Son T. Chau
Professor Hansen
ENGWR 302
December 8, 2016
First Draft
The Effects of Environment in In Cold Blood
In a nonfiction book, In Cold Blood, the author, Truman Capote, tells the story of the murder case of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. The novel is based on real-life crime which was committed by two convicts: Perry Smith and Richard Hickock. The crime is mentioned early on a book before the story begins: "four shot gun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives" (Capote 5). Those six lives are the four members of the Clutter family, and the two murderers who are eventually were executed by hanging to death at the Kansas State Penitentiary for their crimes. In the novel, Capote succeeds to describe complex behaviors …show more content…
Also, Capote managed to explain the complex psychological and social phenomena of two slaughters. He especially focused on Perry Smith who directly killed the Clutter family. Throughout the entire novel, the author has shown sympathy for Smith based on Smith’s life was exposed to constant violence and neglect from parents and society. However, some readers argue that Capote has shown his bias toward Perry Smith. He tried to defend Smith because he felt a connection between them since their childhoods have many similarities. Therefore, these opponents believe that Smith is a natural born killer since he killed Clutter family in cold blood without an apparent motive. The debate between them has arisen the question of whether of nature or nurture is mainly responsible for Smith’s actions. Despite Capote’s bias, Perry Smith actually is an emotional and sensitive man, who has been neglected and rejected by his environment; therefore, he has suffered throughout his life through dire …show more content…
Indeed, Smith’s childhood was an extremely tough one when he had a dysfunctional family, an unstable household, and an abusive childhood. When he was seven, his parents divorced. His mother, who struggles with alcoholism, took him and his siblings to San Francisco, where he was repeatedly getting into trouble and began associating with gangs. As a consequence, he ended up in a series of detention homes many times for stealing and running away from home. Smith wrote in his autobiographical summary for his psychiatrist how he was abused by his caregiver. At one of these places, he was extremely embarrassed and humiliated by a cottage mistress who always made fun of him in front of other boys. Every night was his nightmare because the mistress preferred to go around to find out whether he wet his bed, and she then whipped him brutally with her leather belt. “Later on she thought it was very funny to put some kind of ointment on my penis. This was almost unbearable. It burned something terrible” (Capote 275). Another of these abuses, which he could never forget, was when he was living in a California orphanage operated by nuns. He was beaten by them for his chronic bed wetting problem. “She woke me up. She had a flashlight, and she hit me with it. Hit me and hit me, and when the flashlight broke, she went on hitting me in
Professor Hansen
ENGWR 302
December 8, 2016
First Draft
The Effects of Environment in In Cold Blood
In a nonfiction book, In Cold Blood, the author, Truman Capote, tells the story of the murder case of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. The novel is based on real-life crime which was committed by two convicts: Perry Smith and Richard Hickock. The crime is mentioned early on a book before the story begins: "four shot gun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives" (Capote 5). Those six lives are the four members of the Clutter family, and the two murderers who are eventually were executed by hanging to death at the Kansas State Penitentiary for their crimes. In the novel, Capote succeeds to describe complex behaviors …show more content…
Also, Capote managed to explain the complex psychological and social phenomena of two slaughters. He especially focused on Perry Smith who directly killed the Clutter family. Throughout the entire novel, the author has shown sympathy for Smith based on Smith’s life was exposed to constant violence and neglect from parents and society. However, some readers argue that Capote has shown his bias toward Perry Smith. He tried to defend Smith because he felt a connection between them since their childhoods have many similarities. Therefore, these opponents believe that Smith is a natural born killer since he killed Clutter family in cold blood without an apparent motive. The debate between them has arisen the question of whether of nature or nurture is mainly responsible for Smith’s actions. Despite Capote’s bias, Perry Smith actually is an emotional and sensitive man, who has been neglected and rejected by his environment; therefore, he has suffered throughout his life through dire …show more content…
Indeed, Smith’s childhood was an extremely tough one when he had a dysfunctional family, an unstable household, and an abusive childhood. When he was seven, his parents divorced. His mother, who struggles with alcoholism, took him and his siblings to San Francisco, where he was repeatedly getting into trouble and began associating with gangs. As a consequence, he ended up in a series of detention homes many times for stealing and running away from home. Smith wrote in his autobiographical summary for his psychiatrist how he was abused by his caregiver. At one of these places, he was extremely embarrassed and humiliated by a cottage mistress who always made fun of him in front of other boys. Every night was his nightmare because the mistress preferred to go around to find out whether he wet his bed, and she then whipped him brutally with her leather belt. “Later on she thought it was very funny to put some kind of ointment on my penis. This was almost unbearable. It burned something terrible” (Capote 275). Another of these abuses, which he could never forget, was when he was living in a California orphanage operated by nuns. He was beaten by them for his chronic bed wetting problem. “She woke me up. She had a flashlight, and she hit me with it. Hit me and hit me, and when the flashlight broke, she went on hitting me in