Prayers for Bobby Reaction Paper

Prayers For Bobby Reaction Paper

Prayers For Bobby is a story about a deeply suburban housewife and mother who struggles to accept her son's homosexuality. Bobby reveals to his older brother that he is gay, and from then their family is never the same. Bobby's father and siblings come to terms with homosexuality. Mary, Bobby's mother, turns to her beliefs to cure her son. Bobby feeling detached from his family and more and more alienated, hits rock bottom and his depression leads him to take his own life.

It was very apparent from the very beginning of the film that being homosexual was not allowed when Bobby's grandma stated, "all queers should be lined up and shot." During this time period this is not surprising. After Bobby told his older brother, and the rest of the family had learned Bobby was gay, how the mother reacted was the worst of all. His mother treated homosexuality as a defect and sin. The mother is in denial and does everything she can to treat him. She places bible quotes around his room trying to surround him by God, sends Bobby to a psychiatrist, and sets him up on a blind date with a girl. Finally Bobby tells his mother, "accept me as I am or forget me, " and the mother refuses to have a gay son, ending their relationship.

Even though Bobby says he does not want to be homosexual, it is very apparent that this is not the truth. Bobby becomes even more curious than before. He visits a gay bar and makes out with another man, he finds more friends that are the same orientation as him, and also ends up finding a boyfriend in Portland and tells his family about him. Bobby, felt guilt and remorse for causing his mother pain and having to deal with his homosexuality as if it were a sin. Bobby endured both self loathing and depression, as well as moving to another state to start a new life but was unable to escape his "inner demons." I feel for a while he was happy and had found a sense of joy and pride, but the negative views from society, especially his family, were too much to bare. Bobby felt he had no one to turn to and took is own life by falling off a bridge backwards and getting hit by a semi-truck.

The funeral service was extremely disheartening. The pastor at the church showed little remorse while speaking tastelessly. The only people that seemed appalled by this were Bobby's cousin Jeanette and his boyfriend David. That is so wrong and so sad. I can still hear that minister at Bobby's funeral saying those awful things. I believe God creates men and women the way they are and He loves them as they are, no exceptions.

The religious education Mary had received had her convinced that the church could cure her son. For a year and half after Bobby's death, Mary Griffith did a lot of soul-searching and investigation about homosexuality and the Bible. She could not accept that God

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