Truman Capote 's In Cold Blood Is based on true events. On November 16, 1959, in Holcomb, Kansas four members of the clutter family, Herb, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon, were found dead, bound and shot in the head with a shotgun. With no apparent motive for the crime, detectives are left almost clueless. With the help of a former cellmate of the killers, detectives were able to identify the killers as Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Capote reconstructs the series of events leading up to and after the murders. Capote writes for the reader to feel sympathy towards Perry despite his criminal past, because Capote himself is similar to Perry; the reader sympathizes with Capote.
Capote portrays Perry to be fueled by an uncontrollable anger, but provides …show more content…
Several of Perry 's ambitions and dreams are highlighted throughout the book. Perry wished he had had the chance to get an education, he was the only member of his family who didn 't go to school and he resents anyone who did. “Every damn one of you got an education. Everybody but me.” (179). He had dreams of becoming a performer and owning a hunting lodge with his dad. Even though he was never able to fulfil his dreams, Perry is still an ambitious hard worker. Capote chooses to include this information because it is something people can relate to, crushed dreams, and it draws sympathy from the reader. Perry is also shown to be very sensitive with humiliation and envy being his downfall. one of the most heart-rending parts or the book is when Perry 's father points a gun at him and pulled the trigger multiple times, “and when he realised the gun wasn 't even loaded he started to cry.” (132). This was the act that left Perry alone, even after trying to share the dream of owning a hunting lodge with him and being loyal to him, Perry 's father still tried to kill him. Again, this is a feeling the audience can relate to; the feeling of being alone. Capote writes Perry to be as human as possible, with emotions and dreams, so that the reader is able to relate to him. Dick is not portrayed in the same way, instead he is written to be viewed as a sick, selfish individual. The first time the reader sees Dick act selfishly is when he planned to leave his only friend, Perry. “he expected to haul in three, maybe four thousand dollars within a twenty-four-hour period. That was half the plot; the second half was: Goodbye Perry” (247). Here Dick is shown to be a selfish person as he is willing to completely disregard Perry if he is able to get his hands on money. This hints to the fact that Dick was the one who
Capote portrays Perry to be fueled by an uncontrollable anger, but provides …show more content…
Several of Perry 's ambitions and dreams are highlighted throughout the book. Perry wished he had had the chance to get an education, he was the only member of his family who didn 't go to school and he resents anyone who did. “Every damn one of you got an education. Everybody but me.” (179). He had dreams of becoming a performer and owning a hunting lodge with his dad. Even though he was never able to fulfil his dreams, Perry is still an ambitious hard worker. Capote chooses to include this information because it is something people can relate to, crushed dreams, and it draws sympathy from the reader. Perry is also shown to be very sensitive with humiliation and envy being his downfall. one of the most heart-rending parts or the book is when Perry 's father points a gun at him and pulled the trigger multiple times, “and when he realised the gun wasn 't even loaded he started to cry.” (132). This was the act that left Perry alone, even after trying to share the dream of owning a hunting lodge with him and being loyal to him, Perry 's father still tried to kill him. Again, this is a feeling the audience can relate to; the feeling of being alone. Capote writes Perry to be as human as possible, with emotions and dreams, so that the reader is able to relate to him. Dick is not portrayed in the same way, instead he is written to be viewed as a sick, selfish individual. The first time the reader sees Dick act selfishly is when he planned to leave his only friend, Perry. “he expected to haul in three, maybe four thousand dollars within a twenty-four-hour period. That was half the plot; the second half was: Goodbye Perry” (247). Here Dick is shown to be a selfish person as he is willing to completely disregard Perry if he is able to get his hands on money. This hints to the fact that Dick was the one who