Literary Analysis Of In Cold Blood By Truman Capote

Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" is the story of Perry and Dick and the night of November 15, 1959. This investigative, fast-paced and straightforward documentary provides a commentary on the nature of American 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.

Truman Capote saw Perry as being superior to others in his uniqueness and, since he is “absent” from the novel, expressed this opinion in Willie-Jay’s character accounts of Perry. After asserting Willie-Jay’s legitimacy, Capote presents the farewell letter that Willie-Jay wrote to Perry. In it, Willie-Jay analyzes Perry in a psychologist-like manner; he writes:

In two movies based upon Truman Capote’s life viewers can see the relationship that he formed with Perry Smith. In one of the movies, Capote, Capote goes to visit Perry and Dick for the first time in prison. First he talks to Dick for a moment, then Dick says, “You wanna go see Perry, go ahead” (Capote 46:37). That was the extent of their relationship, it is open and honest, and respectful, but not personal. Dick tells Capote his account of what happened prior to, during, and after the Clutter murders, but not much else. With Perry however it is a different story, the movie shows the author spoon feeding him baby food after he had gone on a hunger strike. After Perry gets better,

Through Perry’s sister, Barbara Johnson’s point of view, Capote recalls the bad luck surrounding the Florence Buckskin and Tex John Smith family: “The eldest, the brother she loved, had shot himself; Fern had fallen out of a window, or jumped; and Perry was committed to violence, a criminal” (Capote 183). Capote follows the excerpt with in-depth explanations of each child’s downfall. By structuring his description of the anomaly surrounding Perry’s family this way, Capote is able to establish that there is, in fact, a perceived curse and that the curse has caused the family member’s inauspicious actions. Moreover, if Perry is one of Fate’s victims, then he is not liable for killing the Clutter family, Fate

Capote's structure in In Cold Blood is a subject that deserves discussion. The book is told from two alternating perspectives, that of the Clutter family who are the victims, and that of the two murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. The different perspectives allow the reader to relive both sides of the story; Capote presents them without bias. Capote masterfully utilizes the third person omniscient point of view to express the two perspectives. The non-chronological sequencing of some events emphasizes key scenes.

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

Set in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, In Cold Blood recounts the real-life murder of the Clutter family, following the last moments of the four victims, investigation, court and trial, and the execution of the two convicted, Perry Edward Smith and Richard Eugene Hickock.

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 Cold Blood by Truman Capote is considered one of the first novels to establish a new genre. Capote combined fictional elements to a real crime story that set the groundwork for future true crime novels. The foundation of the story is the tragic murder of the Clutter family, Herbert, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon, and the effect it had on small town of Holcomb, Kansas. In Cold Blood is a “journalistic novel” that has “the credibility of fact, the immediacy of film, the depth and freedom of prose, and the precision of poetry,". Throughout the novel, Capote switches between the perspective of the killers, the victims, and those who live in the town. This creates a unique and at times truly staggering parallel that ultimately forces the reader

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.

In Truman Capote’s book In Cold Blood, Capote takes readers to the town of Holcomb, Kansas. As someone who has always lived in large cities, such as New Orleans, Louisiana or New York City, Truman Capote was a complete outsider to this town. His interest in traveling to this town came as a surprise to his publishers, it was so tremendously unusually for his character. Capote’s depiction of Holcomb, Kansas from an outsider's point of view, was that of a small country town in the middle of nowhere, which Capote has characterized using rhetorical devices such as imagery, diction, and Syntax.

In Cold Blood is a non-fiction murder-mystery novel written by Truman Capote. It features the Clutter family, who is unexpectedly murdered in their home, and the events transcribing before and after it. Capote also shows the lack of evidence left behind by the murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Initially, they had gotten away with the murders. The killing of the Clutter family sent the small town into a social chaos, leaving once trusting neighbors suspicious of each other and ridden with fear.

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.

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.

The reason that led to the dispute between the two families resulted from the elopement of Sophia Grangerford, Buck Grangerford’s sister and Harney Shepardson. However, the families have always been in a dispute that has lasted for 30 years for reasons that are unsure. The two families after learning of the elopement bring weapons to church. However, both families, using their guns, kill their family members at the growth of the feud. Regardless of the families’ civilized status, hypocrisy is shown where both families kill each other over a meaningless feud.