Dick and Perry's lives in the Book, “In Cold Blood,” were portrayed as cold blooded murders in Holcomb. The murders they committed were lethal, brutal, and some may dare to say inhumane. The killing of the Clutter family is the main focus of the book, and although you clearly can justify the fact that Dick and Perry deserve to die for what they did, Truman capote, the author of the book seems to think that the capital punishment should be stopped and was not necessary on behalf of the murders, I actually disagree. I am totally agree with capital punishment, primarily the death penalty because you do the crime and I believe if it's something incredibly inhuman, vile, and cruel, that you should be killed for it. "In Exodus Twenty, Verse Thirteen, …show more content…
Perry and Dick committed a horrific crime, that not only influence the family and friends of those people, but the entire town of Holcomb. If they had not killed them, the townspeople would then go into a state of fear and hopelessness. Letting them go off free, with no punishment equal to that of which they did is unfair to the people of the town. Capote argues against capital punishment in the book very subtly, but he contradicts himself as well. One quote from the novel says "That he knew what he was doing and still went ahead with it is possibly the most clear-cut demonstration of this fact. He is a person who is impulsive in action, likely to do things without thought of consequences or future discomfort to himself or to others (Capote 187)." This quote is basically saying how Perry is very inconsiderate of anyone's feeling that he kills, and doesn't think of the outcome, but it's as if he stays in the …show more content…
Especially if they knew what they were doing, and what they were going to do beforehand.
Even people of the town were in utter shock of what had happened. The people need to feel some sense of protection as I said earlier. "I feel that due to the violence of the crime and the apparent utter lack of mercy shown the victims,the only way the public can be absolutely protected is to have the death penalty set against these defendants (Capote 164) ." Clearly there was only one way to declare safety to these people, and it was to kill off the people who made them feel unsafe. Perry didn't realize that his one action of killing a family full of innocent people would have such a huge after effect on the town, let alone he himself. Perry and Dicks gullible decision to become murders changed the people of Holcomb and changed their lives in a tremendous
Although he is branded as the murder, Truman Capote sympathetically describes Perry throughout the novel as a pitiable character. Firstly, Capote begins by referring to Perry’s atrocious childhood as a way to emphasize on the trauma he suffered as a young boy. We learn that Smith’s parents were divorced and thus had to live with his mother, whom was a heavy alcoholic. He was ultimately sent to a Catholic orphanage where we learn Perry suffered due to the beatings he would get from the nuns: “always at him. Hitting him” (page one hundred and thirty two).
After most people hear what Perry has gone through you immediately give him a get out of jail free card right? You think that since he had a difficult upbringing he should be exempt from receiving the death penalty? Although you may think this, this is certainly not an excuse for such a violent act. Throughout In Cold Blood, Capote attempts to portray to the reader that Smith in a way should be exempt from the crime he commited and how one should not blame it on Smith himself, but his psychological background. Specifically when Al Dewey, the head of the Clutter murder investigation, states how the crime was not in fact Smiths fault.
In the book, “In Cold Blood,” Truman Capote takes us through the lives of the murderers and the murdered in the 1959 Clutter family homicide, which transpires in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. The first chapter, “The Last to See Them Alive,” vividly illustrates the daily activities of the Clutter family—Herbert, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon—and the scheming plot of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith up to point where the family is found tied up, and brutally murdered. In doing so, he depicts the picture-perfect town of Holcomb with “blue skies and desert clear air”(3) whose safety is threatened when “four shotgun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives”(5). Through the eyes of a picture perfect family and criminals with social aspirations, Capote describes the American Dream and introduces his audience to the idea that this ideal was no more than an illusion. Herbert Clutter: the character Capote describes as the epitome of the American Dream.
Although the article Dylan Roof’s Past Reveals Trouble at Home and School gives light into Dylan Roof’s life, it does not go into the depth of emotions that Capote uses to show Perry’s troubled past. Capote uses tone to enhance Perry’s emotions in order to make him seem more relatable to the audience despite being a brutal murderer. In the passage on page 131, Capote reveals dark parts of Perry’s childhood through the perspective of Perry himself: “It was not long afterward my mother put me to stay in a Catholic orphanage. The one where the black widows were always at me. Hitting me” (Capote 131).
In Cold Blood is a novel that follows the story of the four Clutter’s and their murder. It takes place in Holcomb, Kansas where they were killed by two men. These two men initially get away, but are then caught later after many adventures. The two men are identified as Perry and Dick. It is seen that they murdered the Clutter’s without any motive or harsh feelings towards them.
In Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood,” Dick and Perry have murdered the Clutter family and are on their way to Mexico. In this passage, Dick makes an astounding statement. In the passage, Dick claims that he’s “a normal” but that is far from the truth. He is a conniving, manipulative son of a bitch who thinks he’s normal in comparison to Perry.
Truman Capote, the author of In Cold Blood, creates sympathy for almost every character the reader comes across. Through the use of manipulating the reader's emotions and connecting them to each character, Capote successfully pulls it off. There are four main groups that Capote chooses to create sympathy for the murder victims, the murderers, the law officials involved, and the ordinary citizens of Holcomb, Kansas. Truman Capote created the most sympathy for two characters, Perry Smith and Detective Dewey. From the beginning of the novel, Capote showcases Perry Smith a likable character.
Everyone is born with the capability to do evil, however, the events and environment in our lives shape our psyche to such an irrefutably extreme extent that they define our character and our conscience, redefining what we see as right and wrong. Perry is very sensitive by nature due to his family’s troubles and his father’s behavior. The pressure that Perry feels to impress Dick, who he makes into a faux father figure, combined with the weight of his past push him to the breaking point which happens to be the Clutter murders. Perry was bound by his experience, he could never fully escape the horrors of his childhood as they were the limits of his apprehension. Regardless of Perry’s traumatic childhood, justice must be equally upheld to everyone, despite the differences in the ways we were raised.
Because of the arguments hinted at by Truman Capote in In Cold Blood, there will always be debate on whether capital punishment should be used for certain crimes. One can never be sure if a punishment, whether as mild as jail time or as severe as the death penalty, is justified for the crime
Now, there is no direct quote from Capote discussing his view on this issue, but it can be reasonably inferred by the quote’s presence in the novel that he would argue each citizen to think about how and why the death sentence is actually used. Capote himself would most likely not agree with this stance, but it seems to be the way it is. The innocent men and women of the town were baffled and torn by the scene of the gruesome murder, and they needed a relief, which in this case, was the death of Perry and Dick. Clearly, the death penalty can be used as a way to comfort the people in a time of distress.
Perry’s erratic spontaneous outbursts is what caused him to go through with the murders and slit Mr. Clutter’s throat which put him on the killing frenzy that ended the rest of the Clutters lives. Capote highlights Perry’s sociopathic tendencies by comparing them to that of Dicks Psychopathic tendencies which exemplifies how when put together they are at each others fault for the
Although Perry is responsible for the murder of four innocent people, Perry’s actions do not reflect on who he is as a person because he is easily influenced, therefore; showing how easily people can be pressured into doing something they would not typically do. Dick, a violent, cold-hearted, manipulator, has molded Perry into the person he is today. As Perry is a follower, Dick has taken advantage of that by turning Perry into the cold-blooded killer he is today. Capote displays Dick’s manipulation of Perry through symbolism to make evident that while Perry did pull the trigger on four innocent people, although the fault does not entirely lay on him, as he was taken advantage of by Dick.
Dick from In Cold Blood maintained that he was less guilty and did not deserve the death penalty. In stating this, Dick was not correct that he was less guilty. There are justifiable proofs that diminish his chances of being less guilty. These proofs are found within the book and can be represented through his demeanors and actions prior to and after the night. Richard Eugene Hickock (Dick) in In Cold Blood is just as guilty as Perry in that he had clearly displayed his intent for killing the Clutter family.
(Chapter 2 page 95). The quote implies that once you do something, it cannot be in one’s control to stop an event from happening. The course of events plays out, which cannot be tampered with, no matter how we try to set things right. The murderers cannot prevent their inexorable fate of death for their actions. When Smith is in Mr. Clutter’s home, he says “I didn’t want to harm the man.
Everybody has desires that constantly weigh over their heads, pushing them to be diligent in all their endeavors, but what would you do if you knew that one day you would no longer have the opportunity to fulfill these desires? Everybody lives their lives so focused on the end goal that they are oblivious to the world around them, and the sad part is that in some cases the end goal is unattainable or never reached because the person dies. In In Cold Blood, Truman Capote utilizes symbolism and descriptive diction to tell his readers Perry’s wants and wishes. Throughout this subchapter the reader is able to learn more about how Perry feels in the moments after the Clutter family murder. The reader learns that Perry wishes he was loved by others