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Truman capote cold blood character analysis
Truman capote cold blood character analysis
Truman capote cold blood character analysis
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In 1966, Truman Capote published the novel In Cold Blood that pierced the boundaries of literary genres, as he narrated the events of the 1959 Clutter family massacre in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas and the quest that took place afterwards through the perspectives both the murderers and those looking for them. As Capote bends these genre normalities, he ventures with the killers and the detectives and describes the murderers’ lives in-depth to further characterize Dick Hickock and Perry Smith--their psychological states and the possible contributing factors to their undeniable personality disorders. The two killers are ultimately diagnosed by a mental health professional with mental illnesses rather than chronic personality disorders, …show more content…
Though both of these killers seemingly have a lack of remorse, Smith ultimately apologizes for his actions in his final statements, and shows a pattern of remorse throughout the novel. Smith displays this remorse for the murders, saying that “it would be meaningless to apologize… even inappropriate” but he does. Hickock, however, makes it very definite that he does not regret his actions and even sees himself as innocent. To illustrate his innocence, Hickock comments on capital punishment, claiming he is “not against it” and that “revenge is all it is,” so long that he “is not the one being hanged.” Conveying the differences between the two men, Capote intentionally includes the disturbing final words of both of the murderers. Hickock claims, as he stands inches away from the rope that would hang him in minutes, that he does not “have any hard feelings…” and that the hangers are “sending [him] to a better place.” Despite this being the true final statement, Capote alters the words a bit, alleging that Hickock said the hangers are “sending him to a better place than this ever was,” and concluding his words with “nice to see you,” with “you” referring to the people who had condemned him to death in the first place. Capote has purposefully altered this …show more content…
Tying in with the lack of guilt, sociopaths and psychopaths alike feel no shame or remorse for manipulating people to get what they want, whether that be entertainment, admiration, material items, or whatever else they may please. Hickock undoubtedly gets quite the kick out of lying; he has no moral reluctance or hesitation to spout out untruths and illusions for his own personal gain or manipulation. But Smith’s deceitful tendencies are on the contrary. He rarely lies for his own personal benefit and instead tells tales of his “experiences” to gain approval from others he desperately craves. On their journey across the country after the murders, Smith confessed to Hickock, claiming he had killed a black man in Las Vegas with a bicycle chain, in order to impress Hickock. But this backfires, as later in the book, Hickock tells the detectives about the incident, to which Smith responds, “[he] never killed any [black man].” Capote specifically includes this quote immediately before the confessions to downplay the fact that Smith had, in fact, murdered four innocent people, but because he had not killed anyone previously, he is not as barbaric as a psychopath. The contrasts in the types and reasons for lying between the two could possibly be explained by the differences in their ego
In the novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, the author skillfully orders information and articulates his word choice in order to successfully tell the story. Capote chooses to include certain events before others to show the reader the development of the case caused a change in the overall feelings of characters such as Alvin Dewey. Alvin, the detective who desperately searched for the Clutter killers reads, “on the first page of the Kansas City Star, a headline he had long awaited: Die On Rope For Bloody Crime,” which portrays to the reader that he was relieved after months to know that they were sentenced to death. (337) By including the word choice “he had long awaited” the reader may assume that he is pleased by this outcome. (337) However,
shocked by the randomness and brutality of the act, in much the same way it was
In Cold Blood is the true story of a multiple murder that rocked the small town of Holcomb, Kansas and neighboring communities in 1959. It begins by introducing the reader to an ideal, all-American family, the Clutters; Herb (the father), Bonnie (the mother), Nancy (the teenage daughter), and Kenyon (the teenage son). The Clutters were prominent members of their community who gained admiration and respect for their neighborly demeanors.
Hickock is ultimately the one character that is displayed to have the more evil nature, though. For example, Smith and Hickock both have thoughts of committing additional murders after the initial murder of the Clutters. Nevertheless, Hickock is the only one who actually acts upon these thoughts; while driving, he goes out of his way to hit and kill stray dogs. Moreover, Smith is depicted as a man with mental illness. Capote writes, “His present personality structure is very nearly that of a paranoid schizophrenic reaction.” Though this does not exclude him from punishment for his crimes, it can provide a better understanding of the workings of Smith’s mind. Another time in which Smith is criminalized is when he is shown to have no remorse for killing the Clutters. However, at the end of the book, right before his execution, Smith apologizes for his actions. Of course, his apology does not justify his actions, but it does show that he feels guilt and possibly regret. Though the evil nature of both Smith and Hickock are acknowledged by Capote, he clearly aimed to stress the corruption of Hickock more than that of
Truman Capote showcases his very distinct style of writing in his true crime novel, In Cold Blood. Capote intentionally frames ruthless murderer Perry Smith as a relatable, well-intentioned human throughout the whole novel, and employs various rhetorical devices to show us that Perry is not just a stone cold killer. Specifically, Capote uses diction comprised of complex words, interviews conducted by Capote personally in which he interacted with the suspects and their loved ones, and sentence structure that came off as very to the point, in order to illustrate Perry’s dynamic and unique personality, opposed to the one dimensional heartless murderer many made him out to be.
Madness, madness, madness. It is but a word, yet those who possess it are capable of doing the most amazing or terrible of things. According to the Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, madness is defined as “a state of severe mental illness.” Perry Edward Smith is the best individual that depicts this characteristic. Throughout Truman Capote's novel “In Cold Blood” the main character, Perry Smith, as Dr. Jones says “... shows definite signs of severe mental illness” (Capote 296). There is no coincidence in the definition and Dr. Jones' description because the truth is that Perry is utterly, and unconsciously mad. Perry, in his madness, commits acts so inhumane that chill as well as perplex the reader. However, it is essential to understand what Perry's madness was and how his previous experiences can possibly justify his actions.
Capote's structure in In Cold Blood is a subject that deserves discussion. The book is told from two alternating perspectives, that of the Clutter family who are the victims, and that of the two murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. The different perspectives allow the reader to relive both sides of the story; Capote presents them without bias. Capote masterfully utilizes the third person omniscient point of view to express the two perspectives. The non-chronological sequencing of some events emphasizes key scenes.
Murder is a heinous crime, no doubt, but what makes a person to become so intolerable that he or she resort to extreme lengths of ending one’s life? The human mind has been a mystery when it comes to finding how it works and why it forces us to take one action over another. It does play an immense role when explaining extreme actions taken by a criminal or by a group of fugitives. Debates on why criminals commit violent crimes has been going on for years now, with one side being nature, stating that criminals are born, while others blame in their nurture (uprising) for their crimes. In the novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, these two sides are depicted by two characters: Dick Hickock as a natural-born murder and Perry Smith as a nurtured
Truman Capote finds different ways to humanize the killers throughout his novel In Cold Blood. He begins this novel by explaining the town of Holcomb and the Clutter family. He makes them an honest, loving, wholesome family that play a central role in the town. They play a prominent role in everyone’s lives to create better well-being and opportunity. Capote ends his beginning explanation of the plot by saying, “The suffering. The horror. They were dead. A whole family. Gentle, kindly people, people I knew --- murdered. You had to believe it, because it was really true” (Capote 66). Despite their kindness to the town, someone had the mental drive to murder them. Only a monster could do such a thing --- a mindless beast. However,
...ion...” (“Truman” 84). Capote creates a story that was based on true events while being able to evoke emotions out of the readers. The use of an objective writing style was a fundamental part in adding to the garnering of emotions to the story as well. Through In Cold Blood, Capote alerts the audience to “...Ambiguities of the American legal system and capital punishment” (“Truman” 84), stating that in the court of law in America there are some flaws and laws that are obscure in their purpose that one should be weary about. Capote wrote In Cold Blood in order to convey the idea that whenever a person or a group of people is murdered, vengeance is always sought upon the murderers. In a place where everyone knows everyone, it is hard for the community to adjust to the losses without proper compensation, and sometimes the only way is through punishing those by death.
...as granted as Perry and Dick were hanged for their horrifying actions against the Clutters. Throughout the story, Capote’s use of dashes make the effect that the murders had on Holcomb stand more. In order to do so, he describes the setting, which is implied by the meaning of the dashes. Capote describes the feelings of the villagers and describes how Holcomb changed after the incident. According to Lemony Snicket, “ We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things”.
Richard Mulcaster, a British instructor of English, once wrote, “Nature makes the boy toward, nurture sees him forward.” Mulcaster recognizes that both genetic and environmental factors determine the type of a person one becomes. Truman Capote’s nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood gives the reader an opportunity to see prime examples of how nature and nurture influence one’s character. Capote’s novel, In Cold Blood introduces the reader to two men; Richard Eugene Hickock known as Dick throughout the novel, and Perry Edward Smith whose lives of crime are almost identical; although both Perry and Richard come from very humble backgrounds, their childhood particularly their family life, has very little in common. It is not until later in their lives that we begin to see similarities between the two men. Despite their differences, Perry’s upbringing and Dick’s genetic disposition allow both men to share a disregard for life, which becomes apparent on the night they gruesomely burglarized and murdered four innocent members of the Clutter family.
By the time Smith and Hickock are hanged, Smith is portrayed in the role of misunderstood good guy in the good-guy/bad-guy literary device. Capote was not apposed to the death penalty, he used the double handing as the dramatic ending to In Cold Blood. Thought out the third section of In Cold Blood. Whenever Hickock is contemplating or gagging in a sexual act, Smith reacts in an angry or jealous way. Capote repeatedly interprets Smith’s actions towards Hickock as showing his morality, where Hickock is voiced as having none.
In Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, the Clutter family’s murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, are exposed like never before. The novel allows the reader to experience an intimate understanding of the murderer’s pasts, thoughts, and feelings. It goes into great detail of Smith and Hickock’s pasts which helps to explain the path of life they were walking leading up to the murder’s, as well as the thought’s that were running through their minds after the killings.
In the nonfiction novel, “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote, the author tells a story of the murderers and victims of a slaughter case in Holcomb, Kansas. Instead of writing a book on the murder case as a crime report, the author decides to write about the people. The people we learn about are the killers, Dick and Perry, and the murdered family, the Clutters. The author describes how each family was and makes the portrayals of Dick and Perry’s family different from the Clutters.The portrayal of the Clutters and of Dick and Perry’s families, was used to describe what the American Dream was for each character. In the beginning we learn about what type of family the Clutters were and how they represented the American Dream for the people of Holcomb.