Loffreda, Beth. 2000. Losing Matt Shepard. New York, New York: Columbia University Press. The murder of Matt Shepard, and the reason for it, will be remembered. The book, Losing Matt Shepard focuses on the murder of Matt Shepard and some of the effects and events surrounding it. The book was written by Beth Loffreda. Beth Loffreda has a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from the University of Virginia and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from Rutgers University. Loffreda now works as the Associate Professor for the Department of American Studies and the Creative Writing Program at the University of Wyoming. She has also written, The Racial Imaginary: Writers on Race in the Life of the Mind. I chose the book because I thought it dealt with …show more content…
There are several perspectives shared from gay and straight people. The book describes how isolated gay people can feel, but how different organizations are helping to connect some of these people. The middle of the book also describes the trial of Russel Henderson. Outside the Albandy County Courthouse Fred Phelps was leading an anti-gay demonstration. Blocking Phelps and his supporters from view were a dozen people dressed as angels. The book talks about concerts and foundations that were suppose to help, but didn’t actually accomplish …show more content…
The tone was serious when it needed to be, but turned sarcastic and blunt to prove points. An example of the latter is, “Rob also drove me past the former homes of the killers, and that, it appears, is as close as I’ll get to them” (Loffreda 2000, 162). In the book the author interprets mostly primary and a few secondary sources. “As Joe, a member of the United Gays and Lesbions of Wyoming told me” (63), is an example of the author using a secondary source. The intention for writing this book is to tell the story of Matt’s murder and its effects on the nation and on individuals. A quote from the preface demonstrates this, “it records individual voices mostly unheard in the media frenzy that followed the murder” (xi). The exclusion of visual aids only negatively affected my understanding at one part of the book. The book states, “Matt lay on his back, head propped against the fence, legs outstretched. His hands were lashed behind him and tied barely four inches off the ground to a fencepost” (5). That description was hard for me to comprehend without a visual
“The Monsterization of Trayvon Martin,” by Patricia J. Williams, is an article written about the demonization of a young black man after his killer was put on trial and, ultimately, was acquitted of any charges against him. I would not say that the writer, Williams, is emotional. But their argument certainly focuses on pathos. She describes how the young man was changed from an innocent boy to an “immense, drug-addled ‘thug’” in the eyes of the public in comparison to both the treatment that the accused received, as well as compared to a similar yet racially reversed death that had occurred in 2007. Williams also uses ethos, while questioning whether the “stand your ground” law that was in question was ethically fair, pointing out that it’s
Chris Everett Crowe was born on May 28, 1954, in Danville, Illinois. When Chris was a child his father's job caused him to move often, so he and his family lived in various places over the course of his juvenile years. He attended Brigham Young University with a football scholarship. His passion for writing and english resulted in him graduating with an english degree. He soon began his teaching career at various high schools.
Unity is only possible when we celebrate our differences. Societal labels concerning gender and sex segregate even those who face similar discrimination. Stone Butch Blues, written by activist Leslie Feinberg, tells of Jess Goldberg who is characterized by the 1960 era by a powerful simple question: “what are you?” (Feinberg 12) Nobody, not even herself, has a clear answer. Jess is a butch female to her friends, but either a disgraceful female or respected male to coworkers and family.
Stories of the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin were seen and heard on nearly every news outlet and radio station beginning in February of 2012. On the night of February 26th, 2012 Trayvon Martin, an African-American teenager was walking home from a 7/11 convenience store carrying a small bag containing an Arizona iced tea beverage and a bag of skittles. On his way home, Martin was gunned downed in the streets of a gated community in the state of Florida by 28-year-old white resident George Zimmerman. While Martin was unarmed and had no criminal intent in mind, Zimmerman claimed to fear for his safety. This led to Zimmerman shooting Martin several times, which Martin shortly after died from.
Matthew Shepard was the victim in one of the worst hate-crime murders in history. On the night of October 6, 1998, an openly gay man was viciously beaten. Matthew Shepard was a twenty-one-year-old openly gay man. Matthew hadn’t come out until after high school.
The author of ‘USA Today’ speaks about the controversial story of what really happened regarding the Michael Brown shooting. The author explains how in the first story, it was said that officer Darren Wilson was harassing Michael Brown for walking in the middle of the street, leading up to him hitting Michael Brown with the car door and proceeding to shoot him several times. Meanwhile, in the second story the author tells how Michael Brown reaches into the squad car while officer Darren Wilson was in it, hitting him in the face and reaching for the gun; causing the officer to release fire as defense. The author also stated that even with evidence from eyewitnesses, the grand jury determined that the shooting was a lawful tragedy, and not
Race is a significant factor in the book Monster by Walter Dean Myers. The novel follows the story of Steve Harmon, a black teenager who is on trial for his alleged involvement in a robbery and murder of a store owner. Throughout the novel, the issue of race is explored in various ways, highlighting the systemic racism that exists within the American justice system. One of the key ways that race is addressed in the novel is through the portrayal of the justice system.
Within the film “Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (AJJCRF) this idea is shown strongly throughout. It is most evidently displayed in Robert Ford and his relationship with Jesse James, as well as the public's image of Jesse James as a whole. Robert is used as a tool to demonstrate our need to have idols and heroes to strive for something greater than ourselves. In the early stages of the film, it was made clear that Jesse was Robert’s hero and had been since he was a child. This was shown in the opening scene by Robert’s desperation to be in the James gang as he felt by being part of it, he was in some way connected to Jesse.
Author Darryl Lorenzo Wellington, wrote “The Power of Black Lives Matter,” published in 2015 in The Crisis, and he emphasizes the importance of Black Lives Matter and argues that is the only way to correct the issue of class. Wellington builds his credibility with reputable facts, statistics, citing sources, and successfully employing rhetorical appeals such as ethos, pathos, and logos. He adopts a didactic tone of voice in order to sound like a high scholar to create a sense of superiority, while addressing the issues of class and race to white Americans’ and other races in the United States. In his article, Wellington first introduces his argument by making an inference of a cultural shift by saying, “Something indeed is happening here and now in America,” and that “class exists” and
Racial Tension in Michael Brown 's case On August 9, 2014, eighteen-year-old Michael Brown was shot by Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting caused protests and has drawn the world’s attention because Michael Brown was an unarmed black man while Darren Wilson is a white police officer. People believe
In Cold Blood Rhetorical Analysis Typically upon hearing about a murder, especially a brutal and unwarranted one, we find ourselves feeling a great sense of disgust for the murderer or murderers who committed these crimes; however, in Truman Capote’s novel In Cold Blood, the lives and experiences of the murderers, particularly Perry Smith, are displayed in a way the makes you feel pity for him as well as the victims. When comparing Capote’s Novel to a typical news article on a similar topic it is easy to see the that Capote's style varies from typical journalism. An article written by Frances Robles and Nikita Stewart titled “Dylan Roof’s Past Reveals Trouble at Home and School,” discusses the childhood and background of Dylann Roof, a twenty-one
Book Report #4 The book I read this quarter was Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood. Its Lexile level is 680. This book is about a 11-year old girl named Gloriana Hemphill, who now comprehends how much racism is a problem in her hometown in Mississippi in 1963.
The Worst Crime: Matt’s or Richard’s “Killings”, written by Andre Dubus, illustrates how the death of a loved one may lead to dire consequences for all the parties included. Matt Fowler’s son, Frank, was murdered in cold blood by a jealous soon-to-be ex-husband, Richard Strout. When the death of Frank sunk into the lives of the Fowler’s, Matt believed he had to retaliate in some sort of fashion. The sort of fashion he chose was to seek revenge and kill Richard for his wrongdoings, which he did. Some people believe that the murder committed by Richard Strout can be considered more serious because of his act of passion and his lackadaisical style of living without worrying about his future.
In the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer looks a the 911 terrorist attack from the unique perspective of a nine-year-old boy. The novel follows the journey of Oskar Schell, a boy who lost his dad to the attack. Oskar goes on a quest across New York, looking for someone who may know more about the key he found that belonged to his dad or more about his death. Oskar’s quest is symbolic of both his and surrounding family character’s subconscious ‘quest’, to find closure and understanding through their grief. Each character attempts to communicate their feelings of grief in different, diverse ways.
"Not one person telephoned the police during the assault; one witness called after the woman was dead" (Gansberg 86). Martin Gansberg essay, "Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police," describes a true scene that allowed the death of a neighbor or friend for others. Gansberg claims that people in this society should be more involved in taking action when witnessing life-threatening actions between other people. He expanded on his theme by giving a real homicide that occurred as a story. His planned audience was towards anyone in general, especially to those who witness violence between other people.