In Cold Blood Rhetorical Analysis Essay

The non-fiction novel In Cold Blood written by Truman Capote details the murders of four members of the Herbert Clutter family in the 1950s in Holcomb, Kansas. In the opening of In Cold Blood Capote describes the setting and characterizes Holcomb, Kansas as a disorganized, remote, dreary city through the use of literary devices such as diction, detail, and imagery.

The imagery takes a major shift in pages 58- 60. In the beginning it tooks about the beautiful mountains and the sunrise on a sunday morning. “ But by nine, when the boys finished work- during which they had noticed nothing amiss- the sun had risen, delivering another day of pheasant- season perfection,” (Capote, In Cold Blood, 580). This quote describes the day before the murders were known. Everything was perfect and that shows how many people felt in Holcomb, Kansas before that awful day. Later on the passage, after the murders were known, the imagery turns gruesome. “ ‘There’s too much blood. There’s blood on the walls. You didn’t really look,’ ” ( Capote, In Cold Blood, 60). This quote is what Nancy Ewalt says to Susan Kidwell after they see their friend, Nancy, dead in her bed. This imagery gives the reader a feeling of

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.

Holcomb is a lonesome place, isolated, and hushed “a lonesome area that other Kansans call “out there” (Capote 1). Capote highlights this fact to draw attention to the solitude of the location. This achieves the effect of preparing the stage for the murders to happen. This sets up a contrast with the explosive events and revelations of the latter half of the novel. It also reflects the loneliness of individual humans and more importantly the loneliness of the murderers (especially Smith). It also builds up a suspenseful, paranoid atmosphere that makes one uneasy because no one can hear screams “out there”. It’s a perfect setup for a suspenseful crime story, “out there”. Throughout the novel, one follows the travels of the K.B.I. agent Dewey and the culprits he is chasing such as when Dewey is in Las Vegas “weather had removed the first letter and the last – an R and an S – thereby coining a somewhat ominous word: OOM…upon a sun-warped sign” and the murderers as they reenter the United States “It was midday deep in the Mojave Desert…Dick was standing at the side of a black-surfaced highway, Route 66, his eyes fixed upon the immaculate emptiness as though the fervor of his gaze could force motorists to materialize” (Capote 154). Capote uses geography here to demonstrate the ominousness of the novel’s mood. Both locations are barren wastelands, desolate

Nothing ever happens in a small town is a motto many own, especially in Holcomb, Kansas. Holcomb is the poster town for “Small Town” by John Cougar Mellencamp, a life that many midwesterners are immersed in.Truman Capote goes into very vivid details providing a beautiful image of the dull unassuming town that is Holcomb in the beginning of his novel In Cold Blood. Truman Capote brings depth and detail out of a rather bland appearance using stylistic elements such as diction, tone, and imagery.

Capote’s description of things is also different from the typical person’s description. For example, to the laymen, the sun is a big, bright, shiny ball of fire. To Capote, the sun rises "…round as orange and orange as hot weather moons, balanc[ing] on the horizon, burnish[ing] the silvered winter woods." His word choice elicits more than just a visual sense of what he is describing; they entice all the senses to jump into his memory. It is distressing that the friends lack any real interaction with the others in the household other than to be scolded. The reader feels as if perhaps the neglected ones should be pitied. Yet, it is comforting that they find consolation in each other and can appreciate each moment for its beauty. In the end, Capote recalls his friend looking upon the land in front of them

Truman Capote's In Cold Blood is a nonfiction novel that is renowned for Capote’s use of intertwining the facts of a Kansas tragedy with various literary techniques such as his creative structure, flashback, tone and foreshadowing to transform this crime into an entrapping work of art. Capote also weaves in many important issues such as a look into the minds of criminals, the value of the death penalty, and a commentary on social divisions, which he uses the literary techniques to bring our attention and examine.

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

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,

He establishes his credibility early in the text through his comprehensive understanding of the Clutter case, as well as his in depth interviews with the friends and families of the Kansan family, easily earning the trust of his readers. Capote describes the lives of the Clutter and the murders in great, utmost detail; thus, creating an artificial connection between the characters and readers. In every act, Capote never fails to illustrate a scene at length. Rather than focusing on just the perspective of the Clutters, Capote goes the extra mile and implements several stances, including the murders and the people of Holcomb. Capote clearly spent years of research and observation on the case, leading people to acknowledge his expertise on the

Rural Kansas was a peaceful, welcoming community. The farmers and townspeople were very close and friendly with one another. Nothing bad ever happened in these farming areas because the people were nice and friendly. Until one frightful night, everything changed. Back in 1959, the town of Holcomb, Kansas was absolutely shocked and taken aback by the news of killings that occurred in their small town. The victims were a well-known and loved family from the community. They were brutally murdered in their rural farmhouse. Truman Capote unravels the secrets, rumors, suspicions, and truth about the crime of the small town murder of the Clutter family in his non-fiction book, In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences.

After describing the village of Holcomb, Capote moves on to characterization. He first describes Herbert William Clutter, the master of River Valley Farm. He goes into great detail about his physical features then moves on to tell about his personality and the way citizens of Holcomb see him. Capote states, "... And his name was

Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood tells readers about the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, the lives of the perpetrators, and how it affected everyone in the town. By narrating throughout the book, foreshadowing and including imagery, Capote allows his audience to see every aspect of the Clutter family murder case.

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.

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