Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

In Truman Capote’s captivating nonfiction, In Cold Blood, Capote ventures through the journey and lives of both the killed and the killers all while analyzing the point in which they crossed paths. From the days before the four Clutters were murdered to the last moments of the two killers’ lives, Capote takes into account each and every aspect that creates the ‘famous’ Clutter Case with an in depth look of just how and why these strange and unforeseeable events occurred. What was originally supposed to only be an article in a newspaper turned into an entire book with Capote analyzing both how and why a murder comes to be through the use of pathos, juxtaposition, and foreshadowing.

In his novel In Cold Blood, Truman Capote uses several literary and rhetorical devices in order to achieve a multitude of goals. He uses them to describe the different characters in the story, but he focuses mainly on developing the character and background behind the killers. He also does this to create an atmosphere of sympathy. Capote’s extensive elaboration of the damaged mental capacities of the killers exemplifies this. He uses literary and rhetorical devices in order to create sympathy for Perry, including metaphorical comparisons and syntax, while developing both Perry and Dick’s characters in order to display the injustices shown towards them by the justice system of Kansas in the 1960’s.

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.

Literature, the dictionary defines it being the art of written works that is simultaneously designed to entertain, educate and instruct its audience; writers, using their skill of telling stories, use literature in an attempt to transfer their ideas from paper to the reader; for some, this task means bringing their story to a different place and time that is entirely separate from what the could be perceive as ordinary, on order to serve the writer’s intent. With this, the impossible, becomes the probable, and the worst fear imagined becomes the breathed reality; with no separation between the truth, and fiction. The word “literature” in itself cannot be accurately defined, and by attempting to do so, it limits the word not only in its

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.

Throughout the passage told from Dick’s point of view, the syntax is surprisingly curt and choppy. As he is expressing his exasperation towards Perry, his sentences break off repeatedly. He states, “He was annoyed. Annoyed as hell”, which not only is comprised of two extremely short sentences, but also emits an aggressive tone (Capote 108). Dick’s attitude towards Perry becomes apparent quickly, as whenever Perry begins to speak Dick is filled with negative thoughts about his half-witted partner. The curtness and negative content of his thoughts show the annoyance and sheer contempt that Dick feels. Also, Capote uses the short and concise sentences when describing Dick to show his clear mindedness and his seemingly rational thought process. The simplicity of Dick’s thoughts make him seem more focused and reliable. He uses this contrast to emphasize the

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.

Aren’t we all a bit crazy at times? In Truman Capote’s rhetorical masterpiece, In Cold Blood, is about a murder that actually occurred in a small town in Kansas. Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, also known as Dick and Perry, are the criminal minds behind the murder. Capote’s work is regarded to as a masterpiece because he uses many rhetorical devices to convey his message. He uses rhetorical devices such as diction, imagery and pathos. Capote’s purpose for writing the book is to show the insights of what goes on in these two’s criminal minds and to humanize Perry.

Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood: a fictitiously unfactual fantasy or an accurately arranged account of a murder? The verdict is unclear; the novel-like manner of the book juxtaposes with the precise details of the plot. Capote’s writing style, unique compared to other works, poses this question with his seamless marriage of novel-like fabrication and stone cold facts. Capote’s use of ornately descript imagery and omniscient characterization intertwines with his intricate expertise and factual evidence, creating an intellectually fascinating portrayal of the Clutter family’s tragic murder.

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

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.

On November 15, 1959, in a small town in the Southwest called Holcomb, a family’s life was abruptly ended. Four innocent people were Savagely murdered, without any clue or motive. After the fact, Truman Capote himself traveled to this town as a journalist, to reconstruct the murder and investigation through his captivating work. A truly influential work, responsible for creating the nonfiction genre. This groundbreaking work, In Cold Blood, serves as a poignant insight into the anatomy of a murder, and the nature of American violence. Through his use of rhetorical strategies, such as foreshadowing and effective use of pathos and imagery, he successfully generated suspense and empathy, reverberating the central theme of the book.

Truman Capote’s recordation of the historic murders of the Clutter family, challenges the boundaries of nonfiction, thus creating a nonfiction novel and being credited with having created the original crime novel. In In Cold Blood Capote uses imagery, and flashbacks to get a look in the mind’s of Richard Hickock and Perry Smith. 107-113 Capote was truly an artist with his words.

Speaker: In Cold Blood is told in first person, through the eyes of an omniscient narrator named Truman Capote. His identity is actually not revealed in the story. The fact that Truman Capote is the narrator is assumed by the reader since this book is based on a true story.

Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood was the first book to make up a genre that combined both fiction and non-fiction. Some people may call his work a “narrative nonfiction” or a “fictional memoir,” but it is much closer to being a “true crime narrative.” One could even say that In Cold Blood was the first of the “nonfiction novel.” Elements from both fiction and non-fiction genres can be seen throughout the novel.