Socioeconomic Status In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

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The Role of Socioeconomic Status in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood: The Poor and the Guilty
Ubiquitous throughout history and across cultures is the concept of rich versus poor. Almost all people fall on a spectrum moving from poverty to affluence. A person’s position on this spectrum is labeled by sociologists as their socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic status, often abbreviated as SES, is measured by a person’s income, education, and career. Socioeconomic status is a pinnacle factor in a person’s life, affecting their lifestyle, relationships, and even, as with Dick and Perry, criminal potential. Low socioeconomic status has been shown to correlate with chronic stress, education inequality, and a variety of health problems including hypertension, …show more content…

According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway Website, “Individuals victimized by child abuse and neglect are more likely than people who were not maltreated to engage in juvenile delinquency, adult criminality, and violent behavior.” (Crime) Perry was indeed a juvenile delinquent. “He wasn't her baby any more but a wild thing, a thief, a robber. His first recorded arrest was on October 27, 1936 - his eighth birthday.” (Capote 184) Even at the age of 8, Perry was in trouble with the law. It only went downhill from there, unsurprisingly. Perry is a classic example of a juvenile delinquent’s predisposition to further criminal acts. He started on a criminal path young and never seemed to be able to escape it, as is the case with many juvenile …show more content…

Despite this, they appeal the case. They succeed in postponing the hanging a number of times, but it’s only delaying, not preventing. Eventually, their luck runs out. “Kansas Supreme Court decreed that their lives must end between midnight and 2: 00 a. m., Wednesday, April 14, 1965.” (Capote 337) Perry Smith, born poor as dirt, met the same end as Lowell Lee Andrews, an upper class college graduate.
Perry Smith and Dick Hickock committed a horrific, violent crime, one that their own poverty and destitution paved the way towards. Dick was born to a lower middle class family, and through greed and irresponsibility he dropped into poverty. From there, his avarice landed him in prison. His lack of wealth may have set him up for failure, but his own greed is what killed him in the end. Perry was psychologically unstable due to his terrible childhood. His parental neglect partially stemmed from him being exceedingly poor. But Perry also could have chosen a better path in life. He agreed to go into the Clutter house, even if he lost control of himself inside it. It was their own choice to murder that family, and they had to live with the consequences. Their hanging was unavoidable after they were in police custody, no amount of wealth could help them. Andrews was rich, and yet he hanged. Dick and Perry may have been born poor, but they threw away any potential they

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