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An Analysis Of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

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"I promise you, honey, we'll blast hair all over them walls." (22). This statement made by Dick Hickock, once the meaning is grasped, makes any reader repulsed and sick to the stomach. Even more repulsive however, is when Dick and his accomplice Perry Smith go to the house of an innocent four-person family, and fulfill Dick's promise. The murderous duo that the novel In Cold Blood is centered around are guilty of horrible thoughts and deeds, and the author Truman Capote establishes early on that the two men are evil. Yet by the end of the novel, these men seem more as complicated human characters then ruthless killers, and readers almost find themselves dreading the killers' inevitable and well-deserved execution. Capote is able to make readers …show more content…

This appeals to the reader's sense of ethos. The more human the killers become, the more we can see ourselves in them. Because of this, we can almost understand how their minds went down the path to the dark place they arrived. On top of this, Capote goes into great depth analyzing the morality of the death sentence that the murderers were charged with. He does this mostly through dialogue and through information given about the law system and the nature of the death sentence. ""...I sure as hell never murdered four people in cold blood." "Yeah and how about hanging the bastard? That's pretty goddam cold-blooded too."" (306). Statements like this, paired with other devices, cause the reader to question how ethical it was for these men to be …show more content…

After all, they did both participate in the murder of an innocent family. If you dig deeper however, you can find many emotional aspects that Capote has tucked into all corners of the novel that sympathise with the murderers. The most effective of these is the description of their pasts. I believe this is the main reason that Perry seems a more likable character than Dick. Though he was responsible for pulling the trigger of the shotgun all four times, the story of his tormented childhood (having his parents split, being beaten by nuns, and having his father take advantage of his ignorance) pull at the heartstrings of the reader, despite the terrible acts he goes on to

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In Cold Blood Rhetorical Analysis Typically upon hearing about a murder, especially a brutal and unwarranted one, we find ourselves feeling a great sense of disgust for the murderer or murderers who committed these crimes; however, in Truman Capote’s novel In Cold Blood, the lives and experiences of the murderers, particularly Perry Smith, are displayed in a way the makes you feel pity for him as well as the victims. When comparing Capote’s Novel to a typical news article on a similar topic it is easy to see the that Capote's style varies from typical journalism. An article written by Frances Robles and Nikita Stewart titled “Dylan Roof’s Past Reveals Trouble at Home and School,” discusses the childhood and background of Dylann Roof, a twenty-one

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In Cold Blood, written by Truman Capote in 1966 tells the story of the murder of a prominent family in 60’s Kansas. Capote traveled to the small town of Holcomb, and befriended many of the townsfolk and the detectives involved in the trial to tell the story of a violent event that shaped this community for the decade until the eventual conviction and execution of the killers. Because of information being told, Capote makes the choice of writing his novel as if it were a news report. This journalistic structure and word choice helps to establish the serious and dark tone of the novel.

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The novel, In Cold Blood, is an anomaly in the literary paradigm. The author, Truman Capote, designed his novel in a way that made it unique when compared to others. His fundamental purpose was to present the problem of American violence and the fragility of the American Dream and how it can be so easily shattered. In order to portray his purpose, he used many rhetorical devices including syntax, diction, tone, ethos, logos and pathos. These devices allowed Capote’s novel to be different from the spectrum of other non-fiction novels and to support his purpose.

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In Truman Capote’s nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood, the infliction of capital punishment is a highly debated topic. With the main characters Perry Smith and Dick Hitchcock committing a vicious murder of an innocent family, the town fears that their lives will never be safe again. Due to this, the state of Kansas puts the murderers on death row to ensure the safety of others. Throughout the novel Truman Capote uses emotional appeal to make readers feel sorrow for the killers, so that the readers too will object to the use of the death penalty, but Catholic Church doctrines provide insight that qualifies the actions of the state of Kansas.

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No matter how we try to change our situation or better ourselves in society, variables will obstruct the path we choose. One cannot take control of everything that surrounds us as fate decides what happens to us. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote explains the murder of the Clutter family in the quiet town of Holcomb, Kansas. The murderers, Richard (Dick) Hickock and Perry Smith, try to escape the consequences of their actions, believing that they can get away with what they did. The story tells what the murderers were thinking after and before they committed the crime and their various interactions.

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Capote portrays only one of these two seemingly distinct characters (Perry) in a way that the reader feels the need to relate to and even sympathize with him. One can be taken aback by such an attachment to a murderer. This is not surprising as the author uses his compassionate diction to manipulate the reader’s emotions with a use of pathos, the appeal to emotions. At one point Capote goes as far as to write that “Smith’s life had been no bed of roses,” (Capote 245) attempting to have the readers relate to Perry. On the other hand, Capote has Dick say this about himself: “Deal me out, baby, I’m a normal” (Capote 116).

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Perry and Dick get picked up by a man named Mr. Bell; who they have the intentions of killing, so they can steal his car. They end up not killing him because the man picks up another hitchhiker. While Capote talked with Perry, he told Capote, he regretted one thing about Mr. Bell: “Perry, as he later recalled, thought, Five kids–well, too bad” (Capote 173). Capote exposes Perry’s ruthlessness of a killer and how he does not care that the man has five children. Perry despises those who have what he has always wanted: family.

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Everybody has desires that constantly weigh over their heads, pushing them to be diligent in all their endeavors, but what would you do if you knew that one day you would no longer have the opportunity to fulfill these desires? Everybody lives their lives so focused on the end goal that they are oblivious to the world around them, and the sad part is that in some cases the end goal is unattainable or never reached because the person dies. In In Cold Blood, Truman Capote utilizes symbolism and descriptive diction to tell his readers Perry’s wants and wishes. Throughout this subchapter the reader is able to learn more about how Perry feels in the moments after the Clutter family murder. The reader learns that Perry wishes he was loved by others

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Insight for In Cold Blood Using journalistic styles, Truman Capote give an autobiographical account of a murder in a small town. Capote uses his style to make things work for him. He has an idea to research the landscape and the real murder.

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Dewey closed his eyes; “ he kept them shut until he heard the thud-snap that announces a rope-broken neck” (McClain). In addition to this, Capote mentions that Dewey could find it “ possible to look at [Perry] beside him without anger,with, rather, a measure of sympathy” (Capote 246). Dewey didn’t feel that way towards Dick even though he didn 't commit the murders. Capote’s bias makes the audience feel more sympathetic towards Perry and more hatred towards Dick, even though Perry is the killer. Another reason why readers believed that Perry shouldn’t have received capital punishment is because he has a mental illness.

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Because of the arguments hinted at by Truman Capote in In Cold Blood, there will always be debate on whether capital punishment should be used for certain crimes. One can never be sure if a punishment, whether as mild as jail time or as severe as the death penalty, is justified for the crime

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How crazy would it be to interview criminals who murdered 4 people in cold blood? Well that’s exactly what Truman Capote did in this chilling book. In the novel In Cold Blood, Truman Capote used different rhetorical strategies to create sympathy and influence the idea that there are always two sides to every story. Some of the mainly used rhetorical strategies throughout the novel were imagery, diction, tone, and pathos. Furthermore, Capote also illustrated sympathetical emotion towards both types of characters, the protagonists and antagonists.

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Option Three: Bias Truman Capote’s final book In Cold Blood, was an instant hit with readers when it came out in 1966. Capote himself hailed it as a new genre of literature, a nonfiction true crime thriller. However, upon reading the book, it seems as though Capote shifted the truth to make it fit his own personal narrative, and put in his own personal bias toward the criminals, and seeks to have the reader sympathize with the criminals and seeks to challenge their attitudes towards the criminals.

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In In Cold Blood, the issue over the death penalty is prominent. Did Perry and Dick deserve to die? Should the severity of one’s crime determine one’s fate? Although Truman Capote writes the novel in a straightforward, “from a distance” way, he conveys, through his characters, theme, and plot development, that the death penalty is an issue that should be looked at from all sides and that the legal system itself is the real issue at hand, and that the death penalty is used as a means to suppress the distress and indignation of the citizens surrounding the case, instead of suppressing the victim himself.

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Facts and Fiction: A Manipulation of Language in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood English is a fascinating and riveting language. Subtle nuances and adjustments can easily change the understanding of a literary work—a technique many authors employ in order to evoke a desired response from their readers. This method is used especially in In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, a literary work which details a true event about the murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small community of Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. Although Capote’s 1966 book was a bestseller nonfiction and had successfully garnered acclaim for its author, there is still a great deal of confusion about the distinction between the factual and fictional aspects in the book.

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