Perry Smith dreamed of seeing his stage-name “Perry O’Parons” on newspaper headlines, wishing to attain fame and fortune through his great musicianship. It is the year 1960, and Perry’s name is found on newspapers all across America, but he is not written of as the musical prodigy he wishes to be. Instead, he is being criticized for committing a crime that is leaving the nation in shock. On November 15th, 1959, Perry Smith and his partner-in-crime Dick Hickock murdered an innocent mother, father, and their two adored children. One the surface, these two characters are cold-blooded killers. In reality, Perry was a true artist and romantic idealist corrupted by the world. In the book In Cold Blood, the author Truman Capote provides insight into
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The first most important dependency that Perry develops is an attachment to Willie-Jay. Perry grew fond of Willie-Jay because of Willie-Jay’s fondness, where he describes Perry as “a man of extreme passion, a hungry man not quite sure where his appetite lies, a deeply frustrated man striving to project his individuality against a backdrop of rigid conformity”’ (Capote 43). He supported Perry to a fault, where even when he pointed out Perry’s extremes in mood, Perry was too swayed by his affirmations. When Willie-Jay decided to move on from prison life and start anew, Perry was lost; the hole that he tried to fill when he lost his parents was now empty again. In desperation for somebody to care for him, Dick Hickock became Perry’s new interest, where he projected his feelings towards Willie-Jay onto Dick. If Perry wasn’t abused in his childhood, and clinging onto any sort of love that could be discovered, he wouldn’t have developed these unhealthy dependencies on others. It is especially unfortunate that Perry came to Dick, as Dick is the one who developed the plan to kill the
The first most important dependency that Perry develops is an attachment to Willie-Jay. Perry grew fond of Willie-Jay because of Willie-Jay’s fondness, where he describes Perry as “a man of extreme passion, a hungry man not quite sure where his appetite lies, a deeply frustrated man striving to project his individuality against a backdrop of rigid conformity”’ (Capote 43). He supported Perry to a fault, where even when he pointed out Perry’s extremes in mood, Perry was too swayed by his affirmations. When Willie-Jay decided to move on from prison life and start anew, Perry was lost; the hole that he tried to fill when he lost his parents was now empty again. In desperation for somebody to care for him, Dick Hickock became Perry’s new interest, where he projected his feelings towards Willie-Jay onto Dick. If Perry wasn’t abused in his childhood, and clinging onto any sort of love that could be discovered, he wouldn’t have developed these unhealthy dependencies on others. It is especially unfortunate that Perry came to Dick, as Dick is the one who developed the plan to kill the