Portrayed as Evil was He

Perry is described as a “...normal sized man, a powerful man, with the shoulders, the arms, the thick, crouching torso of a weight lifter...but sections of him were not in proportion to others... his tiny feet...would have neatly fitted into a delicate lady’s dancing slippers... no taller than a twelve year old child…(15)” Just from the way Perry is described, he’s not seen as the stereotypical villain, but more of a tired and pained man with dreams and aspirations. With Dick as his “partner in crime”, the two contrast--making Perry look more good and innocent in light of Dick. Through Capote, the readers learn of Perry’s past: a father who beat his mother who in return drank until she died, a suicidal brother and sister, another sister who shivered at the very thought of him, life in a trailer, staying in an orphanage, and being denied education from his father. This causes more of a sympathetic approach--letting the readers potentially feel more sorrowful rather than

What the readers know of Dick’s past is very little, as Capote works to characterize him through flashbacks the readers know it was his plan to kill the Clutters and he does have some family “there were those Dick claimed to love: three sons, a mother, a father, a brother—persons he hadn’t dare confide his plan to(Capote 106).” But Capote characterizes Dick more so through descriptions of his habits than through his memories. “Inez was a prostitute…she was eighteen and Dick had promised to marry her. But he had also promised to marry Maria, a women of fifty who was a widow of a very rich banker(Capote 118-119)” Dick is shown throughout the book as someone who uses people to get what he wants, he calls on Perry to help him with his plan, he uses women for sex and money while making promises he never intends to keep. “If he knew Dick, and he did—now he did—would spend the money right away on vodka and women(Capote 119). Capote does not draw any sympathy from the readers, Dick is perceived as an emotionless man who pretends to believe in people and want the same

Perry depicts Dick holding the knife, followed by asking him if he could do the killing himself. Dick agrees, and after the deed is done, Perry explains his actions stating, “I didn’t mean it. I meant to call his bluff, make him argue me out of it, make him admit he was a phony and a coward” (Capote 244). Perry explains his mental state, proving to the reader that his end goal was not to commit the murder himself. Perry’s actions are attributed to a rash moment of challenging Dick, in order to see if he would go through with his promise to “Blast hair all over the walls”(Capote 25).

Perry’s anxiety towards the crime leads him to not eating the “untouchable hamburger and a glass of root beer in which three aspirin were dissolving.” Perry Smith does not doubt that one way or another, the police department will get hold of the two criminals “Perry and Dick.”

Continuing throughout the story, the narrator not only notice the good in Dick 's character, but also became suspicious of other things as well. He senses a presence at times in which he feels is creeping in the dark. Dick continued on

Although Perry is the one who killed the family, Dick plans the crime with ease due to his evil characteristics and guilt free conscious, therefore vulnerability can easily be molded by manipulation.

The last part of the book focuses on the trial. Perry stays in the female cell of the jail where he became very close with Mrs. Meier. Perry refused to sign the statement because he wanted to change two things in it... that Dick had not killed Nancy and her mother. He wanted revenge on Hickok and blamed him for half of the murder which was not true. Dr.Jones is brought into the picture as the phycologist to bring his opinion on the case. The trial was set to start on March 22, 1960, but didn’t start until the Wednesday after. Nancy Ewalt and Susan Kidwell were the first the testify about the murder scene and many followed. Mr.Hickock, Dicks father, didn’t understand why there was a case as they were going to execute them anyways. They bring

Cultural Dictionary defines psychopath as “A mentally unbalanced person who is inclined toward antisocial and criminal behaviors.” Dick’s childhood is normal; his parents love him and provide for him as best they can; despite his parents love, Dick is a psychopath who lives a life of crime simply because it is in his nature. Dick’s psychopathic nature is evident throughout the novel. For example, when he needs money, he resorts to writing fraudulent checks. Dick shows absolutely no remorse after he tricks people into giving him money. Dick simply feels that it is acceptable to scam people in order to get what he wishes. In addition, Dick shows his psychopath tendencies after he and Perry rob and murder the Clutter family, Dick goes on with his life and never feels any remorse about the murders that he committed. Dick obviously doesn’t see anything wrong with murdering innocent people because he is a psychopath. Dick’s lack of consideration for other people’s life clearly shows that he truly only cares about himself. An additional example of Dick’s antisocial tendencies is when he is arrested for the being involved in the deaths of the Clutter family, and he decides that to blame Perry for the deaths of all four members of the Clutter family in order to avoid

Truman Capote forms a close relationship with convicted murderer, Perry Smith, and allows his own personal perception of Perry to influence his story. Capote repeatedly puts emphasis on the fact that Perry comes from a troubled background and

Dick’s physiological problems are affecting Perry, stealing Perry’s true character, his innocence, and one of the last decent things about him. This places Perry in the victim side of the story, lonesomely leaving Dick as the murderer and the main cause of all the arisen

Perry admitted to killing the clutters, so why should anyone question that it wasn't his fault. People heard Perry’s story of his childhood and began to feel bad for him. the didn't think that he was a victim of his circumstances, they just wanted a happy ending to his messed up life. They were blinded by the fact that he brutally murdered a entire family with the help of Dick Hickock. Perry also admitted to thinking about killing Dick also, just because he didn't want any “witnesses”. If Smith was truly a victim of his circumstances, wouldn’t you think that he would want to keep the only person actually helped him do

Although Perry and Dick are equal evildoers in crime, Dick is the one who hoards more sinister desires; therefore, those who commit heinous deeds can not be deemed sane, at least to society’s standards. Dick tells of how he is “normal” to Perry while in reality, he certainly is not normal. On the day of Dick’s execution, we can see hints of his unnatural mentality, creating a paradox, telling, “‘Nice to see you,’ Hickock said with his most charming smile; it was as if he were greeting guest at his own funeral” (Capote 339). Dick’s way of acting toward the one’s who caught him and sent him to jail is what people would call strange. To act normal on a day where you know you are going to die is extremely strange.

Although Capote begins to depict perry as inhuman, he is able to express that Perry's destructive outlets are a cause of his human emotions; therefore, he vindicates that ordinary feelings can turn into unimaginable acts. To display Perry as inhume, Capote has named the main chapters about him ‘Persons Unknown” and to counteract this, Capote utilizes antithesis that bring Perry’s emotions into the light. While Perry is describing a dream to Dick, he states, “...that the parrot appeared, arriving while he slept, a bird ‘taller than Jesus, yellow like a sunflower,’ a warrior-angel who blinded the nuns with its beak, fed upon their eyes, slaughtered them as they ‘pleaded for mercy,’ then so gently lifted him, enfolded him, winged him away to ‘paradise’” (Capote 93). Capote is intentionally using phrases such as “slaughtered” and “fed upon their eyes” to explain Perry’s vulgar tendencies towards one he is angered with.

This scheme benefits Perry by promising him money and happiness. Given that these two concepts are unfamiliar to Perry, he sees the Clutters as everything he lacked as a child. Additionally, the portrayal of unkind cupid with his envenomed arrows alludes to Perry's dangerous potential. All Perry needed to push him over the edge was the influence of Dicks sociopathic desires. He may have agreed to the scheme with intentions of bringing success to him and Dick, but the actions taken only led them to the same fate as the Clutters.

Dick presents himself as arrogant, which makes the reader think he is more cold and detached. It is clear that he is not a complex character, so what you see is what you get. The first passage of this excerpt begins with the point of view of Dick. He seems very annoyed with the thoughts of Perry, which are focused on worrying about the murder. Capote exposes Dick’s frustration with Perry when he writes, “He was annoyed.