The Impact of Juxtaposition in In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
On pages 107 to 113, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote features two specific narratives during the same span of time. Characters Dick and Perry recall the visit to the Clutter family through separate streams of consciousness, eventually revealing the contrasting personality traits between them. As Perry begins to discuss the peculiarities of the murder, more so the fact that suspicion of the two has not yet risen, Dick expresses his immense lack of interest in the matter. Capote portrays both accounts through separate styles of writing. For example, Capote reveals the depth in Perry’s character by maintaining a constant structure in each sentence. The author’s variety in diction …show more content…
The author interrupts this dream-like scene as Perry broaches the subject of the murders yet again. Immediately, Capote begins to reveal the true superficiality of Dick’s personality through uses of syntax and diction. Perry starts by explaining that there “must be something wrong” for the two of them to “do what they did”, and Dick responds with, “Did what?”(29). Though the reply may seem simple and insignificant, that is exactly the reason it is important. Capote utilizes short and abrupt sentences in order to further portray Dick as a two dimensional character. Dick’s shallow and flat identity are portrayed once more as Capote writes, “‘Deal me out baby, [...] I’m a normal,”(29). By claiming Dick’s character is “normal”, the reader can already notice the major flaw in this statement. In fact, from this reaction, the reader can detect the complete opposite theory that Dick is mentally ill or unstable in some way. Dick blatantly ignores Perry’s questioning and disregards plain facts of their current situation - especially that Dick introduced the idea to Perry in the first …show more content…
In the third paragraph, we notice as Perry begins to describe his motivation of gaining respect from Dick, wanting his friendship, and proving his masculinity to the man (30). Capote proves to the reader that Perry is much more self aware than his criminal partner and generally able to understand and think beyond the surface of one’s thoughts. With Perry’s exact words, “...think him ‘hard’ as much ‘the masculine type...’”(30), Perry’s boundless insecurity with his manhood and general social standing are exhibited. When analyzing and comparing this to Dick’s character, the reader can note that Perry’s dependence on Dick and his self esteem perhaps correlates to his actions and thought process as a
On pages 107 to 113, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote features two specific narratives during the same span of time. Characters Dick and Perry recall the visit to the Clutter family through separate streams of consciousness, eventually revealing the contrasting personality traits between them. As Perry begins to discuss the peculiarities of the murder, more so the fact that suspicion of the two has not yet risen, Dick expresses his immense lack of interest in the matter. Capote portrays both accounts through separate styles of writing. For example, Capote reveals the depth in Perry’s character by maintaining a constant structure in each sentence. The author’s variety in diction …show more content…
The author interrupts this dream-like scene as Perry broaches the subject of the murders yet again. Immediately, Capote begins to reveal the true superficiality of Dick’s personality through uses of syntax and diction. Perry starts by explaining that there “must be something wrong” for the two of them to “do what they did”, and Dick responds with, “Did what?”(29). Though the reply may seem simple and insignificant, that is exactly the reason it is important. Capote utilizes short and abrupt sentences in order to further portray Dick as a two dimensional character. Dick’s shallow and flat identity are portrayed once more as Capote writes, “‘Deal me out baby, [...] I’m a normal,”(29). By claiming Dick’s character is “normal”, the reader can already notice the major flaw in this statement. In fact, from this reaction, the reader can detect the complete opposite theory that Dick is mentally ill or unstable in some way. Dick blatantly ignores Perry’s questioning and disregards plain facts of their current situation - especially that Dick introduced the idea to Perry in the first …show more content…
In the third paragraph, we notice as Perry begins to describe his motivation of gaining respect from Dick, wanting his friendship, and proving his masculinity to the man (30). Capote proves to the reader that Perry is much more self aware than his criminal partner and generally able to understand and think beyond the surface of one’s thoughts. With Perry’s exact words, “...think him ‘hard’ as much ‘the masculine type...’”(30), Perry’s boundless insecurity with his manhood and general social standing are exhibited. When analyzing and comparing this to Dick’s character, the reader can note that Perry’s dependence on Dick and his self esteem perhaps correlates to his actions and thought process as a