Truman Capote applies very different forms of rhetoric in In Cold Blood, because of this, the characters and suspects of the Clutter family’s murders are portrayed in different ways. Dick Hickock and Perry Smith are the two main characters of the non-fiction novel. They both commit the crime of murder and travel with each other to various locations to avoid getting caught, along with earning money. Since Dick and Perry partook in the same crime, many people would argue that they both deserve the same punishment. Although, Capote makes people feel differently about these characters. He makes the readers feel as though Perry is not a bad guy, excluding his recent criminal actions and he even creates a feeling of sorrow for Perry. On the other
…show more content…
The reader is told that Dick had a decent childhood. He was a star athlete in basketball, baseball, and football at his school. He had a close relationship with his mother, father, and brother. He was employed at the age of nineteen and he got married to a girl named Carol who he loved at nineteen. He was also very intelligent and had an IQ of 130 which is higher than the average IQ. Capote does tell about how Dick got in a car crash which caused distortion to his face. Capote says, “(it was) an accident that left his long-jawed and narrow face tilted, the left side rather lower than the right, with the results that the lips were slightly aslant, the nose askew, and his eyes not only situated at uneven levels but of uneven size, the left eye being truly serpentine.” Capote description of Dick’s face does make the reader feel a small amount of sympathy for him, but not much because he is not in continuous pain like Perry. Capote also does not establish a perception of Dick’s criminal actions in the novel because Dick’s background described by Capote is a satisfactory life, to say the least. Dick did not experience the same horrors as Perry did, so he is less relatable to the readers than Perry …show more content…
His use of these things also makes the readers have differing opinions about Dick and Perry for the crimes that that did. Perry’s background is outlined a lot which makes the readers feel bad for him. Dick’s background is defined much less than Perry’s which does not allow the readers to interpret why he was a criminal. Besides backgrounds, the two men’s previous crimes and psychological states contrast as well. Perry understands right from wrong and has emotions, whereas Dick does what he wants and he lacks feelings towards his bad actions. The information that Capote gives for both men has some similarities, but it has considerably more differences. Capote illustrates these criminals in two separate ways, persuading the readers to feel more sympathy for Perry than
The reader is told that Dick had a decent childhood. He was a star athlete in basketball, baseball, and football at his school. He had a close relationship with his mother, father, and brother. He was employed at the age of nineteen and he got married to a girl named Carol who he loved at nineteen. He was also very intelligent and had an IQ of 130 which is higher than the average IQ. Capote does tell about how Dick got in a car crash which caused distortion to his face. Capote says, “(it was) an accident that left his long-jawed and narrow face tilted, the left side rather lower than the right, with the results that the lips were slightly aslant, the nose askew, and his eyes not only situated at uneven levels but of uneven size, the left eye being truly serpentine.” Capote description of Dick’s face does make the reader feel a small amount of sympathy for him, but not much because he is not in continuous pain like Perry. Capote also does not establish a perception of Dick’s criminal actions in the novel because Dick’s background described by Capote is a satisfactory life, to say the least. Dick did not experience the same horrors as Perry did, so he is less relatable to the readers than Perry …show more content…
His use of these things also makes the readers have differing opinions about Dick and Perry for the crimes that that did. Perry’s background is outlined a lot which makes the readers feel bad for him. Dick’s background is defined much less than Perry’s which does not allow the readers to interpret why he was a criminal. Besides backgrounds, the two men’s previous crimes and psychological states contrast as well. Perry understands right from wrong and has emotions, whereas Dick does what he wants and he lacks feelings towards his bad actions. The information that Capote gives for both men has some similarities, but it has considerably more differences. Capote illustrates these criminals in two separate ways, persuading the readers to feel more sympathy for Perry than