Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood (1963), implies that the death penalty should only be used as a last resort.

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.

Truman Capote’s book In Cold Blood, focuses on a small town in eastern Kansas where the slaughter of the Clutter family occurred. He uses many descriptors to give the town a bland look and uses dramatic irony throughout the whole first portion of the book. Through his imagery, diction, and rhetorical devices, he shows his feelings toward the town of Holcomb, Kansas. Although Capote portrays the town with many dull details, the viewpoint he gives the readers is an important part of the story; therefore, his purpose for writing the book wasn’t for the glam details, but to show readers that looking at someone’s life without knowing them can be far different than what you think.

In Cold Blood is a novel written about a real life event that happened in Holcomb, Kansas, 1959. A family of four is murdered in their house in cold blood. While this seems intriguing enough, Truman Capote keeps the entire novel interesting by being descriptive in the way characters are described “Marie examined the front­view and profile of Smith: an arrogant face, tough, yet not entirely, for there was about it a peculiar refinement; the lips and nose seemed nicely made, and she thought the eyes, with their moist, dreamy expression, rather pretty­­rather, in an actorish way, sensitive. Sensitive, and something more: “mean.” Though not as mean, as forbiddenly “criminal,” as the eyes of Hickock, Richard Eugene. Marie, transfixed by Hickock’s eyes, was reminded of a childhood incident—of a bobcat she’d once seen caught in a trap, and of how, though she’d wanted to release it, the cat’s eyes, radiant with pain and hatred, had drained her of pity and filled her with terror. “ (Capote, 164) The novel is challenging and continues on with a large vocabulary to keep readers from becoming bored of continuous phrases, “The sound of

Many murder novels have been written but few give the killers the benefit of the doubt. In Cold Blood author, Truman Capote, shows an unusual amount of empathy for the Clutter Killers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Capote shows compassion towards the two by focusing on their misfortunate upbringings, tragic life experiences and questionable unstable mental health. Both Dick and Perry had their share of misfortune prior to committing the murders. Capote uses subtle attempts to sway his reader’s outlook on the killers by sharing their backstories and exposing their side to the story.

Literature attempts to shape or reflect society, and oftentimes literature reveals truths and provides insight into the condition of that society. The American Dream is a dominant theme in American literature, and in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the idealistic dream is critically evaluated. In this paper, I will explain the context of the work, and then I will compare and contrast Dick any Perry (the murderers) with the Clutter family (the murdered) in relation to the theme of the fragility of the American Dream.

Holcomb, Kansas, appears to display rickety, ramshackled buildings lining a dusty, arid street to consist of the downtown area, according to Truman Capote’s depiction of the town in his novel, In Cold Blood. Nothing stops in Holcomb, with the exception of rare freight trains. Capote, while describing the town as boring, old, and dry, focuses his positive attributes towards the center of education in the town. Holcomb’s school stands out like a needle in a haystack to the rest of Holcomb, with its polished walls and modernized interior. Capote utilizes imagery and diction to accurately illustrate to his readers the layout of Holcomb and the people who reside there.

“It is no shame to have a dirty face - the shame comes when you keep it dirty.” (Capote, 162). On November 15, 1959 Herb, Bonnie, Kenyon, and Nancy Clutter were brutally murdered in their home in Holcomb, Kansas. After hearing about these casualties, Author Truman Capote took a bold step and invested six years, from 1960 to 1966, to research not only the response of the community but the perspective of the killers as well. Once published, Capote’s objective and shocking realism had become a beacon of an entirely new genre. Richard Brooks’ 1967 film adaptation of Capote’s work is an exceptional method of storytelling, but it’s limited duration resulted in many

In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, the town of Holocomb seems as plain as any other small town deep in the middle of America's heartland, but he also manages to give off the subtle impression of a stage, set for human's violent nature. Lending to a Greek tragedy, Capote spends quite a long time, especially in the opening paragraph, describing the vast and unassuming Finney County with its "awesomely extensive views" and "grain elevators rising as gracefully as the Greek temples are visible long before a traveler reaches them" (3). The town is peaceful, quiet, away from everything else. On the other hand, the tragedy and the abstract idea of this basic, small town can be anywhere, and it is simply taking place on the stage of Holocomb, grand,

“In Cold Blood” is a horrifying story of two delusional criminals who murder an innocent family in search of money and in result try to flee from law enforcement. Author, Truman Capote has a difficult time developing a nonfiction novel with a fictional element. Capote achieved his purpose by adding more an of plot towards the story and incorporating emotions of all characters. This formula ties in with the whole of concept of the story which makes the film much more compelling to the audience and reader. The plot, setting, and the emphasis of the antagonist are all reasons why the novel differs from the film in some situations that the author may have had a purpose. Making its debut in theatres in the late 1960’s, society during this time

Truman Capote is recognized by many for being a screenwriter, creating a plethora of short stories, and famously for his notable work-- Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Not only was this novel popular back in the 1950’s, Capote released a later novel that drew in many fans-- In Cold Blood. The very formation of Capote 's novels and short stories seems to be increasingly insufficient to the eccentric dynamics of the time era (nytimes). Agonizing, horrible, surfeited with disasters -- all used to describe the crime novel in which Truman Capote spent more than five years untangling and following the truth behind the killing of Herbert Clutter and his family. Capote has strong arguments in his novel that make him credible; In Cold Blood proves to be a superb book throughout.

Fictional writings and nonfictional writings are two opposing genres. If a story or novel contains false actions or statements, it is considered fictional. If a story or novel contains accurate accounts or statements, it is considered nonfiction. Those are contrasting genres, they contain similar aspects. Literary devices, for instance, are used by writers to interpret and analyze a literary work, and they can easily be used in both genres to make for an excellent and enjoyable read. In Truman Capote’s novel, In Cold Blood, he expresses many literary elements while maintaining a nonfiction story.

In cold blood is a nonfiction investigation of the murder of the Clutter Family written by Truman Capote first published in 1966 by Random House and was copyrighted in 1965. This book is a documentary of the events that occurred before and after November 15, 1959 when the clutter family, which was a farmer his wife and two children were murdered by Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith with a .12-gauge shotgun. Capotes intensive research during the time of the crime gives the reader a complete understanding of what happened during that fateful day.

"The Metaphorical World of Truman Capote." Short Story Criticism, edited by Anja Barnard, vol. 47, Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420038511/LitRC?u=pl3059&sid=LitRC&xid=8fabceb4. Bail, Jane L. “Truman Capote.” Beacham’s Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction, edited by Kirk H. Beetz, vol. 1, Beacham Publishing Group, 1996, pp.

Us Americans are finally drifting away from European cultures and works as we forge new American novels such as “The Sketch Book” where author Washington Irving has a collection of 34 stories all gathered into one big book. The similarity of these books other than “The Sketch Book” is that they were influenced by the Englishman's poets. Overall, they’re an abundance of poems, novels, and books like the poem “Thanatopsis” in 1817, the “The Last of the Mohicans,”, and “The Deerslayer” made by none other than James Fenimore Cooper.