In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is a book that details the murder of members of the Clutter family. The book takes place in Holcomb, Kansas, a small and quiet city. Perry Smith and Richard Hickock were the two men convicted of murder. Essentially, Richard was the mastermind behind the murder, he was in charge and created the “blueprint” for the killing in which he used Perry as his puppet. Perry Smith was the man who actually did the killing, in other words he was the one who got his hands dirty. We got a very broad outline of Perry’s sadistic childhood throughout the book. Many people in his life caused him a lot of pain and sorrow. He was a very sensitive person who suffered because of the emotional crisis that came of abandonment issues,
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In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the reader is able to interpret this through the two murderers, Dick and Perry. Perry’s sadistic childhood and its outcome is a perfect example that proves this theory. He was raised in a chaotic household which inevitably led him to make chaotic decisions. On the other hand, Dick was “fed grapes and fanned” and always felt the support from his mother and father. While this may seem like the perfect childhood to many, there is always a line, and that line is extremely fine. Due to Dick’s upbringing he felt that he could get away with whatever he wanted. However, his upbringing did not make him erratic enough to actually do the killing which is why he let Perry do it. There is always a psychological toll that is taken through one’s childhood, and in the real world this is seen through gang members. Gang members feel as though they need a place to “fit in”, and a place to be able to lean their back against. Gangs are considered brotherhoods by many, so it makes sense that the absence of positive role models is what leads them to make these “tough” decisions. Perry grew up with an emptiness within him and parents who failed him again and again. It’s evident that the phycological issues that he obtained throughout his childhood led him into a path in which he became the killer and Dick the bystander. Dick came from a lovely who although they werent rich, were very loving and caring. The role his parents played in his life affected him enough to stray him away from making a irreparable
In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the reader is able to interpret this through the two murderers, Dick and Perry. Perry’s sadistic childhood and its outcome is a perfect example that proves this theory. He was raised in a chaotic household which inevitably led him to make chaotic decisions. On the other hand, Dick was “fed grapes and fanned” and always felt the support from his mother and father. While this may seem like the perfect childhood to many, there is always a line, and that line is extremely fine. Due to Dick’s upbringing he felt that he could get away with whatever he wanted. However, his upbringing did not make him erratic enough to actually do the killing which is why he let Perry do it. There is always a psychological toll that is taken through one’s childhood, and in the real world this is seen through gang members. Gang members feel as though they need a place to “fit in”, and a place to be able to lean their back against. Gangs are considered brotherhoods by many, so it makes sense that the absence of positive role models is what leads them to make these “tough” decisions. Perry grew up with an emptiness within him and parents who failed him again and again. It’s evident that the phycological issues that he obtained throughout his childhood led him into a path in which he became the killer and Dick the bystander. Dick came from a lovely who although they werent rich, were very loving and caring. The role his parents played in his life affected him enough to stray him away from making a irreparable