A Christmas Memory Essay

Despite this claim of Mrs. Clutter, Capote gave the readers glimpses into the Clutter’s home their daily life and their last day alive; the book shows scenes of Mr. Clutter at the breakfast table, Kenyon working in the basement on his sister’s hope chest, and Nancy laying out her clothes for Sunday morning- the clothes she will be buried in. Simultaneously, Capote effortlessly weaves in illustrated scenes of the murders, Perry Smith and Dick Hickok, on their ominous journey to the Clutter’s family farm.

First, Capote involves his reader. "This immediacy, this spellbinding 'you-are-there' effect, comes less from the sensational facts (which are underplayed) than from the 'fictive' techniques Capote employs" (Hollowell 82). Capote takes historical facts and brings in scenes, dialogue, and point of view to help draw the reader in (Hollowell 82).

Truman Capote characterizes Holcomb as a innocent and peaceful farm town with a small population of people and a few rundown buildings. As he describes the town of Holcomb he paints a picture that not a lot happens in the town and that the surrounding towns do not pay attention to Holcomb or even know that the small town exists. Capote describes the town as being melancholy, lonesome and unknown he describes the town like this so that when a crime happens in this town it has a greater impact on the people. In order to convey these ideas Capote uses a great deal of imagery and has a good use of diction that is easy to understand so that his ideas come across clear and he is able to paint the picture he wants to paint.

Capote presents Bonnie Clutter as a girl with a sheltered, indulged childhood. The concrete noun ‘adored sister’ shows that she was loved by her family which highlights family importance in Modern America. The dynamic verbs ‘not spoiled but spared’ imply she was sheltered, being protected from the harsh realities of the world. This links to how in the 1950s women were looked and dependent on men due to patriarchy. Bonnie fulfilled her gender role through marriage to Herb Clutter. The dynamic verb ‘he wanted her’ and the adverbial that bonnie was ‘in love’ portray how she acted on emotion and sentiment which were considered female attributes , implying Herb was in control, the dynamic verb ‘wanted’ objectifying her.

(308). Earlier the sentences were long and complex. Capote uses semi-colons, many commas, and rhetorical questions. When Capote changes from long sentences to short, consecutive sentences, this is effective to the comprehension of the book. The short sentences also creates diction in the book.

Capote starts his novel describing the small town of Holcomb, setting the stage for how the murders will change the town. Capote wants to make the readers understand that the small town

The reader gets to “know” Perry Smith very well throughout the novel and acquires the sense that Capote feels sympathetic to his situation as compared to that of Hickock. Smith, introduced as much the loner type, is described by the narrator and the character Smith himself (in a letter to a psychiatrist) as growing up in a low socio-economic bracket with a broken family accompanied by a lack of love and stability characterizing his childhood (and continuing on to adulthood in which is the state of which the book...

Capote uses Perry as a sympathetic character; asking the reader if Perry’s life had been easier growing up, would he have committed the murders? A point often overlooked is Capote’s detailed exploration into Perry’s childhood and life

The most used rhetorical strategies used in this story is foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is used to create suspense but not giving away the story. He uses foreshadowing in the the beginning of the book to show that the Clutter’s were going to be murdered. “Then touching the brim of his cap, he headed for home and the day’s work, unaware that it would be his last.” (Capote pg. 13) Capote does this to show that it was going to be Mr. Clutter’s last time waking up and working. It makes the audience think “What is going to happen next?” “Now, on this final day of her life, Mrs. Clutter hung in the closet the calico housedress she had been wearing, and put on one of her trailing nightgowns and a fresh set of white socks.”(Capote pg. 34) this tells the audience that Mrs. Clutter was going to die that night. Going back to the thesis, this organizes the evidence found that, Mr. and Mrs. Clutter were only going to be a alive

Capote purposefully detaches himself from this section of the story, allowing the only sense of sympathy come from those who personally knew the Clutters. Because Capote is not able to form a personal relationship with any members of the Clutter family, he simply chooses to briefly explain the family’s murder and shift his attention to the murderers instead. The Clutters all-American image could not rescue them from tragedy and instead of portraying the family as victims, Capote focuses on attempting to encourage the audience to remain optimistic on their views regarding the family’s murderers.

Truman Capote's writing techniques are an essential component to the overall effect that his message gives to the readers. The use of rhetorical as well as literary devices work hand in hand to show the reader just exactly what Capote was trying to convey through his words. At first glance, it may be difficult to decipher the message, however once one digs deeper the message becomes much clearer. Capote wants the audience to understand the importance of living life to the fullest because it can change drastically in the matter of minutes. Although he explains very little that directly relates to his true purpose, his subtle use of stylistic devices work in cohesion to express his ideas, thus the importance of living life to the fullest at all times is greatly emphasized.

In his nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood, Truman Capote describes Mr. Clutter as a very active member of the community who “never sought to associate” with the upper-class men in his society. Capote’s purpose in writing this passage describing Mr. Clutter is to enable the audience to visualize and sympathize with the father of the family described in Part I of In Cold Blood in order to evoke a stronger emotional response from the audience when Dick and Perry murder the Clutter family. He develops this purpose by using elaborate diction and portraying Mr. Clutter as kind through Mr. Clutter’s own words.

A quote from Author Truman Capote “Friendship is a pretty full-time occupation if you really are friendly with somebody. You can't have too many friends because then you're just not really friends.” Buddy, from A Christmas Memory, has one friend, his distant cousin, and is loyal and kind to her all the time. Like the quote, Buddy does not have many other friends and is very friendly with the one friend he has. Jimmy and Bob’s friendship starts to deteriorate, because they don’t spend enough time each other.

It was Capote's use of stylistic devices that the novel memorable to Swanson. Capote not only vividly recreated the events leading up to the murders, but he also described in "meticulous detail and diamondlike prose" the "dozens of lives destroyed or altered" in the process (33). Capote carefully chose each word he recorded, enabling his readers to encounter the same feelings of despair, grief, and fear the characters experience. But Capote's greatest gift was his "ability to listen" and then composing what he heard into a symphony of voices, sounds, and silences (33). Swanson heard the voices of the Clutter family pleading for their lives, the sounds from the "roar of a twelve-gauge shotgun", and the subsequent silence of "an upright, accomplished, and much-admired" family's removal "from a quiet community" (33).

Truman Capote’s story A Christmas Memory, is about Capote’s childhood memory of a particular holiday season and how he enjoyed that moment in time with a special friend. Capote is illustrated by the main character, Buddy. Buddy and his distant cousin have a bonding friendship and tell of their exploits during that Christmas. They pick out a very special Christmas tree, make each other presents, and make fruitcakes.