In Cold Blood Sparknotes

In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote, was a non-fictional novel published in 1965. Written in four parts, Capote meticulously details the brutal 1959 murders of the recognized farmer Herbert Clutter, Bonie Clutter, Nancy Clutter and Kenyon Clutter in the small, once peaceful, city of Holcomb, Kansas. Throughout the book, while Capote sympathetically depicts the murders of the Clutter family, we also realize that the author has a strong sympathy for one of the murders called Perry Edward Smith. Although the novel was intended to be written in a journalistic form, Capote seems to fictionalize much of the information used to write the novel in order to add suspense and certain reactions from the readers. Truman Capote’s new literary form of “the non-fictional novel” leaves the readers feeling conflicting emotions

The third section of the story begins with an old cellmate of Dick’s, Floyd Wells. Wells heard about the murder of the Clutter family and immediately knew that Dick committed the crime. He wanted to come forward but was nervous about what could happen to him. When Dick and Floyd shared a cell, they talked about previous jobs they had and when Floyd brought up his experience working on the Clutter farm, Dick could not stop asking questions. He heard about how much money they had which sparked his interest, he then began to ask about the layout of the home.

This structure gives perspective in a case that typically is one-sided. Capote uses this structure to show how twisted it is that the murderers commit a crime that ends the lives of a family while they themselves can continue to live their lives afterward. The story overall is devastating but because of this comparison between the perpetrators and their victims, the author manages to bring out an emotional response from the readers.

The shocking murder of the Clutter family caught the nation’s attention, especially world-renowned American author, Truman Capote. Capote tells the story of the infamous crime in his world novel, In Cold Blood. The story is told as a sense of literature, more than just stating the events that happened such a documentary style. Capote referred to his masterpiece as “New Literature” as a way to captivate the audience with his way of writing about a true story in a story-telling manor. Capote spent years of research, analysis, and evidence to compose the novel in a way that would get readers interested and dig deeper into the crime itself and the minds of the criminals behind it.

Perry was never given a fair chance to thrive at life through his childhood. Truman uses this to explain why Perry is the way he is. Capote illustrates the worst of Perry's life to defend Perry’s as a person apart from his actions. Lastly Capote posses Perry as human through his hopes from a better life, as illustrated in the text, “...the dream of drifting downward through strange waters, of plunging toward a green sea-dusk, sliding past the scaly, savage-eyed protectors of a ship’s

Dick doused the headlights, slowed down, and stopped until his eyes were adjusted to the moon-illuminated night. Presently, the car crept forward. This passage was chosen because it was what Dick and Perry were saying right before they went to the Clutter house and killed the family. I feel that this quote is an important one. To me I feel that it suggest's that the accused were out to commit a robbery, and had no original intent to kill the Clutters.

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.

Reaction Paper: In Cold Blood Tina Huang CRJ 252 Professor Schnurbush March 4, 2018 Introduction In 1966, Truman Capote, an American novelist, screenwriter, and playwright published In Cold Blood, a chilling yet fascinating account of murder set in Holcomb, Kansas that retells the death of the Clutter family and the investigation that resulted in the execution of the killers, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock. The novel unravels recurring themes of violence and examines biological, sociological, and psychological factors that led to the motiveless murders of four members of the Clutter family, Herb, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon. The book begins by outlining the multiple murder case in the 1950’s and is not limited to a legal

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

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).

Other voices, other rooms was Capote first bestseller where he gained a lot of fame, it was the first book where he got recognition. It's a story about a southern boy trying to find his father and with some hardships he published this in his early twenties but it was his first book that was recognized. Some themes that are shown in his book In Cold Blood are religion, gender roles and family.

In doing so Capote invents a new genre of literature by telling the story through a new perspective. Capote as a writer chooses to put most of the focus of the book on the criminals, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, particularly Smith. He follows Smith’s life story, and explains that Smith was abused as a child, and the reader is to infer that as a result he seeks approval from others. This approval is what leads him to kill, and invent stories about killing, as he wants Dick to think of him as macho. Capote provides a plethora of evidence to support this reasoning, “He was seven years old, a hated, hating half-breed child living in a California orphanage run by nuns- shrouded disciplinarians who whipped him for wetting his bed,” (93).

He is portrayed as a mastermind in the cold-blooded killing of the Clutters family, a man with little respect for the lives of others, which can be seen through Dick’s expression before the murder of the Clutters when he converses Perry, “We’re gonna go in there and splatter those walls with hair” (Capote 234). This sudden tone shift enables Capote to depict Dick as a cruel and immoral character. Dick’s lack of empathy and concern for other people beside himself allow him to commit crimes without remorse, which is in contrast to Perry’s moral contemplation after each bad actions they committed. Moreover, Dick is represented as the true criminal with evident motives in murdering the Clutters, while Perry is seen as a vulnerable victim who depends on Dick for validation and acceptance, something in which Dick happily provides in order to manipulate Perry, as Capote writes, “Dick became convinced that Perry was that rarity, ‘a natural born killer,’—absolutely sane but conscienceless, and capable of dealing with or without motive, the coldest-blooded deathblows. It was Dick's theory that such a gift could, under his supervision, be profitably exploited” (Capote 205).

No matter how we try to change our situation or better ourselves in society, variables will obstruct the path we choose. One cannot take control of everything that surrounds us as fate decides what happens to us. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote explains the murder of the Clutter family in the quiet town of Holcomb, Kansas. The murderers, Richard (Dick) Hickock and Perry Smith, try to escape the consequences of their actions, believing that they can get away with what they did. The story tells what the murderers were thinking after and before they committed the crime and their various interactions.