT PAGE NUMBERS
When an electronic source lacks page numbers, you should try to include information that will help readers find the passage being cited. When an electronic document has numbered paragraphs, use the abbreviation “para.” followed by the paragraph number (Hall, 2001, para. 5). If the paragraphs are not numbered and the document includes headings, provide the appropriate heading and specify the paragraph under that heading.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/03/
Long quotations
For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented ½ inch from the left margin; maintain double-spacing. Only indent the first line of the quotation by an additional quarter inch if you are citing multiple paragraphs. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark. When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)
For example, when citing more than four lines of prose, follow the below example:
Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration:
They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw’s door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)
* Review “Common Errors” (i.e. differences between “it’s” vs. “its” and “their” vs. “there” vs. “they’re”, etc) – http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/proofing_grammar.shtml AND https://www.grammarly.com/blog/top-10-student-writing-mistakes-finals-edition/
ADDITIONAL REMINDERS:
- You must have a very clear, specific thesis in your introduction
- You must write in the present tense
- You must avoid the passive voice as much as possible
- You must use academic vocabulary and liven up your diction
- You must have a topic sentence for each paragraph
- Each paragraph must support your topic sentence
- Your argument must be logical and well thought out
- You must use *specific information* to support your argument
- You must have a thoughtful conclusion
- Perhaps most important, you must write a convincing argument that supports your thesis.
- MLA formatting is required.
