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Truman Capote 's ' Cold Blood '

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Mrs. Esparza
AP English lll Period 5
8 January 2017
The Full Picture
Written by Truman Capote, In Cold Blood is a riveting narrative that documents a historical American crime. Written seven years following the murder of the Clutter Family, Capote was able to produce such a unique novel that reflects the countless hours that he had spent obtaining information. The extensive amount of interviews and reports add a great amount of depth to the storytelling. The abundance of vivid perspectives captivates the audience and leads them to delve into the inner workings of the character’s actions and thought processes. Resulting in the unveiling of psychological conflicts that raise the question of morality. Capote believes that it is …show more content…

The brutal diction and sadistic atmosphere that picturize Perry’s childhood leads the audience to revisit their initial impression of him. With a further glimpse into the man’s background, Capote can continue his focus on providing a larger picture. In order to expand on Perry, Capote builds off of his physical trauma and discusses the emotional trauma that he had to face concerning his parents and siblings. His parents were separated and his mom became drunk who did not care for him and eventually he had a falling out with his father and with the multiple deaths of his siblings, Perry Smith revisited these memories many times. His sister, Fern-Joy was a drunk who “fell from the window of a hotel room. Falling she struck a theater marquee, bounced off it, and rolled under the wheels of a taxi” (116), his brother Jimmy “who had one day driven his wife to suicide and killed himself the next” (69), and his mother, “an alcoholic, had strangled to death on her own vomit” (69). According to Capote, such drastic changes had lead Perry to some serious changes in which human life is not something important and is simply expendable. As the writer, he does not believe that Perry’s involvement in the Clutter murder is forgivable but rather, compassion and sympathy should be shown toward him due to his unfortunate circumstances. Additionally, Capote believes that there should be an acknowledgement of

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