Truman Capote Helped Shape Journalism by Giving it an Edge

John Hollowell's, critical analysis of Truman Capote's novel In Cold Blood focuses on the way Capote used journalism and fiction to try and create a new form of writing (82-84).

Truman Capote is a reporter on a mission following the murder of the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote was born and raised in Louisiana which holds a very distinct accent, however this piece holds no perceivable accent instead its written in

“The range of his creative activity is, in the first place, limited to the world of his youth” (Cecil 169). This quote explains many people. What has previously happened to a person has a tremendous impact on them. It can affect their decisions, emotions, and life. The life of a person can sometimes be seen quite easily through what they do. Artists often reveal what their life has been like through the works that they create. The same can be said about writers. Events in authors past often show up in his works. The above quote is, in fact, made in regard to Charles Dickens.

Many authors used their childhood as an inspiration for their stories. Among many early American authors were Mark Twain and Sarah Orne Jewett. American authors such as them used regionalism to make the events and themes of a narrative come to life.

Many people say the documentation of the murder of the Clutter family is Truman Capote’s best work. It started out as an article for The New Yorker, and evolved into the non-fiction novel; the first of its kind. Capote traveled to Kansas with friend Harper Lee to research the killings. In the course of six years bringing this narrative together, Capote began taking drugs and drinking heavily due to the dark nature of the book. Truman Capote tells the true story of a family murdered in In Cold Blood, through character analysis and symbolism to prove nature is a stronger force than nature in shaping a person’s character.

By all the accounts, Truman Capote was a mysterious man, being unhappy and self-absorbed even in some parties he over drink himself to death. In his masterpiece writing “In Cold Blood” he invented a new sort of writing, “the non-fiction” novel which was criticized on the basis of his emotional manipulation of a condemned murderer with whom he seems to fall in love. Capote is actually the dramatization of his famous writing “In Cold Blood” which covers the territory that the movie is based on the subject of Truman Capote’s attempt to somehow or other create the genre of non-fictional fiction. Capote illustrates a portrait of the interest of author in the two-cold blooded killers especially in the character of Perry Smith. (Brevet, 2009)

Truman Capote's writing techniques are an essential component to the overall effect that his message gives to the readers. The use of rhetorical as well as literary devices work hand in hand to show the reader just exactly what Capote was trying to convey through his words. At first glance, it may be difficult to decipher the message, however once one digs deeper the message becomes much clearer. Capote wants the audience to understand the importance of living life to the fullest because it can change drastically in the matter of minutes. Although he explains very little that directly relates to his true purpose, his subtle use of stylistic devices work in cohesion to express his ideas, thus the importance of living life to the fullest at all times is greatly emphasized.

He was living in the case so much, readers could say he was a part of the trial. He would often refer to a reporter in the back of a room or talking to one of the murderers, and little did many people know: that was him. He had done everything he could to bring this fascinating story to the attention of the public, while being more in depth than the news. Working closely with the murders, Truman Capote dug up Dick and Perry’s past in order to keep the reader intrigued, as well as to help them understand the motives of the criminals. Periodically throughout the book, he would reference a ‘reporter’ or ‘journalist’ which was inevitably himself. For example, towards the end of the book, Capote writes about what Dick had said about the night of another man's hanging. He wrote “‘That was a cold night,’ Hickock said, talking to a journalist with whom he corresponded and who was periodically allowed to visit him.” (Capote, 331). He was referencing himself, and the visits he had paid Dick and Perry often. All of this is proof behind the idea that Capote’s intentions for his novel began as to be informational. He wanted to uncover all of the truth rather than part of it, and educate his audience. But, that all changed approximately three quarters into the

Capote begins his novel with a conventional narrative structure choice: describing the setting. He spends several pages familiarizing the reader with the town of Holcomb, Kansas. This move is crucial, especially when contrasted with his unconventional choices for the traditional narrative timeline as the book progresses. As Capote introduces the reader to the Clutter family, with a particular focus on Herb, he sets the groundwork for the conflict. With necessary background information in mind, the reader first confronts the conflict with the words, “...he headed for home and the day’s work, unaware that it would be his last” (13). It is this moment, that the reader experiences the first sense of satisfaction. This is the

Truman Capote, one of America’s most famous writers was born in New Orleans in 1924 and died in California in 1984. He wrote both fiction and non- fiction stories. (for example this book, “ In cold blood”) short stories, novels, travel writing, profiles, reportage, memoirs, plays and films.

Truman Capote Truman Capote was an astonishing, well-known writer. He wrote many great novels and short stories in the fifty-nine years of his life. Many of his works were made into movies, with many great actors starring in them. Even though his life was very reckless, he still managed to show how creative he was in his works.

Capote spent the better part of his childhood in a rural setting. In his adult life, he was exposed to cosmopolitan social settings. These two factors complemented each other as qualities of a writer of a non-fiction novel that was majorly based in a rural town of Holcomb in the wheat plains of Western Kansas. The two aspects helped Capote fit in a 1960’s setting of Kansas. Capote’s childhood helped him

Capote was born in New Orleans as the son of a salesman and a 16-year-old beauty queen. His father worked as a clerk for a steamboat company. He never stayed with any job for long, and was always leaving home in search of new opportunities. This put a strain on his parent’s

Through his numerous short stories, fiction novels, and even nonfiction novels, Truman Capote has notably been considered one of America’s most prominent literary writers of the twentieth century. The numerous conflicts in which Capote dealt with in the earlier parts of his life led him to procure solace in writing (McMillan). Emerging as a prolific author who was commonly known for his excellent usage of prose, Capote came to publish the notorious nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood, in 1966. During Capote’s era, Southern Gothicism, a literary genre associated with dark and grotesque themes, increasingly prevailed (Bjerre). Capote’s novel became an atypical work in the genre, though, as he transformed a work of literary nonfiction into what seemed as though a “factional” piece-- a true novel in which incorporated fictional elements of Southern Gothicism (“Slouching Toward Popularity). Within the novel, Capote intricately details the Clutter family murder executed by Richard Hickock and Perry Smith. By doing so, he was able to successfully incorporate elements of Southern gothicism within the novel. Through the analysis of the damaged characters within the novel, the criminality involved in the Clutter murder, and the violence of the murder itself, Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood not only fit the Southern Gothic genre, but ultimately came to revolutionize the nonfiction novel, thus proving its deserved standing in the literary canon.

F. Scott Fitzgerald—“one of the most celebrated writers of all times”. (Mini Bio)Through his novels or short stories, he was able to reveal the secrets of himself that carried out his destiny. The “Roaring Twenties” were surrounded by luxurious lifestyles that a small town boy could only dream of. Fitzgerald recognized this and craved that lifestyle and when he came upon it, he realized it was not all that he had dreamed it would be, for wealth was not the problem solver.