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How Does Truman Capote Dehumanize The Clutter Murders

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Felicity Miller Mrs. Terpstra College English-1st Hour 1 May, 2023 Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood: Unveiling the Murderers A single bloody footprint tracks its way through the Clutters’ home, corpses tied up, silenced until their last breaths. In Holcomb, Kansas, two murderers killed four people without warning, under the guise of thievery, but hardly any money was stolen. An author, Truman Capote, was inspired after engrossing himself in the peculiar violence, and the event resulted in the creation of a well-known piece of literature that was published in 1965: In Cold Blood. The novel sets itself apart in that it explores not only the murder and the clues itself, but twists true crime so that the reader will sympathize with the murderers, …show more content…

An overarching theme of Capote’s In Cold Blood is that everyone contains complexities without being fully right or wrong, which is unveiled through the descriptions of the murderers Perry and Dick and their transitioning psychological states as they carry out the crime. In his descriptions, Capote humanizes the murderers. Furthermore, Capote does not dehumanize Perry and Dick or fully justify the Clutter murders that made the duo killers. He portrays them as struggling, imperfect humans, who have both good and bad sides. For example, both murderers have redeemable qualities, especially in intelligence and learning: “Richard [‘Dick’] Hickock is above average in intelligence, grasps new ideas easily, and has a wide fund of information” (Capote, 294), and Perry “...is oriented, hyperalert to things going on about him, and shows no sign of confusion. He is above average in intelligence, and has a good range of information considering his …show more content…

and Mrs. Clutter, and Nancy and Kenyon Clutter. The psychologist’s analysis of Dick was that he “show[s] signs of emotional abnormality. That he knew what he was doing and still went ahead with it is possibly the most clear-cut demonstration of this fact” (Capote, 294). According to multiple sources, he was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder shortly before his hanging. Mary Anne Gunter’s “A Profile of the Antisocial Personality Disorder” describes Hickock’s criminal

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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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In Cold Blood Essay #2 Although Perry commited a terrible crime, Capote depicts perry as a innocent and push-over person; therefore, true guilt falls upon the manipulator. Capote writes Dick and Perry as two very seperate people that have underlying differences. Perry tells an anecdote about his initial feelings towarrds Dick explaining why he said the things he said, “‘Deep down,” Perry continued, “way, way rock-bottom, I never thought I could do it. A thing like that.”

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Dick Hickock and Perry Smith are the antagonists. Dick is the mastermind behind the crime, he has no compassion or guilt for the crime’s he has committed. His friendship with his so call friend Perry is a lie he was only interested in him because Perry told him that he killed a person once and Dick hope that he could bring forth Perry’s murderous nature for his “score”. He has been married two times and has two children, but he is not a faithful husband or good father. He get's motivated by what he does not have, lust and greed are what he mainly acts on.

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The subject of this work is crime and punishment; more specifically, the murder of the Clutter family. Truman Capote researches and includes every detail possible for his writing. He includes multiple life stories of the characters, the crime itself, the confessions of the murderers, the trial, and the executions in order to make In Cold Blood as credible as possible. He also very subtly expresses his thoughts and opinions on the punishment Perry Smith receives in court, death. Capote’s opinions on this subject throughout the novel gives the reader insight on how Capote truly felt towards the court's decision pertaining to Perry Smith and the crime he committed.

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In Cold Blood is a novel based on true events of a murder written by Truman Capote. Perry Smith and Richard Dick, have committed murders of four family members of the Clutter family. From the beginning, it is obvious that the novel focuses on many characters and one becomes more interested in learning about how their personalities will open out during the novel. Several characters in the novel fit the description of the protagonist, including Perry, Dick and Herb Clutter. Therefore, the most expand the character and the obvious protagonist in the novel is Perry Smith as the narrative revolves so much around him.

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