Izzie Cruea Ms. Salley English 3 HN 3 March 2023 In Cold Blood Controversy Learning takes many forms and requires the discussion of uncomfortable topics. Capote's novel In Cold Blood, published in 1966, follows the true story of the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. Through the two main characters, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, Capote highlights the two men conspiring to rob the Clutter family; however, they end up gruesomely murdering them. Dick and Perry come from completely different backgrounds and Capote leaves the reader wondering if their childhood experiences had an effect on their decisions as adults. Dick and Perry had no intentions of killing in the beginning however, they are left running from the police with no plan …show more content…
While most would focus on the victims of the case, Capote focuses on the background of the killers and their reasoning behind committing crimes. Sympathy was demonstrated, specifically for Perry, when arrested. Capote, “found it possible to look at the man beside him without anger - with, rather, a measure of sympathy - for Perry Smith's life had been no bed of roses but pitiful, an ugly and lonely progress toward one mirage and then another'' (Capote 246). While many would feel Dick and Perry deserved to die, Capote has an unpopular perspective by showing sympathy for the killers based on their past. Capote creates a sympathetic tone towards Perry and creates disputable topics about the flawed justice system. There are strong advocates on both sides of the topic. A Santa Clara University study suggests, “Capital punishment is often defended on the grounds that society has a moral obligation to protect the safety and welfare of its citizens”(Andre). Still others argue that the death penalty is a cruel punishment and should be abolished. This topic should be addressed in schools as a way to open up all perspectives of students on capital punishment and encourage healthy …show more content…
While allowing them in schools may come with a compromise, such as depictions of violence, profanity, or controversial topics, they provide a more honest approach to the world. The violence discussed in the book should be used for educating students about the world ahead of them and how they can make a difference. Capital punishment discussions can lead to healthy debates teaching children that it is okay to have different opinions while preparing them for similar experiences they may have in their lives. The profanity used in the book can be used as a positive tool in the classroom by addressing the language and finding alternative words to express feelings. In Cold Blood will not be able to enlighten students on the topics discussed if eradicated from our schools. The violence, profanity, and death penalty references in, In Cold Blood, can be used positively to teach profound
Although he is branded as the murder, Truman Capote sympathetically describes Perry throughout the novel as a pitiable character. Firstly, Capote begins by referring to Perry’s atrocious childhood as a way to emphasize on the trauma he suffered as a young boy. We learn that Smith’s parents were divorced and thus had to live with his mother, whom was a heavy alcoholic. He was ultimately sent to a Catholic orphanage where we learn Perry suffered due to the beatings he would get from the nuns: “always at him. Hitting him” (page one hundred and thirty two).
Through diction, Capote strategically chooses his words to add normality to the characterization of Perry. As he walks out of a café, Perry looks like he is “...strutting on stunted legs that seemed grotesquely inadequate to the grown-up bulk they supported… like a retired jockey, overblown and muscle-bound” (Capote 15). Even when doing everyday tasks such as walking, Perry appears unexpectedly, unlike a typical criminal. The negative connotation of the words grotesquely inadequate, overblown, and muscle-bound aid the reader to grasp a depiction of the uniqueness of the character. Additionally, when Mrs. Hickock, Dick’s mother, meets Perry for the first time, she confirms that his looks do not necessarily match up to the crimes he commits.
He used Perry Smith’s autobiographical statement, which summarized events from his past that revealed his dark childhood. Perry wrote that he was often beaten by his father, sent to detention homes where “every night was a nightmare”, and had an absent mother who was “always drunk, never in a fit condition to properly provide and care for us” (274-275). This inclusion of Perry’s personal anecdote extensively appeals to the audience's feeling of pity for his hardships by displaying a more hurt and emotional side to him rather than portraying him as an incompassionate killer. This display evokes wariness when Perry is sentenced to death because the audience has a greater understanding of the situation that developed his character and reflects on the injustice of executing a troubled man who could have improved his life through rehabilitation instead of punishment. Thus, Capote’s use of Perry's personal anecdotes encourage readers to consider whether capital punishment is ideal by appealing to pity and understanding of Perry as more than a "cold-blooded"
Although Capote exhibits Perry’s impulsive and heinous actions are due to his internal struggle, his ultimate goal is to illustrate Perry as a ruthless, manipulative murderer; therefore, he asserts that even the most monstrous of people can captivate compassion from others because of the diverse layers of their personality. To begin, Capote uses a paradox to highlight Perry’s internal struggle that lead him to doing such atrocities. Throughout the novel, Capote reveals to readers that Perry had a hard life growing up and most everyone in his family committed suicide, besides his only surviving sibling, Barbara. While Capote is talking about Perry’s family, he says, “They shared a doom against which virtue was no defense" (Capote 185).
Dick and Perry, the convicted murderers of the Clutter family, are commonly presented within the novel as being simply one misstep from being successful happy people, and given the chance to do right they would. Although possibly true, it is dangerous to portray such dark events as a simple story of redemption. This is clear when Capote writes, “I did make some advances toward the Clutter girl when I was there. But Perry never gave me a chance” (Capote 278-279). In mentioning Perry’s haltage of Dick raping Nancy, Capote is trying to humanise Perry to the reader.
Being on death row often prolongs the pain for the inmate. They spend their time in prison fearing the inevitable which for them is death. Today, we live in a society that is very divided on this issue. There are many in support of the death penalty, suggesting that it acts as a positive deterrent against future crime. There are also many
In Cold Blood is a nonfiction novel by Truman Capote, first published in 1966. The book’s content narrates the account of the savage killing of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. Capote spent six years researching and interviewing the people involved in the case, and the resulting book is a detailed account of the crime and its aftermath, as well as a portrait of the two killers, Richard “Dick” Hickock and Perry Smith. “It seems that for Capote the American society has always been intrigued by the phenomenon of crime, the mystery surrounding it, as well as the suspense connected with crime stories” (Wróbel 8). Capote effectively establishes a sense of intimacy with the characters and their motives through his immersive and descriptive
Capote portrays only one of these two seemingly distinct characters (Perry) in a way that the reader feels the need to relate to and even sympathize with him. One can be taken aback by such an attachment to a murderer. This is not surprising as the author uses his compassionate diction to manipulate the reader’s emotions with a use of pathos, the appeal to emotions. At one point Capote goes as far as to write that “Smith’s life had been no bed of roses,” (Capote 245) attempting to have the readers relate to Perry. On the other hand, Capote has Dick say this about himself: “Deal me out, baby, I’m a normal” (Capote 116).
Although the article Dylan Roof’s Past Reveals Trouble at Home and School gives light into Dylan Roof’s life, it does not go into the depth of emotions that Capote uses to show Perry’s troubled past. Capote uses tone to enhance Perry’s emotions in order to make him seem more relatable to the audience despite being a brutal murderer. In the passage on page 131, Capote reveals dark parts of Perry’s childhood through the perspective of Perry himself: “It was not long afterward my mother put me to stay in a Catholic orphanage. The one where the black widows were always at me. Hitting me” (Capote 131).
Everyone is born with the capability to do evil, however, the events and environment in our lives shape our psyche to such an irrefutably extreme extent that they define our character and our conscience, redefining what we see as right and wrong. Perry is very sensitive by nature due to his family’s troubles and his father’s behavior. The pressure that Perry feels to impress Dick, who he makes into a faux father figure, combined with the weight of his past push him to the breaking point which happens to be the Clutter murders. Perry was bound by his experience, he could never fully escape the horrors of his childhood as they were the limits of his apprehension. Regardless of Perry’s traumatic childhood, justice must be equally upheld to everyone, despite the differences in the ways we were raised.
Perry’s erratic spontaneous outbursts is what caused him to go through with the murders and slit Mr. Clutter’s throat which put him on the killing frenzy that ended the rest of the Clutters lives. Capote highlights Perry’s sociopathic tendencies by comparing them to that of Dicks Psychopathic tendencies which exemplifies how when put together they are at each others fault for the
Although Perry is responsible for the murder of four innocent people, Perry’s actions do not reflect on who he is as a person because he is easily influenced, therefore; showing how easily people can be pressured into doing something they would not typically do. Dick, a violent, cold-hearted, manipulator, has molded Perry into the person he is today. As Perry is a follower, Dick has taken advantage of that by turning Perry into the cold-blooded killer he is today. Capote displays Dick’s manipulation of Perry through symbolism to make evident that while Perry did pull the trigger on four innocent people, although the fault does not entirely lay on him, as he was taken advantage of by Dick.
While Dick’s attempt to profit from Perry originates from a lie that Perry creates in order to gain Dick’s respect, the language that Capote uses to illustrate Dick’s exploitation does not leave room for excuses or sympathy. The tone indicates Dick has malicious intention in befriending Perry, which gives the readers a cynical impression of him. Furthermore, Dick is seen to be disregarding of the gravity of his crimes, especially as he replies to Perry’s comment, “I think there must be something wrong with us" (Capote 114) to commit the murder like they did, in which Dick replies, “Deal me out, baby, I'm a normal,” and continues to entertain the thought, “ But Perry—there
From the beginning, Dick had a detailed plan of how they would carry out the murders, and he made sure that Perry was on board with his ideas. The scary part of all of this is that Dick considered himself normal, by saying, “I’m a normal” (Capote 108). In the book, it is clear that Dick was the one in control, and Perry is merely following his lead. For example, when they first discussed the robbery, Dick said, "If it's going to be done, it's got to be done right. No slip-ups...
In the fourth section of In Cold Blood, Capote argues that Perry is a cold blooded killer and Dick is just as guilty. Capote describes Perry as “very high” on the night of the murder. By the time he was in jail, Capote referred to him as “unusually troubled” and “lost”. When Perry admitted to the murder of the four Clutter’s, his reasoning was to spare Mrs. Hickock’s feelings, not to tell the truth. Perry’s background makes him seem damaged and “changed”, as he experienced various problems in adolescence; his “psychotic” ways are even thought to be true by a psychiatrist in court.