Central Arguments In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

3. Examine the cover of the novel. What images do you see? How do you think the images are connected to the story?

Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood with the intention of creating a new non-fiction genre, a creative spin on a newspaper article with the author, and his opinions and judgments completely absent from the text, leaving only the truth for the reader to interpret. The pages of In Cold Blood are filled with facts and first-hand accounts of the events surrounding the brutal murder of a wealthy unsuspecting family in Holcomb, Kansas. Author Truman Capote interviewed countless individuals to get an accurate depiction of every one affected by and every side of the murder. Although he declares himself an unbiased and opinion-free author, based on the extensive descriptions of one of the murderers, Perry Smith, there is much debate about this

1.) What is the author's main thesis (argument) in setting up his book? Why/how are

As part of your summer assignment, you will read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. You may purchase the book on your own or you may borrow a school copy of it. Read closely and annotate your text. Annotations will not be collected, but this is an educational and intellectual habit that you want to begin if you haven’t already.

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.

The usually quiet and lonesome village of Holcomb resides peacefully until the unthinkable happens. During mid-November of 1959 a family of four is shot in their own home. The brutal death of the Clutters creates a sense of uncertainty and paranoia over the village. Truman Capote writes on the tragic story in his novel, In Cold Blood. When found, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock are appointed a trial and face Kansas’s death penalty. However, questions arise about the defendants’ punishment in relation to their mental capacity, specifically Perry Smith’s. Perry deserves to receive special consideration because his childhood causes his mental instability, which allows him to be easily persuaded and not in control of his actions.

In his 1965 novel In Cold Blood, Truman Capote chronicles the murder of the wealthy Clutter family and the subsequent capture and trial of their killers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. The events of the book play out over a period of nearly six years, from the crime’s conception to the execution of the murderers, supplemented by Capote’s numerous interviews with living members of the Clutter family, their neighbors, their murderers, and the detectives on the case. It is widely regarded as the first non-fiction novel, and explores the motives and consequences in a horrendous murder case from many perspectives. In order to question commonly held moral absolutes, Capote adds dimension to the standard murder trial narrative and forces the audience to understand the nuances and intricacies of an unfathomable situation by humanizing both the victims and perpetrators of a hideous crime.

Truman Capote’s rhetorical choices in his novel In Cold Blood captivates the reader’s attention, allowing them to connect with the plot. He uses rhetorical strategies to sympathize the murders of the Clutter family and create vivid images of how the murders were conducted. His authorial style of using disturbing images within the book allows the reader to feel as if they are an eyewitness to every investigation, scene, and event that occurred before and after the night at the Clutter house. Capote arranges the details and events in the book in a weird sequence that also allows the reader to be involved in every scene while also confusing them in a way. Capote's tone is evidently empathetic and fatalistic tone as he feels for the murderers’ mental state

Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, makes a case for the evolved criminals that have been shaped by their past. Capote uses pathos and ethos to make the readers feel for these killers.

In the final months of 1959, the Clutter family was brutally murdered in their Holcomb, Kansas, home. Reports of their murders made national news. One of these headlines captured the attention of Truman Capote who chose to pursue the story further; eventually, after years of research and thousands of pages of notes, he penned In Cold Blood. It was first published in 1966, and it found immediate success. Capote’s original storytelling methods combined with the sensationalism of the crime was instrumental in creating, at the very least, popularizing a new genre: creative nonfiction. Utilizing unique narrative structure and author-tainted character development, Capote weaves a tale that questions the authenticity, the intent, and the meaning of justice.

A reference point can be defined as an intentional use of a specific thing to indicate another thing . In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood there are a series of different reference point. In Part 2 of the book,"Persons unknown", Capote uses a reference points to compare and contrast the murderers thought process at the moment and evoke sympathy from the audience. The murderers were two ex-convicts named Perry Edward Smith and Richard "Dick" Eugene Hickock who took part in a robbery gone wrong. In the Epigraph of In Cold Blood, Capote incorporates a poem called "The Ballad of the Hanged Men" written by a French poet named Francois Villon ,who was awaiting his death sentencing. Men my brothers who live after us, have your hearts not hardened against

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.

Then, name two or three of the elements of fiction that seem important in the book and explain why you think they are significant. What do they contribute to its success?

Take a minute to consider the objective and the strategies you will need to accomplish it. What do you remember from prior lessons in this unit about the reasons why authors write? How do you think you can use clues to make inferences about the author’s point of view or stance? Write your ideas in your digital notebook.

Section 1: Demonstrate understanding of the literary techniques employed by the author in the selection.