Structure Is Not A Typical Narrative Structure

In the non-fiction novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, four horrific murders shock the small, innocent town of Holcomb, Kansas, the murders all occur on one night killing an entire family. Before the killings, the town felt like a family. The citizens of Holcomb were seen as good people, innocent and free of worry. However, after the Clutter murders take place, a community that seems so tightly knit quickly dissipates. The murder

The Clutter family is written in a fashion to show they were the normal American family and by fate were entangled with killers (Hollowell 83). Hollowell states, Capote creates a "mythic dimension" through this portrayal (83). The dimension shows the reader how this crime completely disturbs the community of Holcomb and an

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

For centuries, men and women have murdered each other for greed, lust, revenge, etc. However, in 1959, Truman Capote traveled to Holcomb, Kansas to discover the other side of murder. Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood, offers a close examination of the horrid murder of the Clutter family. He explored how two men of different backgrounds, ethnicities, and personalities joined together to kill an innocent family for riches. Capote provides different points of view through each of his character’s eyes for his readers’ better understanding of the murderers. The use of juxtaposition compares and contrasts Dick to Perry, the murders. Capote succeeds with using juxtaposition to reveal the murderer's how he perceived them.

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.

When we hear about a killing on the news, our natural instincts are to immediately antagonize the killers. More likely than not, we hate the killers, and hope they get a vengeful prison sentence. In Truman Capote’s true crime non-fiction book, In Cold Blood, we learn about the murders that took place in Holcomb. The story is about much more than the slaying of a respectful family, its focus is on the killers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. One of Capote’s main purposes in the book is to convey the multiple perspectives of a crime in order for the readers to view the killers as more than just the bad guys, and he achieves his purpose primarily through the use of pathos, anecdotes, and his chosen narrative.

Truman Capote put a lot of thought into this writing and in order to change the way people looked at this almost new type of writing, he decided to demonstrate pathos in order to do this. In the novel when talking about the murders Perry said, “I didn’t want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat.” (204). Right here Capote almost makes you feel bad for Perry and tries to show that Perry really is not an evil person and almost did not want to commit the murders. Now this supports his purpose because nobody tries to make the reader feel bad for the murderers. They are usually viewed as evil, disturbed people yet Perry is almost looked upon as someone who is not evil and almost as just someone who was forced into this. Nobody ever feels bad for a murderer yet in this novel, almost everyone starts to feel bad for them. Which really changes the way people write these types of novels and at the time seemed very unorthodox. Capote also makes people sympathize for the murderer by having Perry talk about his background. Perry says, “‘What she used to do, she’d fill a tub with ice-cold water, put me in it, and hold me under till I was blue. Nearly drowned. But she got found out, the bitch. Because I caught pneumonia. I was so sick that Dad came back. When I got well, he took me away’” (132). Now with almost every murderer they have a very rough upbringing yet people still do not

Truman Capote uses his book In Cold Blood to tell the story of the Clutter murders in the 1960’s, as well as inform the reader about injustices of capital punishment, through various persuasive techniques. Such as using diction to create persuasive imagery and telling the story from the first person perspective of the characters. As well as pointing out the questionable procedures of the court proceedings. All of these used together help Capote build a strong persuasive narrative. First, during the confession of Perry Smith, Capote uses diction to influence the reader.

In Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, the Clutter family’s murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, are exposed like never before. The novel allows the reader to experience an intimate understanding of the murderer’s pasts, thoughts, and feelings. It goes into great detail of Smith and Hickock’s pasts which helps to explain the path of life they were walking leading up to the murder’s, as well as the thought’s that were running through their minds after the killings.

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.

As Truman Capote guides his readers through the thrilling story of the homicide of the Clutters family in his nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood, he gives the them a clear conception of the characters in his story. The characterization of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, the two vicious killers, enhances the richness of the story by adding depth to the characters. Capote manipulates ethos and visual imagery to illustrate Dick’s corrupt nature, while he skillfully exploits assumption and pathos to characterize Perry as a sympathetic character.

We see two heartless, cold blooded killers that slain the innocent family of the Clutters with the intent to leave no witnesses and to rob them of their hard earned money but Capote deceives the reader's emotions throughout the entirety of the book to humanize straight killers and make them likable. We often see a murderer as a psychopath without any emotion but it is hard to label Smith and Hickock one because Capote brings the reader into their lives in a way that we would feel sorry and have pity for them. Capote makes the reader relate to Smith and Hickock by describing their families and showing insight into the killers’ dreams and aspirations so we could perceive them as people and forget that they ended the future of the Clutters. Perry was a lonely child growing up and had a drunkard mother that forced him into foster care where he was abused and bullied

Explicit detail and raw scenes provide accuracy as to how the annihilation of the Clutter timeline took place. To allow readers to relate to the murders and to place themselves in the minds of the murderers, Capote utilizes pathos and point of view. “ I knelt down beside Mr. Clutter, and the pain of kneeling–I thought of that goddamn dollar. Silver dollar. The shame. Disgust” (Pg. 244) The “Shame” and “disgust” that Perry refers to is that of his childhood, which is mentioned explicitly and implicitly throughout the book. The “pain” that

Although Dick and Perry are both responsible for the murder of the Clutter family, Capote’s true intent is to portray the innocence and naivety of Perry, therefore, he alludes that morality can still be found despite horrendous actions. To explain Perry’s innocent role he undertakes in this crime, Capote indicates through juxtaposition the toll the crime as taken on Perry. Following the atrocity, Capote describes a scene between the two men, “One-had polished off several chicken-salad sandwiches and was now eyeing his companion’s meal: an untouched hamburger and a glass of root beer in which three aspirin were dissolving” (Capote 89). The one eyeing his companion’s meal being Dick and the untouched meal belonging to Perry. The sharp contrast

While Capote was writing the book, he befriended the murderers, although favoring Perry over Dick (Plimpton). Because of this, Perry and Dick are depicted as humans even after committing the gruesome murders of the Clutter family. Giving murderers humanistic qualities is not done often. This is exposed almost immediately when Capote asserts, “...four shotgun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives” (5). When describing how many victims there are in a tragic event, the murderers are usually left out of the death count.