Matt Shepard Intro Paragraph Analysis

The beginning paragraph of Beth Loffreda's "Losing Matt Shepard" is like a huge launch pad that propels you forward into the heart-wrenching tale of Matthew Shepard's death. The paragraph is overloaded with semi-colons in order to make the information in it seem more intense and bunched together. This gives the reader a sense of curiosity and makes them want to read on to get a deeper and more concise understanding of the events which it portrays. It catches the reader by surprise by beginning with a description that makes Laramie, Wyoming, the town in which the story is centered, seem like a place one might like to drive through on a road trip. The paragraph takes a dark turn when it informs us of the brutal beating Shepard received from a .357 magnum belonging to Aaron Mckinney who proceeded to hang Matt up on a fence with the help of his friend Russell Henderson. Upon the discovery that Shepard's sexual orientation played a part in this incident, the question of whether Laramie is an un-accepting and close-minded place, or if this was a random occurrence is raised.