... ' want?" Choose a character from one of your Summer Reading books and discuss how his/her desires affect his/her choices and actions. Response Dick Hickock is a very interesting man. Dick is a man who throughout the novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, can easily be seen as the epitome of a criminal. A tough, ... emotionless, inconsiderate, dirty, badass human being, everything that makes a criminal a criminal. Dick, a human who actually existed, believed that life could slip away at any moment, so he always thought why not do what you want with it? In his eyes ... is in the first plac...

• Word Count: 760
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... created an extremely close bond with both the men. Capote favored Perry due to similarities in their life and Perry talked to him more willingly than Dick, which made Capote more willing to get sympathy for Perry and have him look innocent due to his mental illness. "When Mr. Smith attacked ... and cut my wrists," (291). He never had enough courage to actually do it he tried, and gave up. Although Perry has tried, Dick never had attempted or thought about it which just shows how stable he is compared to Perry. Through the different comparisons Capote shows the reader his ... illness ma...

• Word Count: 960
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... bad things that had happened to him, which in addition to his sweet and compassionate personality made him a more likable character than his partner Dick. But the protagonist was not born an assassin. There are several factors that molded Perry's personality and led him to become a murderer. One ... was doing was in vain, because there would not be a monetary reward. Perry was in pain, nervous, frustrated and he was angry at Dick, his father, mother, and everyone who had mistreated him. The rivalry between the men exploded and resulted in Perry assassinating the Clutters. Although Perry ....

• Word Count: 984
• Approx Pages: 4

... to create and amplify the central theme of the book while also linking to the idea of organic unity. This is expressed before the murder when Dick and Perry are having a conversation in Las Vegas when Perry is talking about pirates when "the dream of drifting downward through strange waters, ... by showing glimpses of salvation, in addition, characters and their actions help to create and amplify the central theme. Characters like Nancy Clutter and Dick complete actions that help create and amplify the theme of Christian ethics. Nancy is known to "be available when younger girls came to ...

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

... Cold Blood is a captivating piece written in tale of a family murder. The straightforward analytical story told by Truman Capote examines the violent motives of the murderous characters, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. In this writing, Capote intended to both justify and sympathize the event. Although he wanted to show sympathy, Capote tends to show his sympathy to the murderers instead of ... wasn't going to holler or try to run out of the house" (Page, 278). "She didn't trust him (Dick Hickock), but she felt I was a decent young man. I'm sure you are, she says, and made me promise I wou...

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

... evil persons are psychological patients. Just because some person or group of persons commits a barbaric crime does not mean that they were insane and couldn't tell right from wrong. When Dick and Perry were on their way to the Clutters, they most certainly could have stopped their journey and turned around. They knew what they were doing was wrong. Their actions ... indicate this. Perry's depression and constant talk of wanting to kill himself, Dick's compulsive spending of money that he didn't have. They knew that they were going to be caught, they had that gut feeling ... . Dick want...

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

... telling them the secrets to the murder. The poem "Ballad of the Hanged Men" relates to this book because through out the book people are trying to help Perry and Dick by telling them the only hope for them is salvation. Perry's entire life was a horrible story but because church officials severely and repeatedly hurt him he lost any hope of ... show the reader how Perry thinks praying will never help him, but I believe Truman Capote put the poem in the book to show he believed praying for forgiveness to be Dick and Perry's only hope. In conclusion reading the poem at the beginning of th...

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