It’s a Hard-Knock Life for Perry Smith Loyola University psychologist James Garbarino once said, “Most of these killers are best understood as untreated, traumatized children who inhabit and control the minds, hearts, and bodies of adult men.” This quote relates to Truman Capote’s most complex character, Perry Smith, in the novel, In Cold Blood, as he did not have a very great childhood. As a child, he has witnessed constant violence and he was neglected multiple times. When Perry was young, he witnessed his father brutally abuse his mother which ultimately led to his parent’s divorce. Also, throughout his childhood, Perry ended up in a series of orphanages and Salvation Army homes because of his mother’s drinking problem. He was only able to pass third grade as a child because he and his father moved around so much, but as an adult he has a lot of interest in education. By this time, the psychological damage has been …show more content…
When he was younger, he and his father moved around a lot. This did not allow him to go to school like others. “I finished the third grade.” Perry recalled, “Which was the finish” (Capote 132). Perry believed that if he was educated, he could have been something big, such as a contender. He really realized the importance of education when a recruiter had to fake his test results to get him in the army. He thought that he had a lot of talent and a brilliant mind, but his father did not want him to be intelligent as shown when he says, “I happen to have a brilliant mind. In case you don't know. A brilliant mind and talent plus. But no education, because he didn't want me to learn anything, only how to tote and carry for him. Dumb. Ignorant. That's the way he wanted me to be” (Capote 185). Perry wished to have the education that Dick took advantage of. Because he was not educated, he was not respected at all. Due to being uneducated, Perry acted differently than educated