Truman Capote; Reasons Behind Writing In Cold Blood
“Take ye heed, watch and pray; for he knows not when that time is” (Capote 30). Truman Capote, the author of In Cold Blood, had a troubled background. His childhood was stricken with his parents divorce, numerous abusive step-fathers, and his moving from family to family (Nance). In Cold Blood is a non-fiction retelling of the murder of the Clutter family from Holcomb, Kansas, in the 1950s. It is told in a journalistic style where there are two different perspectives of events that are happening at the same time. The book goes from the murderer’s point of view to the investigator 's. Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood because of the prominence the Clutter family murder had in the media, the …show more content…
Their abusive families led both of them to what their adulthood would end up being, Capote just got lucky in how he ended up (Truman Capote, In Cold Blood (1966)). Both Capote and Perry Smith had “some of the most insecure childhoods I know of and there are psychological records of it” (Nance). These insecure childhoods had an influence on how Perry Smith made decisions along with Capote. “Perry Smith’s life had been no bed of roses, but pitiful, an ugly and lonely progress”(Capote 245). Both of their parents were divorced and were abusive towards them. This connects with both of their past experiences. Truman Capote and Perry Smith also seemed to be attracted to each other because of their similar looks. “Capote obviously thought of Perry as similar to himself, even in the physical appearance” (Keglovits). The connection in appearance and the attraction that was there allowed Capote to embellish the characterization of Smith into himself even more. Capote was also very sympathetic towards Smith during the trial. “Capote’s deep sympathy for Perry makes In Cold Blood a powerful work of art” (Nance). This influences the story into how Capote wants the reader to see it because he saw this through Perry Smith’s experiences. He portrays Perry as the victim of the whole case. Thus he wants people to feel sympathetic for Smith because of …show more content…
The journalistic style consisted of short sections with true accounts from two different perspectives. “A style of writing that was a cross between journalism and literature. The epitome of this genre is Capote’s ground-breaking work of In Cold Blood”(Bass). He always wanted to write a nonfiction novel, but with an interesting plot that kept moving. By creating a new style of journalism and novel, he also started a new genre of true crime where it is a retelling of a true crime in an interesting and almost frictional way. Writing in a journalistic style is something that Capote had wanted to do his entire life. “This book was an important event for me. While writing it, I realized I might just have found a solution to what had always been my greatest creative quandary, I wanted to write in a journalistic style” (Truman Capote, about the Author). This book was written because it was the ultimate goal for Capote to achieve. It pushed him to his max potential and paved the way for more nonfiction, true crime,
“Take ye heed, watch and pray; for he knows not when that time is” (Capote 30). Truman Capote, the author of In Cold Blood, had a troubled background. His childhood was stricken with his parents divorce, numerous abusive step-fathers, and his moving from family to family (Nance). In Cold Blood is a non-fiction retelling of the murder of the Clutter family from Holcomb, Kansas, in the 1950s. It is told in a journalistic style where there are two different perspectives of events that are happening at the same time. The book goes from the murderer’s point of view to the investigator 's. Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood because of the prominence the Clutter family murder had in the media, the …show more content…
Their abusive families led both of them to what their adulthood would end up being, Capote just got lucky in how he ended up (Truman Capote, In Cold Blood (1966)). Both Capote and Perry Smith had “some of the most insecure childhoods I know of and there are psychological records of it” (Nance). These insecure childhoods had an influence on how Perry Smith made decisions along with Capote. “Perry Smith’s life had been no bed of roses, but pitiful, an ugly and lonely progress”(Capote 245). Both of their parents were divorced and were abusive towards them. This connects with both of their past experiences. Truman Capote and Perry Smith also seemed to be attracted to each other because of their similar looks. “Capote obviously thought of Perry as similar to himself, even in the physical appearance” (Keglovits). The connection in appearance and the attraction that was there allowed Capote to embellish the characterization of Smith into himself even more. Capote was also very sympathetic towards Smith during the trial. “Capote’s deep sympathy for Perry makes In Cold Blood a powerful work of art” (Nance). This influences the story into how Capote wants the reader to see it because he saw this through Perry Smith’s experiences. He portrays Perry as the victim of the whole case. Thus he wants people to feel sympathetic for Smith because of …show more content…
The journalistic style consisted of short sections with true accounts from two different perspectives. “A style of writing that was a cross between journalism and literature. The epitome of this genre is Capote’s ground-breaking work of In Cold Blood”(Bass). He always wanted to write a nonfiction novel, but with an interesting plot that kept moving. By creating a new style of journalism and novel, he also started a new genre of true crime where it is a retelling of a true crime in an interesting and almost frictional way. Writing in a journalistic style is something that Capote had wanted to do his entire life. “This book was an important event for me. While writing it, I realized I might just have found a solution to what had always been my greatest creative quandary, I wanted to write in a journalistic style” (Truman Capote, about the Author). This book was written because it was the ultimate goal for Capote to achieve. It pushed him to his max potential and paved the way for more nonfiction, true crime,