The conflicts in Kaufman's work abound. The entire play is one mammoth conflict comprised of converging conflicts. Certainly, characters like Jedidiah Schultz see a conflict in their own hearts. There was Laramie before Matt Shepard's brutal death and Laramie afterwards. This would represent an internal conflict, with Schultz trying to reconcile both visions of Laramie. Certainly, there is a conflict within the Religious elements of the town, such as the ones that follow Phelps and homosexuals in the town, and in general. This one is an external conflict of different parts of society against one another. I would suggest that some of the interviews that lend insight into how the issue of homosexuality is perceived by the townspeople on a personal level could represent another layer of conflict. Specifically, some of the towns people who are speaking out against homosexuality, or those who silently agree, could be homosexual themselves. The idea is that the social conflict that rages could represent something internal, not able to be fully articulated, tearing apart individuals in the town. This would be a conflict that assumes both individual vs. society, and, to a certain extent, individual versus self.
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