Summary Of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood is a nonfiction novel that starts in the town of Holcomb, Kansas. The story begins by introducing the Clutter family and shifts back and forth with the plot of the murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. The Clutter family is described as a kind, hard-working, and responsible family that receives great respect from everyone including those in their neighborhood and church. The family is murdered by Smith and Hickock on a late Saturday night. After murdering the Clutters’, Smith and Hickock travel to Mexico and stay there until they are broke. In the meantime, Alvin Dewey is put in charge of finding out about the Clutter murder. Smith and Hickock eventually return to Kansas where Dick writes several bad checks. Soon enough, the two murders are caught in Las Vegas and found guilty so they receive a death penalty by hanging five years later. Capote effectively uses

To present Hickock’s and Smith’s character, Capote uses several similes to effectively describe them in the novel. For example, when Capote is still introducing the characters, he illustrates, “It was as though his head had been halved like an apple, then put together a fraction off center” (31). It is funny how Hickock’s head is being compared to a halved apple. Hickock’s description creates a feeling of a scary person because the description indicates that Hickock’s face must not look or not be parallel. The scary look describes his personality well because Hickock is a murderer making him someone that one may not be safe to be around. In addition, when Smith asks