Who should be put to blame, the unfortunate criminal or the consequence-free people who created the criminal? A crime is a very broad and complicated matter. There are many reasons for a crime, including the individual's state of mind, his or her thought process, motives, and pressure. These factors all had a role in the confusing actions of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock told by Truman Capote in his nonfiction novel In Cold Blood. As confessed, Perry found himself in a situation which ended with the death of the Clutter family. The pair, led by Dick, went to the Clutter's well-funded household to rob it and leave. As a result of false information, the pair could not find the safe. Perry, for uncertain reasons, ended the lives of the Clutter
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Lacking coping mechanisms or proper character, Perry could not make valuable decisions that benefited him or others. This can be summed up as an absence of the ability to differentiate right and wrong. In Truman’s novel, Perry described his feelings and thoughts about Mr. Clutter, “ ‘I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat’ ” (157). As shown, Perry did not convey any remorse towards killing Mr. Clutter because he could not comprehend the extreme wrongdoing he had committed. Only after being on the run for a few days, he started to think about the severity of his actions. He lived without moral understanding. In fact, he despised inquiring the thought that he lacked it. In illustration of Perry’s fear, Capote describes Perry's thought process, "When Perry said, 'I think there must be something wrong with us,' he was making an admission he 'hated to make.' After all, it was 'painful' to imagine that one might be 'not just right' - particularly if whatever was wrong was not your own fault but 'maybe a thing you were born with.' " (69). In brief, decisions can be made to show emotions and try to create a better position. Perry had no way to healthily express his anger, and he did not possess the capability of seeing a better …show more content…
So being, Perry did not carry the coping mechanisms to vent his pent up anger. Because he recognized he had never received the opportunities he wanted or needed, denial and anger filled his heart. On top of that, he had been beaten and punished to no end throughout his childhood. Resentment, jealousy, and vengeance ran through Perry’s mind along with the emotional control and worldly comprehension of a child. So as one may presume, Perry’s reason for killing Mr. Clutter was not sane. His explanation, as told by Capote, is, “ ‘. . . it wasn't because of anything the Clutters did. They never hurt me. Like other people. Like people have all my life. Maybe it's just that the Clutters were the ones who had to pay for it.’ “ (184). Some conducts are not done for the sake of being done. Crimes can be results of desires to do harm on a person due to greed, jealousy, anger, and many other reasons. Crimes, especially homicides, can also be an extreme form of venting. When a person does not have the supportive skills to express their feelings, they still need assert them. The act of assertion has to meet the levels of emotion. For instance if a person had bottled up fear, anger, and resentment their entire life, the act of assertion would call for an expression of the same level of negativity such as killing an entire
Lacking coping mechanisms or proper character, Perry could not make valuable decisions that benefited him or others. This can be summed up as an absence of the ability to differentiate right and wrong. In Truman’s novel, Perry described his feelings and thoughts about Mr. Clutter, “ ‘I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat’ ” (157). As shown, Perry did not convey any remorse towards killing Mr. Clutter because he could not comprehend the extreme wrongdoing he had committed. Only after being on the run for a few days, he started to think about the severity of his actions. He lived without moral understanding. In fact, he despised inquiring the thought that he lacked it. In illustration of Perry’s fear, Capote describes Perry's thought process, "When Perry said, 'I think there must be something wrong with us,' he was making an admission he 'hated to make.' After all, it was 'painful' to imagine that one might be 'not just right' - particularly if whatever was wrong was not your own fault but 'maybe a thing you were born with.' " (69). In brief, decisions can be made to show emotions and try to create a better position. Perry had no way to healthily express his anger, and he did not possess the capability of seeing a better …show more content…
So being, Perry did not carry the coping mechanisms to vent his pent up anger. Because he recognized he had never received the opportunities he wanted or needed, denial and anger filled his heart. On top of that, he had been beaten and punished to no end throughout his childhood. Resentment, jealousy, and vengeance ran through Perry’s mind along with the emotional control and worldly comprehension of a child. So as one may presume, Perry’s reason for killing Mr. Clutter was not sane. His explanation, as told by Capote, is, “ ‘. . . it wasn't because of anything the Clutters did. They never hurt me. Like other people. Like people have all my life. Maybe it's just that the Clutters were the ones who had to pay for it.’ “ (184). Some conducts are not done for the sake of being done. Crimes can be results of desires to do harm on a person due to greed, jealousy, anger, and many other reasons. Crimes, especially homicides, can also be an extreme form of venting. When a person does not have the supportive skills to express their feelings, they still need assert them. The act of assertion has to meet the levels of emotion. For instance if a person had bottled up fear, anger, and resentment their entire life, the act of assertion would call for an expression of the same level of negativity such as killing an entire