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Evil In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

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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. Truman Capote is the author of the novel. It is portrayed that Perry and Dick are evil because of there actions. This is because they are both seen as someone who is not concerned with the principles of right and wrong and lack any type of empathy. However, Perry is not evil because of the way Capote conveys him with empathy and innocence throughout the novel. Truman …show more content…

However, Perry does show that he is concerned when Dick tries to rape her. Perry tells Dick, “ But you’ll have to kill me first” and “Now that’s something I despise (243)”. Perry is exemplifying the principles of right and wrong by taking the right side. He is against Dick raping Nancy and is even willing to risk his life for her. This shows that Perry is not evil because an evil person is someone who is not concerned with the principles of right and wrong and lack any type of empathy. Perry is disproving both of these statements by telling Dick off. Another example of the audience feeling more empathy for Perry because of Dick’s contrasting behavior is, “The letter was from Dick, and he said he was on to a cinch. The perfect score (44)”. Capote is using diction in this quote to cast a more relatable light on Perry. This shifts the blame of the murder to Dick, who construes this as an easy and consequence less opportunity. Thus, Capote makes Perry easier to emphasize with because when compared to Dick he has empathy and morals to an extent. Perry is not evil because he has principles of right and wrong, which can be seen during the proposed rape

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