Although Dick and Perry commit a mortifying murder, Capote uses literary devices to explain that just because someone commits a crime they should not face judgement on that action alone, but rather on their overall character; therefore, despite the murder, Perry should not be perceived nor treated as a fiend. Perry’s upbringing was extremely unfortunate, his family had dealt him a tragic hand in life, leaving him in orphanages where he faced abuse and hardship. Capote is able to represent the hardship he faced with the use of syntax--he uses short sentences in order to depict how the abuse affected Perry’s viewpoint of the world and the creation to his dark side. As this took place, Perry remarks: “It was not long afterward my mother put me
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Perry confesses to Dick that he believes there must be something wrong with them for them to commit such a horrible deed, but Dick shows no sympathy unlike Perry, who feels ever so guilty, “Spells of helpless moments occurred, moments when he ‘remembered things’--blue light exploding in a black room, the glass eyes of a big toy bear--and when voices, a few particular words started nagging his mind: ‘Oh, no! Oh, please! No! No! No! No! Don’t! Oh, please don’t, please!’ And certain sounds returned--a silver dollar rolling across a floor, boot steps on hardwood stairs, and sounds of breathing, the gasps, the hysterical inhalations of a man with a severed windpipe” (Capote 110). With the use of imagery Capote is able to accurately exemplify the effect that the murders had on Perry, a genuinely good person who unfortunately got involved with the wrong crowd. The description of the flashbacks he recalls from that show how much he regrets partaking in the murder with Dick. He remembers their desperate cries for help before their lives tragically ended, his surroundings, the bodies. He suffers at the simple thought of killing the Clutter family knowing how wrong it was, yet Dick feels no remorse at all. Capote does this in order to impose his own agenda upon the reader. Capote …show more content…
Capote includes Perry singing very meaningful song lyrics to validate Perry’s innocence, such as; “In this world today while we’re living / Some folks say the worst of us they can, / But when we’re dead and in our caskets, / They always slip some lilies in our hand. / Won’t you give me flowers while I’m living…” (Capote 117) The value of the allusion to the song ‘Give Me Flowers (While I’m Living)’ enables readers to envision how perfectly the phrases of this song relate to his life. People of Holcomb are airing their distaste for Perry, despite not knowing him on a personal level but rather a single action. The citizens blame the two killers equally despite not knowing that Dick had orchestrated the relentless scheme and convinced Perry to follow his lead. Perry seeks forgiveness for the murder whilst he is living, but realizes that only after he is dead and gone will anyone experience sympathy for him after learning about his devastating background and what had led to that catastrophic night. Therefore, Perry shouldn’t share an equal amount of blame compared to Dick because Perry at least feels sorrowful for his actions whereas Dick feels no emotion towards the family whom he
Perry confesses to Dick that he believes there must be something wrong with them for them to commit such a horrible deed, but Dick shows no sympathy unlike Perry, who feels ever so guilty, “Spells of helpless moments occurred, moments when he ‘remembered things’--blue light exploding in a black room, the glass eyes of a big toy bear--and when voices, a few particular words started nagging his mind: ‘Oh, no! Oh, please! No! No! No! No! Don’t! Oh, please don’t, please!’ And certain sounds returned--a silver dollar rolling across a floor, boot steps on hardwood stairs, and sounds of breathing, the gasps, the hysterical inhalations of a man with a severed windpipe” (Capote 110). With the use of imagery Capote is able to accurately exemplify the effect that the murders had on Perry, a genuinely good person who unfortunately got involved with the wrong crowd. The description of the flashbacks he recalls from that show how much he regrets partaking in the murder with Dick. He remembers their desperate cries for help before their lives tragically ended, his surroundings, the bodies. He suffers at the simple thought of killing the Clutter family knowing how wrong it was, yet Dick feels no remorse at all. Capote does this in order to impose his own agenda upon the reader. Capote …show more content…
Capote includes Perry singing very meaningful song lyrics to validate Perry’s innocence, such as; “In this world today while we’re living / Some folks say the worst of us they can, / But when we’re dead and in our caskets, / They always slip some lilies in our hand. / Won’t you give me flowers while I’m living…” (Capote 117) The value of the allusion to the song ‘Give Me Flowers (While I’m Living)’ enables readers to envision how perfectly the phrases of this song relate to his life. People of Holcomb are airing their distaste for Perry, despite not knowing him on a personal level but rather a single action. The citizens blame the two killers equally despite not knowing that Dick had orchestrated the relentless scheme and convinced Perry to follow his lead. Perry seeks forgiveness for the murder whilst he is living, but realizes that only after he is dead and gone will anyone experience sympathy for him after learning about his devastating background and what had led to that catastrophic night. Therefore, Perry shouldn’t share an equal amount of blame compared to Dick because Perry at least feels sorrowful for his actions whereas Dick feels no emotion towards the family whom he