Use Of The Death Penalty In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

I think Capote wanted to write about the murder of the Clutter family because it was horrifying and the process of getting evidence and reports from police officials is a different technique from what he usually did. Also, during the 1950’s people where not familiar with non-fiction novels. If Richard Hicklock and Perry Smith knew Herb Clutter had money and they came to his home seeking for money and got what they went to look for, why did they kill the family? Was there another way they could of handle the situation? If the murder was accidental why did they

In Cold Blood In the story In Cold Blood Truman Capotes’ tone expresses lamentation and sorrow. The Clutters family brutally murdered by two viciousness killers. The diction of Truman Capote is of resent, and ambivalence. The murder scene left the town “furious” and “wondering” of who the killers had been they found the grotesque action “disquieting.”

Do criminals given a death sentence face just punishment? Capote strongly disagrees with the death sentence, as his use of details and syntax clearly demonstrate to the reader. First of all, most of the relatives of the victims were not supportive of the punishment chosen for Dick and Perry. Mrs. Clutter’s brother said that “he did not feel the defendants should be put to death.” If the person who should have the most anger towards the two criminals disagrees with a death sentence, it follows that Dick and Perry’s punishment may not be appropriate.

In Capote’s book, he focuses and highlights Perry the most out of any other

Perry’s hardships play an extensive role in creating conflict within the audience about the death penalty, which is amplified by Capote’s use of symbolism to portray Perry as vulnerable and encourage even more

Capote’s way of making the reader question the criminal justice system and the death penalty is bizarre. Capote makes us feel pathos for Perry Smith and builds tension and uniquely uses imagery and detailed exploration of the characters to make us understand. It’s like we’re overseers and we experience what Dick and Perry’s journey was like on the run. To feel what they felt, to understand why they were treated so poorly and why they shouldn’t have been hung. That maybe deep down there was a chance these two could have been redeemed as human beings again and that they overuse the death penalty instead of trying to help the criminals reform

After most people hear what Perry has gone through you immediately give him a get out of jail free card right? You think that since he had a difficult upbringing he should be exempt from receiving the death penalty? Although you may think this, this is certainly not an excuse for such a violent act. Throughout In Cold Blood, Capote attempts to portray to the reader that Smith in a way should be exempt from the crime he commited and how one should not blame it on Smith himself, but his psychological background. Specifically when Al Dewey, the head of the Clutter murder investigation, states how the crime was not in fact Smiths fault.

In Cold Blood, written by Truman Capote in 1966 tells the story of the murder of a prominent family in 60’s Kansas. Capote traveled to the small town of Holcomb, and befriended many of the townsfolk and the detectives involved in the trial to tell the story of a violent event that shaped this community for the decade until the eventual conviction and execution of the killers. Because of information being told, Capote makes the choice of writing his novel as if it were a news report. This journalistic structure and word choice helps to establish the serious and dark tone of the novel.

Capotes creates sympathy for Detective Dewey by allowing the reader to think about what it would be like to have family member who is extremely involved in work about the

Because of the arguments hinted at by Truman Capote in In Cold Blood, there will always be debate on whether capital punishment should be used for certain crimes. One can never be sure if a punishment, whether as mild as jail time or as severe as the death penalty, is justified for the crime

Now, there is no direct quote from Capote discussing his view on this issue, but it can be reasonably inferred by the quote’s presence in the novel that he would argue each citizen to think about how and why the death sentence is actually used. Capote himself would most likely not agree with this stance, but it seems to be the way it is. The innocent men and women of the town were baffled and torn by the scene of the gruesome murder, and they needed a relief, which in this case, was the death of Perry and Dick. Clearly, the death penalty can be used as a way to comfort the people in a time of distress.

How crazy would it be to interview criminals who murdered 4 people in cold blood? Well that’s exactly what Truman Capote did in this chilling book. In the novel In Cold Blood, Truman Capote used different rhetorical strategies to create sympathy and influence the idea that there are always two sides to every story. Some of the mainly used rhetorical strategies throughout the novel were imagery, diction, tone, and pathos. Furthermore, Capote also illustrated sympathetical emotion towards both types of characters, the protagonists and antagonists.

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.

In the village of Holcomb, Kansas a wealthy family, the Clutters, was murdered on November 14, 1959. Dick Hickock and Perry Smith were convicted of these murders and received the death penalty. In Truman Capote’s novel In Cold Blood, the audience receives different viewpoints on why Dick and Perry either deserved the death penalty or not. Though the decision to sentence someone to death should be based on the truth, the truth is not always easy to define; Capote shows this through his depiction of the controversial executions of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Criminal punishment is an immensely ongoing controversial and societal issue in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world.

Truman stated to others that Perry trusted him and turned over his personal books (journals) to help him write the story. Truman read from those books to others, not respecting any privacy and shared, for example, that Perry wanted to be held in higher esteem and be taken seriously if he ever had to give a speech. Truman said Perry was a gold mine and when he thought about how good his book could be, he could hardly breathe, taking advantage of vulnerable populations. I felt Truman was somewhat honest in the beginning, wanting to portray their story, but when the story transitioned and he knew it was going to be the biggest story of his life, motives changed. Deceit and exploitation came into play.