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In Cold Blood Controversy Essay

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Izzie Cruea Ms. Salley English 3 HN 3 March 2023 In Cold Blood Controversy Learning takes many forms and requires the discussion of uncomfortable topics. Capote's novel In Cold Blood, published in 1966, follows the true story of the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. Through the two main characters, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, Capote highlights the two men conspiring to rob the Clutter family; however, they end up gruesomely murdering them. Dick and Perry come from completely different backgrounds and Capote leaves the reader wondering if their childhood experiences had an effect on their decisions as adults. Dick and Perry had no intentions of killing in the beginning however, they are left running from the police with no plan …show more content…

While most would focus on the victims of the case, Capote focuses on the background of the killers and their reasoning behind committing crimes. Sympathy was demonstrated, specifically for Perry, when arrested. Capote, “found it possible to look at the man beside him without anger - with, rather, a measure of sympathy - for Perry Smith's life had been no bed of roses but pitiful, an ugly and lonely progress toward one mirage and then another'' (Capote 246). While many would feel Dick and Perry deserved to die, Capote has an unpopular perspective by showing sympathy for the killers based on their past. Capote creates a sympathetic tone towards Perry and creates disputable topics about the flawed justice system. There are strong advocates on both sides of the topic. A Santa Clara University study suggests, “Capital punishment is often defended on the grounds that society has a moral obligation to protect the safety and welfare of its citizens”(Andre). Still others argue that the death penalty is a cruel punishment and should be abolished. This topic should be addressed in schools as a way to open up all perspectives of students on capital punishment and encourage healthy …show more content…

While allowing them in schools may come with a compromise, such as depictions of violence, profanity, or controversial topics, they provide a more honest approach to the world. The violence discussed in the book should be used for educating students about the world ahead of them and how they can make a difference. Capital punishment discussions can lead to healthy debates teaching children that it is okay to have different opinions while preparing them for similar experiences they may have in their lives. The profanity used in the book can be used as a positive tool in the classroom by addressing the language and finding alternative words to express feelings. In Cold Blood will not be able to enlighten students on the topics discussed if eradicated from our schools. The violence, profanity, and death penalty references in, In Cold Blood, can be used positively to teach profound

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From the beginning, Dick had a detailed plan of how they would carry out the murders, and he made sure that Perry was on board with his ideas. The scary part of all of this is that Dick considered himself normal, by saying, “I’m a normal” (Capote 108). In the book, it is clear that Dick was the one in control, and Perry is merely following his lead. For example, when they first discussed the robbery, Dick said, "If it's going to be done, it's got to be done right. No slip-ups...

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Everyone is born with the capability to do evil, however, the events and environment in our lives shape our psyche to such an irrefutably extreme extent that they define our character and our conscience, redefining what we see as right and wrong. Perry is very sensitive by nature due to his family’s troubles and his father’s behavior. The pressure that Perry feels to impress Dick, who he makes into a faux father figure, combined with the weight of his past push him to the breaking point which happens to be the Clutter murders. Perry was bound by his experience, he could never fully escape the horrors of his childhood as they were the limits of his apprehension. Regardless of Perry’s traumatic childhood, justice must be equally upheld to everyone, despite the differences in the ways we were raised.

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Being on death row often prolongs the pain for the inmate. They spend their time in prison fearing the inevitable which for them is death. Today, we live in a society that is very divided on this issue. There are many in support of the death penalty, suggesting that it acts as a positive deterrent against future crime. There are also many

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Reaction Paper: In Cold Blood Tina Huang CRJ 252 Professor Schnurbush March 4, 2018 Introduction In 1966, Truman Capote, an American novelist, screenwriter, and playwright published In Cold Blood, a chilling yet fascinating account of murder set in Holcomb, Kansas that retells the death of the Clutter family and the investigation that resulted in the execution of the killers, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock. The novel unravels recurring themes of violence and examines biological, sociological, and psychological factors that led to the motiveless murders of four members of the Clutter family, Herb, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon. The book begins by outlining the multiple murder case in the 1950’s and is not limited to a legal

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Perry is perceived as an instrument in the hands of Dick. Perry is being used by Dick to commit the crime, even though Perry did not have the intention of killing the family; Mr. Capote makes this evident in the fact that each of killers responds to murdering the family in unlike ways. Truman Capote exemplifies the fact that Dick is more guilty than Perry by separating the murderers, and all in all, not all murderers are comparably

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Although he is branded as the murder, Truman Capote sympathetically describes Perry throughout the novel as a pitiable character. Firstly, Capote begins by referring to Perry’s atrocious childhood as a way to emphasize on the trauma he suffered as a young boy. We learn that Smith’s parents were divorced and thus had to live with his mother, whom was a heavy alcoholic. He was ultimately sent to a Catholic orphanage where we learn Perry suffered due to the beatings he would get from the nuns: “always at him. Hitting him” (page one hundred and thirty two).

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Although Capote exhibits Perry’s impulsive and heinous actions are due to his internal struggle, his ultimate goal is to illustrate Perry as a ruthless, manipulative murderer; therefore, he asserts that even the most monstrous of people can captivate compassion from others because of the diverse layers of their personality. To begin, Capote uses a paradox to highlight Perry’s internal struggle that lead him to doing such atrocities. Throughout the novel, Capote reveals to readers that Perry had a hard life growing up and most everyone in his family committed suicide, besides his only surviving sibling, Barbara. While Capote is talking about Perry’s family, he says, “They shared a doom against which virtue was no defense" (Capote 185).

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History teachers far and wide have long said that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat the past. Ironically, censorship has recently given their counterparts in the English department challenges educating on some of humankind's most heinous, but important pieces of history. Censorship of literature in the form of banning historic books is one of the worst phenomena infecting schools nationwide. A prime example is found in the prohibition of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, which despite being a true tale, has been banned numerous times on counts of violence and profanity. However, the murder mystery is an invaluable, albeit gory, teaching tool about the detriments of violence and also provides insight into human nature.

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Dick and Perry, the convicted murderers of the Clutter family, are commonly presented within the novel as being simply one misstep from being successful happy people, and given the chance to do right they would. Although possibly true, it is dangerous to portray such dark events as a simple story of redemption. This is clear when Capote writes, “I did make some advances toward the Clutter girl when I was there. But Perry never gave me a chance” (Capote 278-279). In mentioning Perry’s haltage of Dick raping Nancy, Capote is trying to humanise Perry to the reader.

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Capote goes as far as writing about what their minds were thinking during the murders and exposes the capacity for violence and cruelty within all of us. For instance when Dick and Perry broke into the house Perry said “He says he don’t have any safe. I knew right then it was true” (237). To then moments later shooting Mr. Clutter in the head claiming “I thought of that goddam dollar. Silver dollar.

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Perry’s erratic spontaneous outbursts is what caused him to go through with the murders and slit Mr. Clutter’s throat which put him on the killing frenzy that ended the rest of the Clutters lives. Capote highlights Perry’s sociopathic tendencies by comparing them to that of Dicks Psychopathic tendencies which exemplifies how when put together they are at each others fault for the

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In doing so Capote invents a new genre of literature by telling the story through a new perspective. Capote as a writer chooses to put most of the focus of the book on the criminals, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, particularly Smith. He follows Smith’s life story, and explains that Smith was abused as a child, and the reader is to infer that as a result he seeks approval from others. This approval is what leads him to kill, and invent stories about killing, as he wants Dick to think of him as macho. Capote provides a plethora of evidence to support this reasoning, “He was seven years old, a hated, hating half-breed child living in a California orphanage run by nuns- shrouded disciplinarians who whipped him for wetting his bed,” (93).

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Although Perry is responsible for the murder of four innocent people, Perry’s actions do not reflect on who he is as a person because he is easily influenced, therefore; showing how easily people can be pressured into doing something they would not typically do. Dick, a violent, cold-hearted, manipulator, has molded Perry into the person he is today. As Perry is a follower, Dick has taken advantage of that by turning Perry into the cold-blooded killer he is today. Capote displays Dick’s manipulation of Perry through symbolism to make evident that while Perry did pull the trigger on four innocent people, although the fault does not entirely lay on him, as he was taken advantage of by Dick.

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While Dick’s attempt to profit from Perry originates from a lie that Perry creates in order to gain Dick’s respect, the language that Capote uses to illustrate Dick’s exploitation does not leave room for excuses or sympathy. The tone indicates Dick has malicious intention in befriending Perry, which gives the readers a cynical impression of him. Furthermore, Dick is seen to be disregarding of the gravity of his crimes, especially as he replies to Perry’s comment, “I think there must be something wrong with us" (Capote 114) to commit the murder like they did, in which Dick replies, “Deal me out, baby, I'm a normal,” and continues to entertain the thought, “ But Perry—there

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