Homophobia
The most important theme in the novel is homophobia and more exactly how it affects a person’s life. The theme centers around a crime that today would be considered as being a hate crime but surprisingly, in the period of time following the accident many were reluctant to call the murder as being a hate crime. The play includes accounts taken from different Laramie residents and these accounts help create a dismal picture of society in general and how people react when someone acts in a different manner. The city of Laramie is presented as being deeply homophobic and this affects the lives of a large portion of the population. Because of those prejudices, the gay community has to suffer and they are afraid to be themselves in public. Instead, they hide and try to pretend they are ‘’normal’’ or the definition of what other people perceive as being normal.
Religion
The play takes place in a deeply religious community, in a city where despite having a small population, there are numerous religious groups. Most of these groups are extremist ones, claiming that Matt deserved what happened to him and even hinted that he is the one to be blamed for his own murder. They see homosexuality as a sin but more than that they see it as being something that transforms people into animals. The religious groups that share this kind of view are the Mormon Church and the Baptist one. But despite considering that Matt was partially to blame, they also blamed the ones who killed him and thought that they deserved to die as well. The religious group that was the most sympathetic was the Catholic Church that even organized a vigil for Matt even though they knew that they will be criticized by the other inhabitants of the town. The Catholic priest however claimed that they must promote love and forgiveness and they can do this by showing that while they did not agreed with homosexuality, they did not hate the people who were homosexuals.
Justice
Another theme in the novel is the idea of justice and how justice always prevails in the end. The character who suffers the most is Matt and he is in the end avenged by the legal system. But there are two types of justice presented here in the play. The first justice done is when Aaron and Russell are punished for their crimes and sent to prison for life for a crime they committed. No matter what the other characters believed about the gay community, they all agreed that the two men had to be punished and the fact that they were punished represents an act of justice. The second act of ‘’justice’’ in some people’s minds, was Matt’s death. For some, Matt was punished by his sins and thus the violence he suffered was caused by his actions and his actions alone. This however is not an idea promoted by every character and it represents the view of a couple of characters, namely various religious leaders.
