Nature Vs. Nurture In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

A debate on whether or not Perry Smith was more controlled by nature and nurture when committing crimes is a hot topic. Most solemnly believe that this is what manipulated the actions that Perry took. According to www.simplypsychology.org, "Nature is what we think of as pre-wiring and is influenced by genetic inheritance and other biological factors. Nurture is generally taken as the influence of external factors after conception e.g. the product of exposure, experience and learning on an individual." Due to Perry Smith's exposure to abuse, the abandonment emotionally and physically from his family, and influential behavior from Dick, it led him to making extreme actions such as committing murder and other crimes.

As a child Perry grew up with a limited education. When he is young and after his parent’s divorce Perry is living with his dad and is going to school. He finishes grade three but after that he never returns. Perry’s father moves from state to state throughout his childhood and prevents Perry from returning to school. Perry’s father wants Perry to stay with him instead of going to school so he can do work and take care of him. As Perry grows older however he understands that his father kept him out of school and Perry becomes extremely angry with him. Smith stated, “That bastard never gave me a chance. He wouldn’t let me go to school…. he didn’t want me to learn anything, only how to tote and carry for him. Dumb. Ignorant. That’s the way he wanted me to be. So that I could never escape him” (Capote 185). However, Perry is an intelligent and talented man with great potential. He has natural music ability, he likes to read and improve his vocabulary, and he also knows how to draw. In spite of this he never received encouragement from his father or anyone else: “Oh, the man I could have been! ... But the time came I begged to go to school. I happen to have a brilliant

Nature or Nurture. Nature may be all of the genes and hereditary factors with which influence them to become who they are such as physical appearances and personality characteristics. Nurturing impacts people’s lives as well as how they are raised and all the environmental factors. In combination, these qualities can be the true identity of oneself. Many people may argue that nurture appears to a play huge factor in the two, but others may think otherwise. Not having both as a characteristic can have a negative effect on a person physically and mentally. The debate of nature versus nurture appears to be the oldest argument known to man, and it still remains to be unanswered. In the old-age argument nature versus nurture, nature may play a huge role in determining a person’s true identity.

Capote uses the flashbacks to venture into the characters’ past, which helps reader to understand better their background and where the characters are coming from. Along with the flashback, Capote also supported them with journal entries and letters of correspondence to help better understand and support the characters with personal facts. One important flashback is one of Capote’s longest chapters involving Perry. The reader learns more about the reasons for Perry becoming the criminal and evokes sympathy for the character. Perry first looks at a letter his father writes that highlights many events in his life. By reading the letter, Perry flashbacks into his past and the reader learns about how abused he was by nuns and that he grew up with an alcoholic mother and an abusive father. Perry has had a very traumatic life and brought up without the love and care he needs. Thus, by including this information, a reader can change their perspective and understand Perry’s criminal behavior stems from simply being a product of his bad environment. He also gets a letter from his only surviving sister as his other two siblings had died from suicide whom he loathes and she as well seems, too. This demonstrates how lonely Perry is even his father abandoned. Perry is a truly tragic character.

In Truman Capote’s famous non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood, there is evidence that supports the injustices of the trial: death penalty. The final outcome of the trail was never to be any different than death. “Of all the people in all the world, the Clutters were the least likely to be murdered” (Capote 85). We know the two men who killed the Clutter family, Perry Smith and Bill Hickock, preplanned the crime with malice and forethought. Although the actions were crul and grusome, does Death Row fit what they did if their pasts, childhood environments and situation, are bad. Capote shows the effect of childhood on the killers and if the death penalty is fair. Capote gives the killers a voice to show their humanity by giving childhood

"Nature or nurture?",A common psychological question about whether a person acts a certain way because of their DNA or their upbringing. Nature is inherited traits of which can 't be controlled such as eye color. Nurture is the upbringing by our parents and family members. In the story In Cold Blood, Truman Capote talks about how Dick Hicock and Perry Smith committed four brutal murders. In this essay, we will go more in depth on how the nature and nurture of Dick made him do what he did.

Richard Mulcaster, a British instructor of English, once wrote, “Nature makes the boy toward, nurture sees him forward.” Mulcaster recognizes that both genetic and environmental factors determine the type of a person one becomes. Truman Capote’s nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood gives the reader an opportunity to see prime examples of how nature and nurture influence one’s character. Capote’s novel, In Cold Blood introduces the reader to two men; Richard Eugene Hickock known as Dick throughout the novel, and Perry Edward Smith whose lives of crime are almost identical; although both Perry and Richard come from very humble backgrounds, their childhood particularly their family life, has very little in common. It is not until later in their

After being unable to live with his family any longer, Perry was taken in by nuns. However, he was not treated much better in the nuns’ cottage; he was often viciously beaten due to the result of some uncontrollable medical conditions (275). The violent reaction of the nuns to something completely out of Perry’s control was incentive for Perry to hate humanity. It was because of the way Perry was treated and his childhood experiences that he inevitably became wicked; he was not born into the world as an evil person.

The day of one’s birth can easily be described as one of the most important and influential days in the life of any human being. Eye color, hair color, weight, skin tone, birthday, and name are all “inherited” at the time of birth. These genetic characteristics are categorized as being the “nature” of a person’s being. As the child grows older, their parents, peers, and family members teach them different aspects of culture and how to act in social situations, among other things. These learned characteristics are described as the “nurture” of a person. While everyone experiences both nature and nurture throughout their lifetime, many argue that one is more influential than the other. The book In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote, depicts the factors

The historical debate regarding nature and nurture has been going on for years and is still unresolved. Many theorists believe what we have inherited and our genes, makes us the way we are and how we develop. Other theorists believe it is the way we are brought up and our experiences, that make us the way we are and how we develop.

There are many psychological arguments for whether it is nature or nurture that controls an individual. If one is controlled by nature it means that the traits with which they inherit and have no control over are the ones controlling them. If one is controlled by nurture it means that the way in which they were brought up has control over them. Perry Smith was the son of a white man and a drunken Cherokee woman, “it was from her that he had inherited his coloring - the iodine skin, the dark, moist eyes, the black hair, which he kept brilliantined and was plentiful enough to provide him with sideburns and a slippery spray of bangs. His mother's donation was apparent; that of his father, a freckled, ginger-haired Irishman, was less so.” (page 9) He was raised in a children’s shelter that was ran by nuns and priests. While Perry was living with his father he wasn’t allowed to go to school. When Perry was a young child his mother took him and his siblings away from their father, and in the next years he was taken away from his father, and his mother became a different person. Perry’s mother had let liquor get the best of her, and she was never again like she was before. Perry Smith’s life is a prime example on how nurture controls more of an individual than nature.

Truman Capote’s acclaimed “non-fiction” novel, In Cold Blood explores the concept as to whether killers are born or made, following the brutal murders of the Clutter family in rural Kansas. Capote develops Perry Smith’s horrid, unfortunate upbringing as a key narrative device which serves to illustrate the effect of childhood experiences on adult behaviour. Capote manipulates the reader’s idea of morality, controversially portraying Perry Smith in a sympathetic fashion despite his crimes, in an attempt to explain, if not justify, his actions. Capote juxtaposes two different perspectives on the crime, emphasising the difference between the victims’ background and that of the

While many believe that we are both nature and nurture, some still takes sides and argue whether we are nature or nurture. The topic nature vs. nurture has always been debated. Nature is our inborn abilities and traits, what we are born with. Nurture take the traits we have and mold them as we mature and learn new things. Scientists argue if who we are is shaped by our genes and/or the environment. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding it focuses on a group of boys stranded on an island and their attempt to govern and take care of themselves. Most of the boys become savages. The nurture theory impacts us everyday in our environment. Everyone cares about what others think of them. One follows the current fashion. They try to be like others and start acting like them.

The nature-nurture debate has been around for decades. It is one of the oldest and most popular topics in the history of psychology asking what makes people who they become and how they behave and develop the way they do. What makes the debate more interesting is that now scientists are asking if personality traits and even sexual orientation can be determined by what is in already there from conception. Bodies are built up of chromosomes which contain genetic information. Many of these are inherited from parents and relatives. The nature side of the debate states the way people are is predominantly from inherited genetics and other biological factors not so much the environmental factors. The genes humans have in their bodies play a huge role to many aspects of who they are and who they become. For example, hair colour, eye colour and height are all predetermined by genes. Unchangeable. This is natures way. The argument stands to decide whether most attributes do stem from nature, genes, or if they can be affected by the environment and the way people are nurtured as they have grown. The nurture side of the argument believes although humans do have the genes and traits with which they are born, most personality traits are being made up of environmental factors. For example, being loved and cared for as children, if parents or carers were positive role models and if those people were taught in ways which provided them with discipline and respect for others. Where nature

Experiences like personal backgrounds and the ways in which a person grows up can affect their personality in the form of nurture. The ways in which a person is raised drastically affect how they will act later on in life. If they were raised in a good environment, then they are more likely to behave in a more productive and civilized manner later on in life. However, if they were raised in a poor environment, then they could lead horrendous lives later on in life. For example, in Truman Capote's novel, In Cold Blood, he states, “I took my boy back to his mother and left the City. Perry later told me, his mother told him to find a new home. While my children were with her they run around as they pleased, I understand Perry got into trouble.” (pg 79) This shows how Perry was a troublemaker and allowed to do as he pleased in his childhood. Perry