Analysis Of The Film ' Of Cold Blood '

In Truman Capote’s captivating nonfiction, In Cold Blood, Capote ventures through the journey and lives of both the killed and the killers all while analyzing the point in which they crossed paths. From the days before the four Clutters were murdered to the last moments of the two killers’ lives, Capote takes into account each and every aspect that creates the ‘famous’ Clutter Case with an in depth look of just how and why these strange and unforeseeable events occurred. What was originally supposed to only be an article in a newspaper turned into an entire book with Capote analyzing both how and why a murder comes to be through the use of pathos, juxtaposition, and foreshadowing.

The 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short has remained one of Hollywood’s most notorious unsolved cases in Los Angeles history. The cold case has been passed down from detective to detective searching answers or any clues to help put the case to rest. The Black Dahlia was actually Elizabeth Short: a young, aspiring actress from a small town in Massachusetts.

The narrative switches back and forth to focus on the experiences of different characters. Capotes way of writing and changing structures and shapes is because he withholds a good description of what actually happened in the Clutter home. This is logical because the way the story is being told Perry Smith and Dick Hickock and their families. This is the hook that keeps the reader turning pages. Part 3 “Answers” allows the reader to feel secure in the promise that finally everything will be answered and explained. Such as the journey that the wto men took, driving eight hundred miles during a twenty-hour period, are now discovered by Nye during the investigation, Capote's way of being a journalist and a novelist at the same time. Capote’s

The dynamic partnership between Dick and Perry stems from their egos, or lack thereof. Perry is especially self-conscious, and his behavior as presented in the book is due to his sense of lacking and

Truman Capote writes a genius book about a real murder that happened and he tore the case apart to find out every detail that happened in the crime. In Cold Blood is about two men who almost get away with a hostile murder of a family. How a lead detective on the case gets so pressured about finding these men. It is also about the anxiety that these murders put on the killers because one of them is afraid they are going to get caught. The town that turns on each other and locks their doors at night and prays no one comes in. Capote’s purpose in this book was sympathizing with the killer and all the other people in the book, also in the book he presents foreshadowing, and Pathos, he has many other Rhetorical Strategies but these are the important Strategies.

In “In Cold Blood” (1966) from page 200 to 202, Capote give us the insight into the past of Dick and Perry characters that caused them to resent a certain type of situation or condition. The author acknowledge this matter by showing how Dick and Perry nature being revealed through what they seen and encounter on their get away trip, first he inform us about how the view of the sea, and people Dick see in the hotels remind him of how he growth to feel hostile against people who possessed thing that he known he couldn’t have, “Why should that sonofabitch have everything, while he had nothing? Why should that “big shot bastard” have all the luck?” (Rhetorical question and Parallelism were used to emphasize Dick animosity), “open them up and let

He described in great detail the murders and emotion of each family member, the background of the murderers, and the heartbroken town of Holcomb, Kansas. He gathered the information from his experience while investigating the crime with the police. He had questioned members of the community and the murderers. Capote was a credible source that captured and revealed the truth and emotion of the Clutter case in his non-fiction book. He wrote and structured the book with great detail and syntax to appeal to the reader. He contained his own opinions on the death penalty and connection between Hickock and Smith. Capote truly wrote an amazing novel based on a true murder case. His life was forever changed after launching this best-selling book full of secrets and

motor company, "when I [Dick] had an automobile wreck with a company car. I was in the hospital several days with extensive head injuries" (Capote 278). The car accident caused his face to be slightly maligned, and, as concluded by Dr. Jones, caused residual brain damage and instability in his personality (Capote 286). Dick's father also confirmed that Dick had changed after the crash, expressing that "He just wasn't the same boy" (Capote 255). After experiencing the crash, many parts of Dick's life began to go downhill. His marital life twisted woefully, and when all was said and done, he had gone through 2 marriages. He did not have a steady job anymore, and he began to commit petty crimes, such as writing bad checks and stealing. The latter resulted in him being in jail, where he had met Perry, who was behind bars for burglary as well, among other charges. Dick and Perry had both agreed to kill the Clutters, however when the time came, Dick showed signs of doubt and lingered, while Perry had almost no hesitation. This seems to point back to each man's past, where Perry, who had a rougher childhood, did not seem to think twice about killing the family. His scarred adolescence points to a more cold-hearted, bitter, and lonely person, while Dick's more favorable youth showed signs of mercy and conscience.

Frederick Dupee dubbed In Cold Blood, “The best documentary account of American crime ever written.” Unfortunately, the events that had taken place, and the whole story of Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, two on the run murders, are placed as a very memorable episode in history.

This was a planned out crime committed with no remorse. The murderers knew which house they were going to rob and planned to kill ahead of time and came prepared with a gun, rope, and all the supplies they would need. They also discussed how they were going to restrain and kill them before hand. "Next thing I knew, Dick was talking about killing Mr. Clutter. Said him and Perry was gonna go out there and rob the place, and they was gonna kill all witnesses - the Clutters, and anybody else that happened to be around. He described to me a dozen times how he was gonna do it, how him and Perry was gonna tie them people up and gun them down." (Capote, In Cold Blood, Answer, Page 99) The murders planned out their crime and they chose to go through with the plan rather than recognize what they were doing was wrong.

These emotions could go one of two ways- the first would be to feel pity for his parents, while seeing Dick in a slightly more pitiful light, rather than not even seeing him as human. Or it go go the second way, you feel pity for his parents, and begin to hate Dick even more for, not only what he did to the Clutter family, but also what he did to his parents. He not only ruined the Clutter family’s lives, he also ruined his life, his parents’ life, and even Perry’s life, even though he willingly participated in the murder. Capote’s use of pathos really humanizes the Clutter family murders, but also makes them more pitiful. They had a chance at a good life, Dick’s father even said that he used to be a good kid, but they threw it all away, robbing and killing an innocent family. Capote does a very good job of depicting Dick and Perry, creating a good balance between despicable and pitiful, while sharing their side of the story in a very accurate, yet interesting, way.

Since 'In Cold Blood' is an older book, essay topics maybe tired and old by now. So it is important to find new exciting ways to make students think about this book while still using their skills learned in class.

On November 15, 1959, in a small town in the Southwest called Holcomb, a family’s life was abruptly ended. Four innocent people were Savagely murdered, without any clue or motive. After the fact, Truman Capote himself traveled to this town as a journalist, to reconstruct the murder and investigation through his captivating work. A truly influential work, responsible for creating the nonfiction genre. This groundbreaking work, In Cold Blood, serves as a poignant insight into the anatomy of a murder, and the nature of American violence. Through his use of rhetorical strategies, such as foreshadowing and effective use of pathos and imagery, he successfully generated suspense and empathy, reverberating the central theme of the book.

Dick Hickock from In Cold Blood and Eric Harris from Columbine are similar in many ways. Dick was thirty-four years old when his life changed forever and Eric was eighteen years old when his did the same. Some ways they are similar are, they both did things to get into trouble, they were “leaders” of their group, and they were both murderers. “Murderers, in general, are consistent, people who are obsessed with one idea and nothing else.” Dick Hickock and Eric Harris both did things to get them into trouble before they became murderers.

The captivating story of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is a beautifully written piece describing the unveiling of a family murder. This investigative, fast-paced and straightforward documentary provides a commentary of such violence and examines the details of the motiveless murders of four members of the Clutter family and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers. As this twisted novel unravels, Capote defines the themes of childhood influences relevant to the adulthood of the murderers, opposite personalities, and nature versus nurture.