“But that life and what he’d made of it… annihilating sky (Capote 79).” This example conveys a somber or negative tone. The sentence expresses how the inevitable death reflects itself upon life and the will to live. Erhart is reflecting on how easily he could lose his life overnight, which he fears. Capote uses this tone to instill fear in his audience and make them have gratitude for the lives they have. Death is something the common person fears and in Holcomb, after the murders, people are twice as fearful. Capote wants his audience to feel the same way as Holcomb citizens, afraid to die and to think, “Thank God it wasn’t me.” “However long it takes, it may be… the why and the who (Capote 80).” In addition, Capote’s tone is flexible
