Summary Of ' The Town Of Holcomb '

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.

The town of Holcomb, Kansas is very stale and damaged throughout the book Capote characterizes his view of Holcomb by using rhetorical devices such as imagery, diction, repetition, foreshadowing, and selection of detail to give us a glimpse of his perspective of Holcomb from the beginning of the book until the end.

In the beginning of her flashback, the heroine presents herself as a shy and reserved young woman without proper ettiequte but with silent ambition. Mrs. Hopper, her companion, treats our heroine with little respect and frequently patronizes her. Mrs. Hopper appears to be a gossiping social climber who know everyones business.

Herb Clutter is checking on his farm one morning, and on the other side of the city, Dick and Perry are getting ready to make a long drive. After the drive, they get out at the Clutter home with a knife a shotgun in hand. The two criminals tie the family up and murder them. Susan Kidwell calls Nancy to make plans, but she doesn’t answer. Susan gets worried and she and her friend go by the house and discover the bodies. The call the police and the police are shocked by the call. Bobby Rupp, Nancy’s boyfriend, is the first suspect, but he passes the lie detector test and is let go. An investigation is put into action by Alvin Dewey, who thinks the killers must be close to the family to have such a grudge to murder them. While the investigation is taking place, Dick and Perry are in Olathe, Dick’s hometown. Dick writes out “hot checks” and the two flee to Mexico. They run out of money and have to go to Mexico City. While packing his belongings, Perry stumbles across a letter from his mother that sends him to a falling out.

As a setting, Holcomb is the safe and prosperous oasis that the Garden is described as in the Bible. Capote even describes the town as nearly being the holy sanctuary. ''…An inch more of rain and this country would be paradise - Eden on

The way that Capote describes the town of Holcomb is that of an outsider, despite the amount of time he spent there for the purpose of writing the book. The locals of Holcomb might describe it’s charm, but Capote uses words such as “stark”, “dirty”, “dark”. The charm of a small town is unique and usually seen only by the people there. Capote, despite his artistic ability and insight as an author, fails to display this charm and instead describes it with a hint of arrogance.

Each family member isolates from other other members ,they do not have many communication, and Justin and Cydar have secrets. Plum is about to turn fourteen, and is full of doubt about her place in the world. Plum keeps a collection of talismans under her bed . Her most sacred things is that within her catty friends at school. She hopes it will bring her power, hope, and confident. Next-door neighbor, Maureen, always takes care of Plum and protect her. Maureen’s husband always not appear,and Maureen has to take care a four-year-old son, David, whom Plum occasionally babysits. While we know Maureen’s personality are not as unselfishness and greatness as they seem. But Plum doesn’t know and see that by her naivete . As a result of Plum’s miserable fourteenth birthday party. Secrets and lies are exposed that reflect endings and

Insider/Outsider stance of central characters The Clutter family was at the center of social activity in both Holcomb and Garden City. Nancy was both intelligent and pretty and also exceedingly kind and helpful to her neighbors. She was a part of a lot of clubs at school and was extremely popular. Herb Clutter, Nancy’s father, was the equivalent of his daughter among more mature circles. He was wealthy, a family man, and a kind employer. To Dick and Perry, their lives seemed perfect. Dick was a jock who lost it all when he couldn’t afford to go to college. He worked at an auto shop as a mechanic for minimum wage, and constantly wrote bad checks to buy things for him and his wife that he could not really afford. Perry was never able to do the one thing he wanted: get an

Holcomb is a small town in Western Kansas. Herbert Clutter owns a farm in the area, River Valley Farm where he lives with his wife Bonnie Clutter, daughter Nancy Clutter, and son Kenyon Clutter. On November 14, 1959 Mr. Clutter wakes up, eats his breakfast, and begins his work of the day. Nancy Clutter get woken up by a phone call from the mother of a local girl who wants to know if Nancy can teach her daughter how to make cherry pies. Nancy has a full schedule so she rearranges her schedule to make time for little

Mrs. Hadley is a typical mother who strives to make her family happy. But because of the Hadley’s automated household, she pretty much has no use in the house because all her responsibilities are taken care of already. Lydia does not undergo too many changes but her choice and success of going against her husband in turning of the nursery, at the end takes her

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Capote’s opening is an exemplification of narrative journalism and its role in fictional and non-fictional narratives. He describes the serenity of the landscape by saying “ The land is flat, the views are awesomely extensive; horses, herds of cattle, a white cluster of grain elevators rising as gracefully as Greek temples are visible long before a traveler reaches them”(1). He also says that the Holcomb village was on the high wheat plains in the western parts of Kansas. It was a lonesome place, and other residents of Kansas called it ‘out there.’ The book describes a haven for the residents, a place free of the commotion and crowdedness that was characteristic with the rest of Kansas. It is an essential description since it creates a notion of safety and tranquility until the murders. This narrative method is standard in most stories with a picture-perfect beginning until a strong force that is beyond the residents’ control brings chaos and disorder. Capote gives the reader a

As he walked around the small kitchen he found a chef’s knife. He would have to clean it after but it would have to do. At the other end of the kitchen, an arched wall separated him from the dining room. Nancy sat with her back to him. He gripped the knife tighter, tiptoeing forward, and taking quiet, shallow breaths.