Beth Loffr eda and Andrew Solomon both describe the experience of being gay in America, but Matt Shepard's journey of self-exploration was cut short by his murder in a community where many kinds of...

Beth Loffr eda and Andrew Solomon both describe the experience of being gay in America, but Matt Shepard's journey of self-exploration was cut short by his murder in a community where many kinds of differences were stiU greeted with hostility. Use Losing Matt Shepard and S011 to make an argumenc about the connection between cultural values and personal fulfillment. Does culture dictate who we become, or is there often a disconnt:ct between individual needs and the cultural "scripts" or roles available to us-roles like manly man, wom:rnly woman, straight male, lesbian, cheerleader, nerd, slacker, and so on? Does our development as individuals always require us to recognize rhe limitations of the cultural script? To what degree does our personal fulfi.lJment depend on support f rom our larger society?