An Analysis Of John Vote By John Capote

because the novel provides accurate description of what took place during and after the trials, and how the townsfolk of Holcomb, Kansas reacted to the murder of the beloved Clutters. It is assumed that the townsfolk’s reaction to the murders was pretty accurate, giving the fact that Capote traveled to Holcomb shortly after the murders were reported in the New York Times.

Capote goes to great efforts to show the admiration which the community held for the Clutter family, one of the elements which made the murders so shocking. Everybody socialized with the Clutter family. For example, Mr. Clutter's friend Mrs. Ashida felt comfortable telling Mr. Clutter her conflict with her husband regarding the Ashida family's possible move, confiding that people like his family are the reason she wishes to stay in Holcomb.

Capote paints the picture that the tiny town of Holcomb was unknown to the rest of the world because of how trivial in size it was and how unimportant it was. When he said that “few Americans--in fact few Kansans--had ever heard of Holcomb” he paints the image of a small, rundown, unimportant town in the middle of nowhere. Truman paints the picture that the world doesn't know about Holcomb because it is in the middle of nowhere and because nothing ever happens worth knowing about. He paints the picture that the town in unknown to the world making the town seem innocent and peaceful because if it wasn't peaceful it would be talked about in the neighboring towns as to why this crime was going on in this tiny town

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, a family of four was brutally murdered by shotgun blasts only a few inches from their faces. The protagonist of the story, Perry Smith, a man with a troubled past, is the one responsible for committing these murders. In framing the question nature versus nurture, Capote’s powerfully written account of the Clutter family killings asks whether a man alone can be held responsible for his actions when his environment has relentlessly neglected him; Perry Smith is a prime example. He is an intelligent, talented, and sensitive human being, who has been warped and rejected by society and his environment, and therefore cannot be held

The author says there is little to nothing to see and is considered “out there.” The first four paragraphs sets the the tone as monotone. Capote describes the town as dull to help the reader understand just how plain Holcomb is. Capote also says that little drama stops in Holcomb to show just how rare drama in the area is. The first four paragraphs set the tone as dull, making you wonder why he would write about such a dull place. Then in paragraph five the tone dramatically changes. The tone shifts from describing the town as an old deteriorating town to something more lively. When Capote starts speaking of the school, the tone changes and he views the town in another light. Through Capote’s eyes the town is no longer something to dread but something extraordinary. He calls the people prosperous and explains the school as a “ good- looking establishment.” When he talks about the school the tone is set that the people of Holcomb care about their future. The tone shifts from a dry boring town to a great place with plentiful amounts of money and a prosperous place to learn. In the last and final paragraph the tone shifts one last time to something mysterious. The tone makes it clear that something bad will likely happen by saying things such as, “ Until one morning in mid- November of

Throughout the passage, Capote uses sterling imagery to convey his view of Holcomb. In the passage Capote sees Holcomb as a negative sight. He shows this by saying “...Haphazard hamlet bounded on the south by a brown stretch of the Arkansas... Street... Turns from the thickets dust to the dirtiest mud.” Capote also says “...Gaunt woman who wears a rawhide jacket and denims and cowboy boots” when referring to the people of Holcomb. In these two descriptions of the town, these show a negative view of Holcomb and how old-fashioned it is. Capote also says it is “...More Far Western than Middle West” which shows an image of the town is old-fashioned and run down like the old-time Western towns.

One literary device that Capote utilizes is imagery. It is most noticeable when he describes the atmosphere of the town after the murder. “Imagination, of course, can open any door-turn the key and let terror walk right in.” Ever since the murder, the people of Holcomb have been imagining the worse. Capote puts it perfectly as he describes the town that the hunters see when they first arrive from Colorado: “windows ablaze, almost every window in almost every house,

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.

His message is explored through the use of extensive foreshadowing throughout the section preceding the murders. Capote writes, “There’s him. Her. The kid and the girl. And maybe the other two. But it’s Saturday. They might have guests. Let’s count on eight, or even twelve. The only sure thing is every one of them has got to go” (Capote 37). The obvious foreshadowing expressed in this piece is just the first part to the rest of the sections that force us to realize how vital it is to appreciate life and live it to the fullest. It exemplifies how life can change at any given moment and the suspense offered in this quote further embodies that idea.

In Cold Blood and the Death Penalty Is the killing of certain people morally acceptable? In his novel, In Cold Blood, Capote makes an argument about the death penalty. In Cold Blood, written by Truman Capote, is a seemingly objective account of the Clutter murders of Holcomb Kansas. Capote details both the lives of the Clutters and the lives of the two men involved in their murder. In this novel Capote argues against the death penalty using devices such as simile, metaphor, juxtaposition, and.

Although Dick and Perry killed the Clutters, Capote's true intent is to demonstrate the effects the murder had on the town as well as Dick and Perry; therefore people's actions can affect another's destiny. Dicks actions of manipulation combined with Perry's mental illness creates a lack of self-awareness. Capote uses utilizes anecdote when describing the night of the slaughtering to imply that Perry wasn’t aware of his wrongdoings while under the control of Dicks manipulation and mental eclipse. Capote states, "When Smith attacked Mr. Clutter he was under a mental eclipse, deep inside a schizophrenic darkness"(338). Perry's mental illness demonstrates that he had no control, similar to Perry having no control over Dicks manipulation.

By using this example, Capote is able to strengthen his argument by implicitly claiming Perry was made to be a murderer because environment shapes person’s nature especially when they are young; therefore, it evokes feelings of pity within readers toward Perry’s criminal record. It seems that his criminal record was an extension of godforsaken environments which he had to grow up. Furthermore, Capote shows Perry’s internal emotion he was murdering the Clutter family. “I didn’t want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman.

Clutter as an involved person, and are most commonly used when describing his ability to be a leader of the Holcomb community. For example, Capote describes Mr. Clutter as, “an educated man successful in his profession” (34). In 1959, very few people were both well-educated and successful due to the existence of fewer opportunities for higher-quality post-secondary education; therefore, Mr. Clutter belonged to an elite class of people in Holcomb that likely led society. Furthermore, the inclusion of more elaborate words portrays Mr. Clutter as a powerful and distinguished figure rather than a common man. Throughout the duration of this passage, Capote’s use of descriptive phrases to accompany these statements explains to what extent Mr. Clutter volunteers in the community. He is described as an, “eminent Republican and church leader” (35). These two positions would make him known by other residents of Holcomb for two drastically different activities, politics and religion. Moreover, Mr. Clutter was a leader of a less popular church in Holcomb, further

Capote begins his novel with a conventional narrative structure choice: describing the setting. He spends several pages familiarizing the reader with the town of Holcomb, Kansas. This move is crucial, especially when contrasted with his unconventional choices for the traditional narrative timeline as the book progresses. As Capote introduces the reader to the Clutter family, with a particular focus on Herb, he sets the groundwork for the conflict. With necessary background information in mind, the reader first confronts the conflict with the words, “...he headed for home and the day’s work, unaware that it would be his last” (13). It is this moment, that the reader experiences the first sense of satisfaction. This is the

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).