ipl-logo

Truman Capote Ethical Dilemma Essay

1420 Words6 Pages

1 8
Capote: Was an Ethical Dilemma Present?

Amanda Brown
University of Mary
NUR 551: Critique and Design of Nursing Research
Professor Janet M Lakomy, PhD, RN
March 25, 2023

Capote: Was an Ethical Dilemma Present?

Truman Capote was a United States novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. He is well-known for his work on In Cold Blood. In Cold Blood is a chilling account of the murders of four members of the Clutter family, committed in Kansas in 1959. Capote began researching the murders soon after they happened, and he spent six years interviewing the two men who were eventually executed for the crime (Kuiper, K, 2023). This research was initially a four-part series in The New Yorker. The movie Capote (2005) is a biography of …show more content…

During any kind of research, the researcher needs to follow ethics. The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research adopted a code of ethics in 1978. The commission issued the Belmont Report, which provided a model for many disciplinary guidelines (Polit, Beck, 2021 p. 132). Ethical guidelines were introduced after the time that Truman Capote did his research, so there were no guidelines to follow when conducting research. However, throughout this film, there are some noticeable questions that are related to how the research was conducted by Truman Capote that go against ethical standards. Ethics has always been important when conducting research. Research ethics govern the standards of conduct for scientific researchers. In conclusion, Institutional Review Boards were established as part of federal …show more content…

Capote?s research for his book clearly went against the Code of Ethics that is now in place for researchers. Many of the things that were done by Capote would not be allowed if brought to an ethics committee for review. He saw a story in the newspaper and ?ran with it? because he decided that he wanted to write a book. He was not honest with the individuals that he spoke to daily during his interviews for his reasons why he was there. He also was disrespectful when he went to the funeral home and opened each casket of the family members who were murdered.
Capote went on to write his book. It took him over four years to complete the entire thing. Its critical and popular success pushed Capote to the forefront of the emerging New Journalism, and it proved to be the high point of his dual careers as a writer and a celebrity socialite (Tandon, Bauer, 2022, September 23).?In closing of the movie, this was noted to be the last book that Capote wrote.
References
RIce, T. W., & Bernard, G. R. (1998-2023). Institutional Review Board. American Thoracic Society.

Show More
Related

Rhetorical Devices In Cold Blood

1136 Words | 5 Pages

Pierre Deacon Professor Erin Flaherty AP Language 12 January 2023 In Cold Blood Rhetorical Analysis Truman Capote, the infamous author of “In Cold Blood,” makes use of various rhetorical devices throughout his nonfictional works in an effort to effectively influence the audiences’ perception and comprehension of an underlying central message. Within the brief excerpt, Capote’s meticulous adoption of rhetoric is an attempt to embark readers on an elaborate literary journey until they thoroughly understand the complexities of the Clutter family homicide. He employs tone, symbolism, and imagery in order to persuasively enable the audience to question the morality of the death penalty considering the extensive heartfelt trauma recently brought

Read More

Word Choice In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

1006 Words | 5 Pages

In Cold Blood, written by Truman Capote in 1966 tells the story of the murder of a prominent family in 60’s Kansas. Capote traveled to the small town of Holcomb, and befriended many of the townsfolk and the detectives involved in the trial to tell the story of a violent event that shaped this community for the decade until the eventual conviction and execution of the killers. Because of information being told, Capote makes the choice of writing his novel as if it were a news report. This journalistic structure and word choice helps to establish the serious and dark tone of the novel.

Read More

How Does The Direct Characterization Of Perry Capote

832 Words | 4 Pages

When Bobby Rupp, Nancy Clutter’s boyfriend, describes her as “[making] everybody feel good,” during his testimony, it adds to her character, which makes the reader feel all the more saddened. In reading from different perspectives, such as Bobby’s, it is the goal for the reader to feel like they know the Clutters. This strategy helps Capote personalize his characters in a way that creates fictional elements to draw readers into a nonfiction

Read More

In Cold Blood Sparknotes

989 Words | 4 Pages

In Cold Blood is a nonfiction novel based on a tragic murder case of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. In Cold Blood is originally published in The New Yorker magazine as a four-part series in 1965, then in book form in 1966. It is a story of the Clutter’s murder. Truman Capote turns this real crime case into an artistic literary work while remaining factual and objective. The murderers’ personalities, the story about the family members of Clutter, the interactions between the townspeople, and the history of the two murderers help the readers to unfold the truth behind this horrific case.

Read More

Free Will In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

1059 Words | 5 Pages

No matter how we try to change our situation or better ourselves in society, variables will obstruct the path we choose. One cannot take control of everything that surrounds us as fate decides what happens to us. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote explains the murder of the Clutter family in the quiet town of Holcomb, Kansas. The murderers, Richard (Dick) Hickock and Perry Smith, try to escape the consequences of their actions, believing that they can get away with what they did. The story tells what the murderers were thinking after and before they committed the crime and their various interactions.

Read More

Ethical Issues In The Movie Capote

1035 Words | 5 Pages

The movie Capote (2005) posed many ethical issues in relation to the way qualitative information was conducted. The first of which being the study, or research design, was not approved or monitored by a review board, ethics board or review committees. Capote read about a murder that had occurred in a small town in Kansas and came up with the idea to write about it. There was no informed consent shared with members of the community that he and Harper Lee spoke with regarding the murders. I do not believe that many members of the community were even aware that he was working on a writing, and felt he was just a concerned citizen.

Read More

Truman Capote's Research

779 Words | 4 Pages

Disturbing, horrendous, and gut-wrenching could be words used to describe the complex and twisted movie, Capote (Baron, Vince, & Ohoven, 2005). Based upon the murder of the Clutter family in 1959, Truman Capote traveled to Kansas to cover the story for The New Yorker (Baron, Vince, & Ohoven, 2005). However, during his own personal investigation he realizes that the story is too extensive for a magazine article, so he decides to write a book (Baron, Vince, & Ohoven, 2005). Finally, this is where Capote’s story of troubling, and unprofessional research commences (Baron, Vince, & Ohoven, 2005). First, at the start of his research collection Capote did not seek approval from any review board or ethics board (Baron, Vince, & Ohoven, 2005).

Read More

Sympathy For Characters In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

573 Words | 3 Pages

Capotes creates sympathy for Detective Dewey by allowing the reader to think about what it would be like to have family member who is extremely involved in work about the

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

539 Words | 3 Pages

Additionally, Capote expressed the idea of there being two sides to every story for both the protagonist and antagonist. By doing so, he used a unique writing style to help develop the story. In Cold

Read More

Bias In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

470 Words | 2 Pages

Option Three: Bias Truman Capote’s final book In Cold Blood, was an instant hit with readers when it came out in 1966. Capote himself hailed it as a new genre of literature, a nonfiction true crime thriller. However, upon reading the book, it seems as though Capote shifted the truth to make it fit his own personal narrative, and put in his own personal bias toward the criminals, and seeks to have the reader sympathize with the criminals and seeks to challenge their attitudes towards the criminals.

Read More

Ethical Standards In Sociological Studies

620 Words | 3 Pages

There are various ethical standards one must follow when they are doing a sociological study. The American Sociological Association has a set of guidelines that sociologists or students must follow when doing a study. They are known as the code of ethics. When a sociologist decides to begin a study, he or she must get the participant’s consent and they must be informed of the risks the research can bring. After that, the researcher has to make the safety of the participants a priority.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Organ Transplantation

717 Words | 3 Pages

Research Ethics generally defines the way the researcher’s need to work and what guidelines they must follow to produce a great outcome

Read More

The Controversy Over The Code Of Ethics In Psychology

157 Words | 1 Pages

There are many controversies over the ethics in psychological research, most people believe that psychologist have a duty to respect the rights and dignity of participants but on the other hand more dangerous or uncomfortable tests can lead to new discoveries. There are many gray areas in the morality of research and several judgment calls have to be made. The American and British Psychology Association help make the judgment calls a little easier with the code of ethics in psychology. These codes provide guidelines for research, some of the important topics they cover are: informed consent, debrief, protection of participants, deception, confidentiality, and withdraw from an investigation. Another important idea psychologist look to when facing

Read More

Anthropological Research And Practice By Whiteford And Trotter

584 Words | 3 Pages

Chapter one of the book Ethics for anthropological research and practice by Whiteford and Trotter focused on use of ethics by anthropologist. The first code of ethics was published in 1949 by the Society of Applied Anthropology (Whiteford & Trotter 2008). Anthropologist should behave in an ethical manner with every person they work with and certainly not coerce people in participating in research. The second chapter followed talked on how U.S government created national standards for research ethics after the Tuskegee experiment which was the

Read More

The Importance Of Research In Counseling

785 Words | 4 Pages

For that reason, the counselor should refer to the code of ethics for additional support. The counselor should have ethical and legal considerations when using research in counseling it is for the protection of the client. It is important to know what the population the counselor will be working to see if the research will be effective if there will be any barriers for the client. The responsibility of the counselor is to collect the proper pre and post-test of the client to show a difference when they first started therapy when they finished. It is also important to

Read More

More about Truman Capote Ethical Dilemma Essay

Related Topics

Open Document