The Lasting Effects Of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

The Lasting Effects of In Cold Blood Truman Capote’s American novel In Cold Blood is based on the murders of the all- American Clutter family in the remote community of Holcomb, Kansas during the 1960s. With protests about human rights and war circulating America during the 1960s, it is no surprise that the publishing of the book led to a lasting impact on American society. Truman’s book introduced a new writing style for non-fiction stories by capturing the essences of a crime report while making the book read like a novel. Not only did Truman’s book influence the literary community, it is a wakeup call about the fantasy of the “American dream” and importance of the physiology of murderers. In Cold Blood begins with a description of the

The novel “combined the meticulous research and reporting associated with journalism with the literacy techniques and conventional associated with fiction” making it revolutionary (King Chapman 175). This blended style is remarkably appealing to readers because it reports a plethora of facts without making it dull like a crime report. A formal research report fails to captivate the attention of readers since there is a paucity of character development. Thus, the combination of elements allowed Capote to express the character’s unique attributes while staying genuine and sincere to the story. In addition, Newgaard declares that “novel is a form a fiction writing that uses narrative viewpoints and dialogue to tell an extended story” (4). Narrating all of the characters in the novel, Capote was able to create an exposition, a rising action, a climax, a falling action, and a resolution. Because of this distinctive quality of the novel, Capote’s innovative writing style led to the development of New Journalism, a writing style most newspapers and magazines use

Capote takes advantage of this time of change and publishes a revolutionary book called In Cold Blood, to document the murders of the Clutter family. The publishing of the book led to a rise of new journalism as Capote blended characteristics of a non-fiction and fiction story to create a “non-fiction novel”. Capote’s style of writing led to a rise of “New Journalism”, a writing technique most magazines and newspapers use today. Not only did Capote’s novel influence the literary community, it exposed the realities and faults of the American Dream through symbolism of the murder of innocent Clutter family. In addition, In Cold Blood is well known for it’s in depth physiological analysis description of Perry and Dick. As result, it led to a surge of research about the psychology of murders to explain why they commit crimes. Overall, Capote’s book In Cold Blood significantly influenced American Society through the new revolutionary literary style, the realization of the American dream, and the exposure of the effects of a person’s metal