Truman Capote Research Paper

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 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.

When telling the reader about the Box Man’s choice to be homeless, Ascher refers to an anecdote where the Box Man encounters the mayor of New York City, “Last winter, Mayor Koch tried, coaxing him with promises and the persuasive tones reserved for rabid dogs. The Box Man backed away, keeping a car and paranoia between them.” When describing this scene, Ascher makes the mayor sound condescending by using words like “coaxing” and comparing the way he speaks to the way one would speak to “rabid dogs”. The way that the mayor treats the Box Man makes the reader feel sympathy for the Box Man and the way homeless people are treated, and the readers feel guilt due to the way they might have treated homeless people like the Box Man. This advances Ascher’s argument and further persuades the reader to reflect on their own actions and thoughts towards the idea of homelessness. Another tool that Ascher uses to help argue that homeless deserve respect is precise diction.

Truman Capote was a literary genius and had quite the way with words. His book In Cold Blood was a true work of literary art that he created with various rhetorical strategies and the truthful stories told by Garden City’s people and the two murderers of The Clutter Family ,Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Capote’s use of imagery, tone, and syntax when describing Perry the murderer of the Clutters is undeniably ingenious and brings out a more fiction feel to the story. In this essay I will provide you with a means to see Perry smith as I do and as I believe Truman Capote did.

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.

Although Capote’s writing may seem as though he is trying to relive the storyline of the murder, he is using language tools in order to build sympathy and humanize the murderers despite their gruesome crime while simultaneously making the reader feel sorrow for the Clutter’s.

PART I: The Last to See Them Alive How does Capote use the resources of language to characterize the Clutters and their farm as well as his view of Holcomb, Kansas? With his skilled use of detail and imagery, Capote describes Holcomb, Kansas, its residents and the Clutters to convey to the reader his perspective and attitude towards the setting of the story. For example, in the first paragraphs of the story, Capote goes out of his way to describe the town and its surrounding in the most boring details. This is believed to portray the town as bland, isolated and utterly dull.

2. What are some details Capote provides to describe the town of Holcomb, Kansas. Pg. 3-5 The author describes Holcomb being on the “high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call ‘out there’”. There’s “not much to see” with it’s prairie lands, and wheat fields. It’s a friendly town, quiet- unless there’s gossip to be heard.

Thanks to his numbered days of research we received a most puzzling yet enticing story. However, what was the point in publishing such a book a year after both Smith’s and Hickock’s death? Capote had a true challenge for he had to show a new perspective, for most readers knew the basic facts of the tragic event. This is where his creative structure not only in part four but throughout the whole book comes into play. With the unique approach he is able to bring new facts and different views to his reader to help them gather a new

Although Truman Capote appears to recount the happenings in Perry’s life after the murders, his true intent is to push his audience to sympathize with Perry, depicting how he always looks to someone else to save him; therefore, asserting an individual’s attitude is greatly influenced by their past experiences.

In Kansas of the year 1959, there happened to be murders of a pretty popular family in a small town called Holcomb. These murders led to an extremely intense investigation. Truman wrote a nonfiction book about this whole situation, his story follows the lives of the murderers before, during and after murders took place. It also shows the panic and anxiety of the citizens who also lived in Holcomb, and finally the consequences the murderers received. The famous author Truman Capote used rhetorical devices such as foreshadowing, symbolism and imagery to set an intended tone and enhance his writing style.

Commended author Truman Capote was born Truman Streckfus Persons on September 30, 1924 in New Orleans, Louisiana to parents Lillie Mae and Archulus. (Bio.) Some of Capote’s childhood was spent in Monroeville, Alabama where he befriended To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee. (Bio.) He ended up dedicating one of his most famous works, In Cold Blood to her and she sculpted Dill Harris’ character around him. (Bio.) He attended private schools and eventually went to live with his mother and stepfather in Millbrook, Connecticut, where he attended Greenwich High School. (Encyclopedia Britannica) An average student, Capote did well in the courses that struck his interst and paid little attention in those that did not. He had a gift for telling stories and entertaining people. (Bio.) Capote had begun secretly to write at an early age, and rather than attend college after completing high school, he pursued a literary apprenticeship and acquired his first job working as a copyboy for The New Yorker magazine.(Biography in Context)

Helping and Hating the Homeless by Peter Marin argues to readers that homeless people are like the rest of the people, and wants to say clearly why some people entitle homelesses to marginalize people, and she explained how this manner negative effects on the world. The first one is, she mentioned homeless made up of veterans, mentally and chronically ills, runaway children, drug addicts and alcoholic. Also, she notices homeless people were natural and normal before becoming homeless. In addition, Marin describes what is the main role of the society on the lives of homeless people. In the end, she remarks many of supplicant person worked like the rest of us before about ten, twenty, forty years.

In the late 1960s, Capote has risen to stardom as a true-crime novelist. He then started a venture into Journalism. His “gifted” ability to observe people minutely for probing their “soft spots” was one of the major factors which helped him in “getting stories” from even those who were supposedly “press-shy”. The cultural background of late 60sin Kansas,

In Somewhere for Everyone the author John Grisham does not hold back on a very pungent social topic which is that of homelessness. In this story as well as other recent articles about homelessness there are many valid points and concerns for what the future of society may hold if there are no changes in how homelessness is not only viewed but is also looked at to change. In the article published in Newsweek back in February 9, 1998 John Grisham paints a very vivid and thought provoking article about the increasing issue of homelessness in the United States and how action must be taken or this issue will continue to escalate in dramatic fashion. The beginning of the article starts by reliving a time that John Grisham was harassed by a panhandler and how this made him feel. The article then discusses how this was somewhat of a chic issue