In Cold Blood: The Head Injury that Eventually Killed Dick Hickock
In 1959, the quaint agricultural town of Holcomb, Kansas was robbed of its innocence by the senseless killing of the prominent Clutter family. The perpetrators, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, were less than extraordinary men; ordinary looking at best, on the outside. However, on the inside, deep within their psyche existed two disturbed men with pasts that culminated in murder. Capote details the life of Perry, creating a round character; in contrast, he provides brief descriptions of Dick while quickly moving on. Research shows that Hickock is medically a more dynamic character than Capote portrays. At the age of nineteen, Dick Hickock suffered head trauma as a result of a car …show more content…
Capote describes the interaction between Harold Nye and Hickock’s father, revealing the behavioral transformation of Dick. Before the accident, Dick was an athlete, excelling in multiple sports. He was not just an athlete but also a scholar, receiving high grades in numerous disciplines. He was a good kid. In any case, Dick’s behavior changed after the accident, potentially as a result of head injuries. Dick began to act out, adopting uncharacteristic activities such as, “gambling and writing bad checks” (Capote 166). Capote quotes Dick’s father, “I never knew him to do those things before” (Capote 166). One of Hickock’s neighbors exclaimed to Harold Nye, “Dick Hickock! Don’t talk to me about Dick Hickock! If ever I met the devil! Steal? Steal the weights off a dead man’s eyes” (Capote 168). The behavioral change is apparent; undoubtedly the injuries are …show more content…
Michael Williams et al., of Wayne State University published an article in Rehabilitation Psychology, analyzing the psychosocial outcomes after a TBI. Williams states that a TBI can create deficiencies relating to thought, motor abilities, behavior, well-being, and depression (298). Kent Kiehl et al. of Yale University published a study in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, which analyzes temporal lobe abnormalities in criminal psychopaths. Kiehl observes that structural deficiencies that cause fundamental behavior changes are a result of damage to the gray matter within the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex. The gray matter of the brain is the area in which an incalculable number of connections occur. Therefore, any damage to the connections can cause the brain to malfunction ( ). To illustrate, Kevin Davis, a journalist for the ABA Journal and the author of The Wrong Man and Defending the Damned, provides an example in which a teenage boy’s behavior drastically changes as a result of head injuries sustained from a car accident. Davis writes, that a boy just received his driver’s license; he was a typical outgoing teenager who participated in soccer and sang in a chorus. He was involved in a car collision that caused life-threatening head injuries. Consequently, the boy was hospitalized for one month; he was in a coma by reason of damage to his frontal
In 1959, the quaint agricultural town of Holcomb, Kansas was robbed of its innocence by the senseless killing of the prominent Clutter family. The perpetrators, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, were less than extraordinary men; ordinary looking at best, on the outside. However, on the inside, deep within their psyche existed two disturbed men with pasts that culminated in murder. Capote details the life of Perry, creating a round character; in contrast, he provides brief descriptions of Dick while quickly moving on. Research shows that Hickock is medically a more dynamic character than Capote portrays. At the age of nineteen, Dick Hickock suffered head trauma as a result of a car …show more content…
Capote describes the interaction between Harold Nye and Hickock’s father, revealing the behavioral transformation of Dick. Before the accident, Dick was an athlete, excelling in multiple sports. He was not just an athlete but also a scholar, receiving high grades in numerous disciplines. He was a good kid. In any case, Dick’s behavior changed after the accident, potentially as a result of head injuries. Dick began to act out, adopting uncharacteristic activities such as, “gambling and writing bad checks” (Capote 166). Capote quotes Dick’s father, “I never knew him to do those things before” (Capote 166). One of Hickock’s neighbors exclaimed to Harold Nye, “Dick Hickock! Don’t talk to me about Dick Hickock! If ever I met the devil! Steal? Steal the weights off a dead man’s eyes” (Capote 168). The behavioral change is apparent; undoubtedly the injuries are …show more content…
Michael Williams et al., of Wayne State University published an article in Rehabilitation Psychology, analyzing the psychosocial outcomes after a TBI. Williams states that a TBI can create deficiencies relating to thought, motor abilities, behavior, well-being, and depression (298). Kent Kiehl et al. of Yale University published a study in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, which analyzes temporal lobe abnormalities in criminal psychopaths. Kiehl observes that structural deficiencies that cause fundamental behavior changes are a result of damage to the gray matter within the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex. The gray matter of the brain is the area in which an incalculable number of connections occur. Therefore, any damage to the connections can cause the brain to malfunction ( ). To illustrate, Kevin Davis, a journalist for the ABA Journal and the author of The Wrong Man and Defending the Damned, provides an example in which a teenage boy’s behavior drastically changes as a result of head injuries sustained from a car accident. Davis writes, that a boy just received his driver’s license; he was a typical outgoing teenager who participated in soccer and sang in a chorus. He was involved in a car collision that caused life-threatening head injuries. Consequently, the boy was hospitalized for one month; he was in a coma by reason of damage to his frontal