“The Killing of Laura” In “The Killing of Laura” Carolyn Weaver asserts that in Laura’s romance relationship with John O’Neil, Johns will is what killed Laura and defeated her will of power. In this case of murder there were two factors that led to Laura’s death, cultural and personal. Traditional male socialization provoked the killing and Laura’s attitude and insecurity towards life made her an easy target. Social attitudes facilitate domestic violence. On the twenty-fourth day of October, 1977 Laura Ellen Weaver was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, John Oneil. Laura was dressed in her pajamas, in her parents’ kitchen, sitting at the table trying to sort out the details of her numerous attempts to end her relationshoip with John, her past lover and aggressor for the past year. Her previous attempts were unsuccessful. Laura had informed her friend the day before that she was bad at confrontation, and so this is why she was in such a predicament. Her contemplation was inteerupted by a tap to the window caused by John. She opened the door to talk to him; having broken up with the man, she still cared for him as a friend. Laura had no notion that hidden in John’s jacket pocket was a knife he had taken from his home. Laura’s father went downsatirs to turn off the kitchen light, unaware anyone in his home was awake. He stumbbled upon John and Laura’s conversation. He told John to go home and talk to Laura tomorrow, for it was far too late in the day. Her father returned upstairs and as he climbed into bed he heard his daughter cry out. Her father went downstairs and caught Laura as she stummbled around the kitchen bleeding from multiple stab wounds. He screamed “How could you do this to her?” The kitchen door was left ajar and Mr. Weaver saw John as he departed down the street and around the corner. Laura Weaver was mudered October 24, 1977. Laura weaver was mudered by a man who was obsessed and mind controlling. She dated a man who made her feel as if she would have nothing or no one without him. He would brain wash her and make her feel more insecure than she was before they met. Laura has had many insecurities with her life; and John weakened them even more. At twenty-four, Laura had spent two and a half years at home, very little friends, a temporary job that had gone permanent and a failed attempt at college. Laura was an enthusiastic and critical reader who had failed two courses in poetry and began to rethink her writing excercises in college and college itself. She ended up dropping out of school yet not completing or succeeding another task she had started. She had began to fear that her life evolved around alcoholism and depression. According to a pyschologist she “downgraded herself as a person”. Laura’s live was not well put together for she feared life itself. She quotes “What it boils down to is that im afraid of beginning my life, thereby committing myself to its end . Highly irrational, since I’m not in a state of suspended time by doing nothing.”
The past few months of Lauras life she began serious planning. She felt as if her life could take a turn; however, John thought different. John was an arrogant, vigorously speaking, high hope individual who made himself seem superior to others. He loved Laura beyond her will. John’s love for Laura was admirable and excessive. Two main factors in the murders of women are the fear of a males rejection and loss of dominance. Laura had begun to find her own path in life and John feared her independence and will of power. Laura had become too strong for him to control any longer. Laura had broken up with John for good after so much heart ache and pain and John wanted her back but when she rejected him, he felt that if he couldn’t have her no one can and no one will.
John had manipulated and down talked Laura all through-out the relationship. He had asked her to marry him, making her believe he was in love but yet he only wanted to portray her as his property. In Alleen Pace Nilsen’s article titled “Sexism in English” she would agree that John was taking an act of ownership of a woman. For ”Men wed woman while women become brides of men”. John acted out of manipulation for Alleen Nilesn also states“Women are Passive; men are active”.
John’s childhood was rough. His father died when he was six, mother suffered from a severe drinking problem, he was left with two sisters, was in and out of reform school and had even done some prison time in his early twenties. John bragged about his prison time as if to say everything he has done in his life was “upwardly” and then he began to experience some insecurities of his own. He started to fail at his life, while Laura was just beginning to suceed and he was intimidated and developed low self esteem. Being that John felt he was always superior he did not like the ideal of this reversed role playing, he tried to reason with Laura to take him back at his worse, but she needed and wanted to move on. John murdered Laura at her parents’ home in their kitchen on October 24, 1977.
This was a case of a young man named John O’Neil who had murdered his ex-girlfriend Laura Weaver for she had broke his heart by breaking up the relationship. John’s male socialization had grwon weak, while Lauras independency and goals in life had begun to surface. John’s munipulation strategy no longer worked so he killed the woman who endured and survived his will.