Analysis Of Nature Versus Nurture In In Cold Blood

The nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood, entirely reconstructed a horrific crime scene while depicting the lives of the runaway murderers. The author, Truman Capote, uses montage (a form of writing that switches back and forth) to allow the readers to see into the lives of the killers and the petrified people of Holcomb, Kansas. On November 15, 1959, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith brutally murdered Herbert, Bonnie, Kenyon and Nancy Clutter in their farmhouse. Floyd Wells, a previous cell mate of Dick Hickock, told him previously of a safe that was hidden in Mr. Clutter’s home office. Dick and Perry’s motive was to rob the Clutter family; however, they had no intentions on leaving behind witnesses. Capote tells the tale of Dick and Perry’s roundabout with the police, but he has a paramount reason as to why he focuses on the lives of the murderers. Although Perry was ultimately the murderer of the whole Clutter family, Capote …show more content…
Dick had a stable family life- it seemed as if his criminal background was in his nature. He was oriented towards stealing and committing heinous crimes. His family was well respected, and his father did everything he possibly could to protect him and take care of his problems. Perry on the other hand had an extremely abysmal life; which mentally affected him and his morals. His mother was a raging alcoholic, he lost connections with all of his siblings, his father secluded him from the world and he was greatly abused throughout his lifetime. Dick’s life was reasonably privileged; therefore, it was completely in his nature when he turned to committing crimes for pleasure. Perry had an unstable childhood which mentally scarred him. It was in his nurture to turn to committing gruesome crimes. Capote depicts Perry’s life in such a way that the reader feels bad for him and tends to blame the crime on