(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

            The small town of Holcomb, Kansas never expected the Clutter family to be brutally murdered on the night of November 15, 1959. Truman Capote's, In Cold Blood was the innovation of a new literature style after being credited the first of non-fiction writing. When the novel was first published there was a lot of controversy over the credibility of the writing. This could be predictable in that time because people weren't familiar with non-fiction novels yet, but this is the beauty of non-fiction with its recreation of the truth. The story is based mostly off what the two murders, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith said. Even though Capote bonds with both men and acknowledges Dick's elaborate brain, he still favors and is bias towards Perry to have the readers feel sympathy for Perry.
             Capote's bias towards Perry was for a multiple reasons. One of them was how he uses Perry's mental illness to the get the readers to feel sympathy. Since the book was written off of a lot about what Dick and Perry told him he 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 Mr. Clutter he was under a mental eclipse deep inside schizophrenia darkness." (302.) In the novel he specifically chooses to include this to show Perry wasn't at fault because he had no control over his actions even though he was responsible for killing all four of the Clutters. Opposed to Perry is how Dick is written about who is said to be ready to act and conscious of what he was doing. "He is alert to what is happening around him and he shows no sign of mental confusion or disorientation," (294). Capote doesn't really give Dick much sympathy due to him not have much of a connection with him and he didn't have a mental illness to affect his actions.


Essays Related to In Cold Blood - 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

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question