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In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

            In Truman Capote's novel In Cold Blood, he recounts the gruesome murder of a well respected Kansas family. The Clutter's lived in the small town of Holcomb where Herbert W. Clutter was a successful farmer. He was known for being an honest and fair man with no enemies. The murders shocked the town and created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty because no one had any clue who would be able to commit such a heinous crime. The men responsible were Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Both men had long criminal histories and an inclination for violence. In the novel, Capote gives insight into the background of the killers which allows the reader to understand how they evolved into murderers. Richard Hickock and Perry Smith both suffered from mental illness caused by their pasts; although they were guilty of the crime, putting them to death was unjust because of their mental health and because they were deprived of the right to live.
             Perry had a difficult childhood to say the least. He lived in a household where his parents were constantly fighting and that took a toll on him. Soon his alcoholic mother ran off with his three other siblings and left him with his father. His father didn't have the money to support a child so Perry floated from child homes for most of his early life. Here he started to receive physical and mental abuse from the nuns and other boys. He was continuously bullied because he was half Native American and because he was smaller than most of the boys. He recalls a memory of a shelter where "[t]hey hated me, too. For wetting the bed. And being half-Indian. There was this one nurse she used to call me 'nigger' and say there wasn't any difference between niggers and Indians" (132). These are harsh words for anyone to hear let alone a boy who wasn't even ten years old. Later in life Perry developed anger issues that often led him to make poor decisions. It is very possible that the constant abuse he faced as a child were at the root of his anger problems.


Essays Related to In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

1. In Cold Blood - Smith's Redeeming Qualities

The mesmerizing story of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood is a captivating piece written in tale of a family murder. ... That being said, In Cold Blood remained true to its intent. ... Capote's focus of In Cold Blood was not that so much of the victims, the Clutter family, nor did it focus much on the investigative aspect of the story. ... As we continue to read In Cold Blood, we continue to see the unusual attachment between Capote and Perry Smith. ... The quotes in the previous paragraph are direct texts from this novel showing you how brainwashed Capote was with In Cold Blood. ...

  • Word Count: 795
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Truman Capote and Perry Smith

This assessment alone disproves Truman Capote's insinuation that Dick was a heartless, cold-blooded-killer and Perry was a helpless, malleable, but angry little man. ... This assessment alone disproves Truman Capote's insinuation that Dick was a heartless, cold-blooded-killer and Perry was a helpless, malleable, but angry little man. ... This assessment alone disproves Truman Capote's insinuation that Dick was a heartless, cold-blooded-killer and Perry was a helpless, malleable, but angry little man. ... This assessment alone disproves Truman Capote's insinuation that Di...

  • Word Count: 1735
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Why Truman Capote used "Ballad of the Hanged" as an intro

In the book In Cold Blood, Truman Capote used the first four lines of the poem "Ballad of the Hanged Men". ... Truman Capote also does this as a way to set the tone for the rest of the book and it also gives the reader something to think about before and while reading the book. ... The book In Cold Blood is a nonfiction novel about a recreation of a murder. In this book Truman Capote describes how two murderers killed and robbed a family of Kansan farmers. ... That is why Truman Capote used the first four lines of "Ballad of the Hanged Men" as an introduction to In Cold Blood. ...

  • Word Count: 677
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

4. In Cold Blood - Fictional Devices

In Truman Capote's novel, In Cold Blood, he strived to create a non-fiction setting that would leave readers unable to set the book down. ... Those who have read In Cold Blood began to question and challenge Capote's credibility as a writer. ... There are examples of Capote's fictional devices on nearly every page of his novel. ... Although Capote used a number of different writing techniques to compose his novel. In Cold Blood, it should not interfere with his credibility as a writer. ...

  • Word Count: 663
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. In Cold Blood - Law and Morality

Truman Capote investigates the relationship between law and morality in his non-fiction novel In Cold Blood using the death penalty, insanity plea and a reckoning with organised religion. ... Truman Capote explores this idea in his non-fiction book In Cold Blood. ... Perry Smith, though a murderer, becomes a sympathetic character in Part 2 of In Cold Blood. ... Capote thus portrays a damaged person who never had a chance in life. ... In Cold Blood demonstrated the fine line between law and morality by the way of the insanity plea. ...

  • Word Count: 1012
  • Approx Pages: 4

6. Truman Capote

The author we know as Truman Capote, was born Truman Steckfus Persons on November 13, 1924, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was the son of Archie and Lillie May Persons. ... In 1959, Capote wrote the story that would be responsible for his most famous work, In Cold Blood. ... As stated in Discovering Biography, Capote's profound empathy for Perry Smith makes In Cold Blood an authoritative work of art and an inquisitive and admirable attempt to understand the human being. ... In Cold Blood, by imparting its understanding in every quarter, emerges into a larger world where one feels that ...

  • Word Count: 1903
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Book Summary - In Cold Blood

Truman Capote accomplishes organic unity in In Cold Blood by focusing on one central theme throughout the novel: Christian ethics. ... Another example of how Truman Capote makes the reader feel sympathy for Perry and create an image in the reader's mind is the flashback into Perry's past with his father in Alaska. ... In Cold Blood uses imagery, symbols, and characters to drive the theme of Christian ethics throughout the entirety of the novel. Because Truman Capote illustrates a strong central theme of Christian ethics in the entirety of this novel, In Cold Blood has strong organic ...

  • Word Count: 1081
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography

8. The Audacity

"In Cold Blood" was a literary experiment for Truman Capote. ... One must wonder is a book, such as "In Cold Blood," actually a novel, a creative work, or journalism. ... We can pinpoint several artistic aspects of "In Cold Blood." ... When "In Cold Blood" was first published in January 1966, Hickok and Smith had been dead for less than a year. ... I feel that Truman Capote was an ass. ...

  • Word Count: 1218
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Short Capote Analysis

According to Truman Capote in the opening of In Cold Blood, "like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama in the shape of exceptional happenings, had never stopped there." Capote's manipulation of specific word choice and syntax effectively convey the image of a desolate and dirty country town to the reader. ... Capote's syntax also helps to show what type of place Holcomb is. ... Capote's word choice and syntax are effectively mixed to create an imaginary but plausible world in the read...

  • Word Count: 362
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

10. In Cold Blood: The Clutters

Truman Capote's novel In Cold Blood is chilling. ... Based on the fact that Truman Capote chose this case knowing it was real, it is interesting how the Clutters can begin to represent the "All-American family". ... Truman Capote goes far to present them as the perfect family only to destroy the readers' perception and show them that they are not. ... As far as the book has gotten, Capote does a good job in delivering a message ever more terrifying than hidden and not-so-hidden imperfection: murder can happen to anyone. ...

  • Word Count: 615
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

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