Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
Perry and dick in cold blood essay
Perry and dick in cold blood essay
Perry and dick in cold blood essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Perry and dick in cold blood essay
Perry and dick in cold blood essay
Perry and dick in cold blood essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Perry and dick in cold blood essay
Pages 92-93 In Cold Blood describes how both Dick and Perry had symbolic dreams and how these dreams had some sort of meaning into their live hood. Dick has been having a dream about him appearing in a jungle and in front of him there’s a diamond tree, but there’s a snake that protects the tree. “That’s why I’m there- to pick myself a bushel of diamonds, but I know the minute I try to… a snake is going to fall on me…” I believe the imagery in this detail explains how Dick is too scared to try because he believes everything won’t go as he plans and everything will crash down on him. Perry had the most meaningful dream. …”she went on hitting me in the dark, that the parrot appeared… a bird “taller than Jesus, yellow like a sunflower” a warrior-angel
Dick from In Cold Blood maintained that he was less guilty and did not deserve the death penalty. In stating this, Dick was not correct that he was less guilty. There are justifiable proofs that diminish his chances of being less guilty. These proofs are found within the book and can be represented through his demeanors and actions prior to and after the night. Richard Eugene Hickock (Dick) in In Cold Blood is just as guilty as Perry in that he had clearly displayed his intent for killing the Clutter family.
While Perry is mortified that he and Dick could commit such a gruesome crime, Dick couldn’t care less. All Dick is worried about is how odd Perry is. Because of how quick Perry’s mood could change, Dick thought he was “spooky as hell.” Now, Perry wasn’t your average run of the mill man. He still wets the bed, cries in his sleep, and “could slide into a fury ‘quicker than ten drunk Indians’”.
While this novel has kept me interested, even though I am not normally intrigued by factual prose, I was very disappointed to learn the motive behind the Clutter murders. I was hoping for a strange and twisted connection where Herb is not the perfect family man that he seems to be, however, I did not get was I was a hoping for. There is no connection between Dick and Perry and the Clutter family. There is no motive behind killing them, only that Dick wanted to. I am still wondering why Dick became so obsessed with a family that he did not even know.
This Quote represents Insanity (Sociopathy) because it shows both Perry’s killer natural way of thinking and it also shows Dick’s colossal use of them to get what he desires. Dick suffers brain damage he received from a concussion and Perry has paranoid schizophrenia . This could possibly contribute to their questionable mental state of mind. Some symptoms of insanity include : frequent lying, stealing , fighting , no guilt or remorse for anything whatsoever , breaking the law repeatedly , the ability to act charming and witty, disregarding of the safety of others, manipulating other people 's emotions, and inability to tolerate frustration . Both Dick and Perry poses some of these traits / symptoms which may lead us to believe they could
Perry, on the other hand, is portrayed as more sensitive, artistic, and introspective, with a troubled childhood that left him scarred both physically and emotionally. These inherent personality traits play a crucial role in the events that unfold throughout the novel. For example, Dick's lack of empathy and tendency towards violence led him to commit the brutal murders. Perry's introspective nature and sensitivity make him more vulnerable to feelings of guilt and remorse. By examining the defining traits of these characters, we can gain a deeper understanding of the motivations behind their actions and the impact they have on the
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.
Many readers of the novel In Cold Blood tend to believe that Perry’s conflict is with his partner, Dick, because he constantly talks down to and manipulates Perry. These readers however are wrong because Perry’s main conflict stems from the fact that he faced multiple complex traumas as a child which has led him to develop a mental illness. Perry continues to struggle with multiple effects of complex traumas such as dissociation, behavioral responses which are easily triggered, and difficulty or in ability to develop relationships with authority figures. These effects have stunted Perry’s ability to mature as an adult and have caused him to think impulsively and irrational throughout the novel.
Besides the murder, throughout the book Perry is shown as a good person, for example when he didn't want to kill someone else for a car in Mexico. The quote also explores Perry’s moral complexity and negative external influences, mainly Dick, that shape his actions throughout the book. In In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, there are many motifs that appear in the book, the most relevant and important being dreams, in particular Perry Smith’s dreams. Perry’s character in the book emerges as an individual whose moral ideals are influenced by external factors, such as his complicated relationship with Dick. He seems to strive for a better life, and wants to do more than just run away after the murder.
He does not even have the basic respect for human life. Furthermore, he reveals that even his partner, Perry, is just a tool for him to use. Before, Perry told him about a murder that he committed - a false tall tale - but “The anecdote elevated Dick’s opinion of Little Perry... Dic became convinced that Perry was á natural killer’... [and] it was Dick’s theory that such a gift could, under his supervision, be profitably exploited” (Capote, 54-55).
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).
Dick and Perry had different but similar
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
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.
He is portrayed as a mastermind in the cold-blooded killing of the Clutters family, a man with little respect for the lives of others, which can be seen through Dick’s expression before the murder of the Clutters when he converses Perry, “We’re gonna go in there and splatter those walls with hair” (Capote 234). This sudden tone shift enables Capote to depict Dick as a cruel and immoral character. Dick’s lack of empathy and concern for other people beside himself allow him to commit crimes without remorse, which is in contrast to Perry’s moral contemplation after each bad actions they committed. Moreover, Dick is represented as the true criminal with evident motives in murdering the Clutters, while Perry is seen as a vulnerable victim who depends on Dick for validation and acceptance, something in which Dick happily provides in order to manipulate Perry, as Capote writes, “Dick became convinced that Perry was that rarity, ‘a natural born killer,’—absolutely sane but conscienceless, and capable of dealing with or without motive, the coldest-blooded deathblows. It was Dick's theory that such a gift could, under his supervision, be profitably exploited” (Capote 205).