In Cold Blood Book Report

Although Dick’s was fully aware of his actions, he even came up with the plan to go and try to steal from the Clutters, another important evidence that separates Perry and Dick is also overlooked by the court. Alvin Dewey states Perry, before signing the confession paper, “admit that Hickock had been telling the truth, and that it was he, Perry Smith, who had shot and killed the whole family” (255). It is revealed that Perry is the one who killed the members of the Clutter family and Dick did not. The court gives Dick the same death sentence that they gave Perry, the guy who actually did the killing. Although Dick is too some extent responsible for what happened to the Clutter and he was aware of his actions and what was happening, his punishment

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote The book is about the murder of the Clutter family that happened in November 1959. The family was made up of Mr. and Mrs. Clutter and their children, Kenyon and Nancy, both teenagers and 2 other daughters who were married and lived with their husbands. They were living in Holcomb, Kansas, and on November 14, 1959, they were shot to death, Susan and some other of Nancy’s friends found the bodies on the 15th. Bobby Rupp was Nancy’s boyfriend and a suspect until he passed the lie detector test. Alvin Dewey the investigator of this crime only had a bootprint and a missing radio to go off of.

Being the smart criminal he is, Dick used his own name to sign the checks. They are caught and arrested by police in Las Vegas. A confession gives the reader a gory description of the vicious murder of the Clutter family. They were tried and convicted of murder after 40 minutes of jury discussion and were sent to Death Row. The story includes lots of flashbacks from Perry Smith’s sad and depressing childhood including alcoholism, sibling suicide, parental abuse and not being allowed to go to school.

Perry Smith and Richard Hickock do in fact deserve the worst punishment, the death penalty. Both men were at the scene of the deaths, both men deserve the

If needed, they decide that they will kill any witnesses, and Perry begins to have second thoughts. This leads to Dick following through the plans to prove his masculinity. Throughout the novel, I have noticed a competitive relationship they share as they both try to prove themselves to each other. The significance of this quote tells the readers the reason why the Clutters were murdered. During their attempt of finding the safe, they were encountered by many different problems which led to frustration and tension between the pair.

In the excerpt from Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood; Capote describes in depth the village of Holcomb; which is located on the wheat plains of Kansas and is described by Capote as lonely and isolated. Capote characterizes Holcomb as lonely and isolated by using diction, imagery, and selection of details. Each one of these literary devices used helps to add to the overall view Capote had of Holcomb. Capote’s choice of words in the excerpt give the reader a feeling that the town of Holcomb is lonely and isolated. Although the words Capote uses do not have direct negative connotation; they do however hold an undesirable feeling.

In the book, “In Cold Blood,” Truman Capote takes us through the lives of the murderers and the murdered in the 1959 Clutter family homicide, which transpires in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. The first chapter, “The Last to See Them Alive,” vividly illustrates the daily activities of the Clutter family—Herbert, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon—and the scheming plot of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith up to point where the family is found tied up, and brutally murdered. In doing so, he depicts the picture-perfect town of Holcomb with “blue skies and desert clear air”(3) whose safety is threatened when “four shotgun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives”(5). Through the eyes of a picture perfect family and criminals with social aspirations, Capote describes the American Dream and introduces his audience to the idea that this ideal was no more than an illusion. Herbert Clutter: the character Capote describes as the epitome of the American Dream.

The murder was brutal, and it was described by Capote in a very graphic

Dewey comes home and finds his wife making dinner, he is very excited because he has the mugshots of the two suspected men for the murder. Harold Nye visits the Hickock 's home and does not bring up the Clutter murders so the family thinks that they are getting questioned about different crimes that he has already committed. Dick and Perry are still

In Cold Blood Rhetorical Analysis Typically upon hearing about a murder, especially a brutal and unwarranted one, we find ourselves feeling a great sense of disgust for the murderer or murderers who committed these crimes; however, in Truman Capote’s novel In Cold Blood, the lives and experiences of the murderers, particularly Perry Smith, are displayed in a way the makes you feel pity for him as well as the victims. When comparing Capote’s Novel to a typical news article on a similar topic it is easy to see the that Capote's style varies from typical journalism. An article written by Frances Robles and Nikita Stewart titled “Dylan Roof’s Past Reveals Trouble at Home and School,” discusses the childhood and background of Dylann Roof, a twenty-one

Sandra Petrocelli, is an Assistant District Attorney that prosecuted Steven Harmon and James King and called them Monsters. Kathy O’Brien, is Steven’s attorney and she tries to make sure that he receives a not guilty verdict. James King is Steven’s older friend that asked Steven to be in his crew to rob a drugstore. Richard “Bobo” Evans was accused of being in the store during the robbery and he wanted a lighter sentence so he testified against Steven and James King. Osvaldo Cruz, is another gang member that was a part of the robbery.

Throughout In Cold Blood, Truman Capote hints at his own opinion of the death penalty, yet lets the readers decide for themselves what they believe Hickock and Smith's punishment should have been. When the murderers are being hanged, a conversation occurs between a reporter and an investigator about what it might feel like to be hanged: "'They don't feel nothing. Drop, snap, and that's it. They don't feel nothing.' ' Are you sure?

In In Cold Blood, the issue over the death penalty is prominent. Did Perry and Dick deserve to die? Should the severity of one’s crime determine one’s fate? Although Truman Capote writes the novel in a straightforward, “from a distance” way, he conveys, through his characters, theme, and plot development, that the death penalty is an issue that should be looked at from all sides and that the legal system itself is the real issue at hand, and that the death penalty is used as a means to suppress the distress and indignation of the citizens surrounding the case, instead of suppressing the victim himself.

Facts and Fiction: A Manipulation of Language in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood English is a fascinating and riveting language. Subtle nuances and adjustments can easily change the understanding of a literary work—a technique many authors employ in order to evoke a desired response from their readers. This method is used especially in In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, a literary work which details a true event about the murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small community of Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. Although Capote’s 1966 book was a bestseller nonfiction and had successfully garnered acclaim for its author, there is still a great deal of confusion about the distinction between the factual and fictional aspects in the book.

Perry Smith and Dick Hickock have both committed some horrible crimes. With very little commitment or love in Perry's childhood, this could make a child grow up cold, brittle, and rough. It could make a man tough as steel, yet as malleable as putty. With Dick it is a little different, He had loving parents and was a great student, yet as he grew so did his problems with money, alcohol, and women. Back in the city of Holcomb, Kansas before the murders made nationwide news, no one really heard of the town.