In Cold Blood Perry Smith Character Analysis

In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, there is no hero. The protagonist is not a hero, nor the law enforcement. Heroism becomes irrelevant when searching for justice following a tragedy such as the one seen on November 15th, 1959 in Holcomb, Kansas. Complexity, next to justice, is primary to put into account during the aftershocks . Perry Smith is the protagonist in the novel, not only due to author’s bias but also due to his sheer dynamic, a man disconnected from word to action. The author portrays Perry Smith as the protagonist of the novel stress that there is no defined line of good and bad, rather a percentage in what is heard versus what is acted upon. There are many views of Perry Smith but the first is the one that imprints in the mind of those who hear it. Perry Smith is a murderer. He, though manipulated by his twisted counterpart Dick, single handedly killed Herb, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon Clutter, without any reason or gain. The only gift he received was a rope tied in a bow around his

He spends his life trying to stray away from his vices, trying to take a step towards a stable and happy life but due to his mental instability and impulsive actions, can never stray from that. There is a lack of connection between Perry’s wants and desires and his actions. Perry Smith is a mentally ill man with a sinister disposition, that without a therapist or any form of treatment, is reckless and loose in a world where murder can be as simple as a gentle pull of an index finger. Perry Smith could be a good person but buried in his illness, only glimmers of the kinder parts of his soul shown through periodically. The contradictory nature of Perry Smith and battle between good and bad throughout the novel is what makes him the protagonist. The reader awaits, hoping that the good in him will overcome or that there could be a better ending for him besides a broken neck. Protagonists are not always the hero, and protagonists do not always