On Pages 339-340, Capote uses selection of detail and diction to argue against the use of the death penalty. (Dick) “...hung for all to see a full twenty minutes before the prison doctor at last said, ‘I pronounce this man dead.’” (Capote 339). (The guard says), “They don’t feel nothing. Drop, snap, and that’s it. They don’t feel nothing.” (The reporter says) “Are you sure?... I could hear him gasping for breath.” “Uh-huh, but he don’t feel nothing. Wouldn’t be human if he did.” “Well. And I suppose they feed them a lot of pills. Sedatives.” “Hell, no. Against the rules... “ (Capote 340) On page 339, Capote uses selection of detail in this passage to help further his argument against the death penalty. Capote explains that for a “full twenty minutes”, Dick was struggling to stay alive as he was hanging with a rope tied around his neck. Which is a very long time to be fighting for your life, the reporter even admitted that he could “hear …show more content…
Every few minutes the doctor (would check for a heartbeat, then step outside). I wouldn’t say he was enjoying his work - kept gasping for a breath, and he was crying, too… (He would step outside) so the others wouldn’t see he was crying. Then he’d go back and listen to hear if Andy’s heart had stopped. Seemed like it never would. The fact, is his heart kept beating for nineteen minutes.” (Capote 331-332). Capote uses irony to argue how the death penalty is harsh and merciless. Dancing is supposed to be happy and enjoyable, but in this case Capote is using the word dancing in a different connotation. Capote makes it ironic by saying when Andy was hanging by his neck, his feet dangling above the ground, and struggling to stay alive for nineteen minutes was his dance. In this connotation “danced” is presented to the audience as Andy’s struggle to stay alive which helps supports Capote's argument by using irony to show the inhuman side of the death
In Bruce Cockburns Hoop Dancer, a song written in 1979 from the album The Trouble With Normal, he makes the case that the 20th century is destroying the culture of Indian tribes leading to an unsure future using these rhetorical devices: personification, hyperbole, anaphora, and simile. Personification is one rhetorical device used in the line, “the echoes of this laugh fade.” The line references that the joyous times of thriving Native American tribes are fading away as the 20th century rolls on. Memories are all that are left of the Native American’s true culture. Another device,hyperbole, depicts the bustling life of the 20th century, “drums and voices blend with endless rain.”
“And so it happened that in the daylight hours of that Wednesday morning, Alvin Dewey, breakfasting at the coffee shop of a Topeka hotel, read, on the first page of the Kansas City Star, a headline he had long awaited: ‘Die on Rope for Bloody Crime.’ The story, written by an associated press reporter, began: ‘Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, parteners in crime, died on that gallows at the state penetentary early today for one of the bloodiest murders in Kansas criminal annals. Hickock, 33 years old, died first,at 12:41 A.M.; Smith died at 1:19...’” (Capote 337). Though this quote is fairly long, I chose it because it shows justice being served to the brutal murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.
Edgar Allan Poe creates this menacing tone by the repetition and description of his senses. In the killing the narrators explains that the eye of the old man is the reason why he killed him in the first place .The description of the old man’s “eye of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with an film over it. Whatever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees”(1). The senses of the narrator helps to bring on the mood of menace into the story.
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.
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
It is clear that Truman Capote believes that the systematic execution of murderers is flawed, and that the legal system in which death-penalty bound convicts are tried is a skewed one. In the novel, the reader finds out that Perry has been diagnosed by a psychiatrist as a paranoid schizophrenic. “More extensive
In the book “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote, Capote blantly describes the murderous acts of two men who killed an entire family they knew nothing about. The Clutters were good people who had no intention on hurting anyone. Dick and Perry, the murderers, had no reason to do this, meaning they had no motive for these actions and they can not be excused for their actions. In the beginning of the book, Capote introduces everyone to the Clutter Family, and a few pages further into the book he introduces everyone to Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.
Rhetorical appeals serve as a major role in the characters speaking style. The speaking style reflects his or her main points that the character is trying to convey. It also reveals the characters feelings and emotions. John Proctor uses strong rhetorical appeals throughout the play. John Proctor is loyal, honest, and kind-hearted.
This quote illustrates that Dick, being raised in a well environment, also had some faults. He could not achieve his American Dream due to lack of money that his family did not
This dance is supposed to be beautiful to show everyone how wonderful differences could be. The style in which the story is written changes in this passage by showing a lovely, beautiful scene than the usually harsh tones. Question Four :
“Artworks have ‘aboutness’ and demand interpretation” (Barrett 71). This statement creates a foundation for writing, specifically about dance, as each dance piece is always about something, no matter how simple it appears to be. As I began to write about dance I knew not only to provide a description of the piece, but utilize the description as evidence as I develop a possible meaning. Additionally he explains, “There can be different, competing, and contradictory interpretations of the same artwork” (Barrett 73). When I would begin to develop an explanation from the description I provided, I had to remind myself that my interpretation was only one view of the dance and I should not try to provide one comprehensive interpretation for the
Sharon struggled to breathe and Andy lost consciousness from slamming into each other. Andy said: "I think I knocked myself out hitting the floor as hard as I did. I wasn't too aware of what was going on after that." Sharon's began to feel the pain immediately after the lift went horribly wrong for the engaged couple: "I can remember running towards Andy and then the next thing just struggling for breath and my back was hurting."
In Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz”, the speaker seems to be an adult reminiscing his childhood through a metaphor of a dance. The poem suggests that the boy was abused and the mother stood by without doing much about it. Three topics that
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.
Capote did a great job explaining the nature of some crimes in order to help readers gain a better understanding of why people do the things that they do. The question is, after you understand someone’s mental state, what can you do to help them? This question relates to the topic of the ethics of capital punishment (regardless of mental state), which I have already mentioned a few times in this assignment. Capote included several examples of metaphors and symbolism in the documentary, even if the actual details did not occur in real life. One of these examples is the wild squirrel that Perry tamed, which I believe represents the fact that Perry is intellectually gifted and capable of being civil, but he is still tempted into committing crimes.