ipl-logo

Creative Writing: Mr. Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

871 Words4 Pages

My entire life has changed due to my kindness. Therefore, should I no longer be kind? Why offer my assistance to others if the outcome is penalization? These questions torment my mind; do I acknowledge what's happening around me, or should I just drive by? All I wanted to do was help people, and now, all I do is suffer. The morning was bleak and tinted with gray—not that I cared. I no longer had a place where I was needed, anyway. The day I lost my job was the day nothing mattered; it was as if the world had reached an impasse, and time would only flow where I wasn’t. How can someone be fired just for aiding those who need it? My thoughts have been embittered. My dreams for my family and I have been shattered. My life has become dulled. The day Mr.Truman Capote came to interview me about the murder overwhelms me with the numbing feeling of February wind. I was likely shuffling to my house trying to avoid frost from biting my skin …show more content…

I shrugged. “When you gotta go, you gotta go!” My hearty bark filled the car as Dick proudly chuckled. At that moment, I spotted a young soldier among the field and began to slow as the two boys exchanged some words. ‘Say, that’s pretty cute. When you gotta go, you gotta go...” My eyes widened in disbelief as I snapped back from the memory. I had almost forgotten that Mr.Capote was with me until I noticed him arranging his effects. “I appreciate your cooperation, Mr.Bell. I’m writing a book on the murder of the Clutter family and had been following the tracks of the killers, Perry and Dick, from even before they arrived in that innocent town,” he explained politely and he neared the door. “Oh, and don’t worry. I won’t use your real name. Good life, Mr.Bell.” The freezing wind chilled my skin briefly as the door shut behind him. I was once again alone and asking myself, should I no longer be

Show More
Related

  • Decisions In Thirteen Reasons Why, And Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

    1834 Words  | 8 Pages

    His voice quavered slightly. ‘I had to. They were drowning you, Pony. ' They [The Socs] might have killed you. And they had a blade… they were gonna beat me up…’”

    Read More

  • How Does The Direct Characterization Of Perry Capote

    832 Words  | 4 Pages

    When Andy Erhart, a close friend of Herb Clutter, finds out about the loss of his beloved companion, he describes Mr. Clutter as having achieved the American Dream. Erhart contemplates to himself “How was it possible that such effort, such plain virtue, could overnight be reduced to this—smoke; thinning as it rose and was received by the big, annihilating sky?” (Capote 79). The purposeful solemn tone in addition to Erhart questioning how such a thing to a highly successful man one can do, the theme of the lost American Dream comes about. The strategic changes in Capote’s tone allow for

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    694 Words  | 3 Pages

    "I promise you, honey, we'll blast hair all over them walls." (22). This statement made by Dick Hickock, once the meaning is grasped, makes any reader repulsed and sick to the stomach. Even more repulsive however, is when Dick and his accomplice Perry Smith go to the house of an innocent four-person family, and fulfill Dick's promise. The murderous duo that the novel In Cold Blood is centered around are guilty of horrible thoughts and deeds, and the author Truman Capote establishes early on that the two men are evil.

    Read More

  • Parental Influence In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    732 Words  | 3 Pages

    My mother died. Been dead eight years” (Capote 138). The leaving of all these people affected the way of Perry’s living drastically. Even though these deaths to him were a lot he still faced many more. Perry was denied access to school by his father.

    Read More

  • The American Dream In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    1053 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    961 Words  | 4 Pages

    Murder can be defined as “the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another”. How then, are others able to make us sympathize with not only murderers, but people who have committed horrendous crimes? For example, the media is constantly attempting to humanize rapists and even terrorists with phrases like “lone wolf” or “alienated and adrift.” Such phrases make some of us want to pity the criminal. This can be seen when we compare Perry Smith and Dick Hickock from Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: The Bundrens

    1349 Words  | 6 Pages

    I will tell you all when I come out,” I say as I lean into the dining room to address them all. “Hurry up we don't have all night, we need to get back on the road so we can back to our home and recover from all of this madness,” Anse said. “I won't be more than a minute,” I say in response. As I walk to the washroom to buy time to think about what I am going to say, I look to Him for advice.

    Read More

  • A Rhetorical Analysis Of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    1254 Words  | 6 Pages

    In Cold Blood Rhetorical Analysis Typically upon hearing about a murder, especially a brutal and unwarranted one, we find ourselves feeling a great sense of disgust for the murderer or murderers who committed these crimes; however, in Truman Capote’s novel In Cold Blood, the lives and experiences of the murderers, particularly Perry Smith, are displayed in a way the makes you feel pity for him as well as the victims. When comparing Capote’s Novel to a typical news article on a similar topic it is easy to see the that Capote's style varies from typical journalism. An article written by Frances Robles and Nikita Stewart titled “Dylan Roof’s Past Reveals Trouble at Home and School,” discusses the childhood and background of Dylann Roof, a twenty-one

    Read More

  • Sympathy For Characters In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    573 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Nature Vs. Nurture In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    758 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nature versus nurture is one of the most controversial debates in contemporary psychology. The debate concerning whether or not humans are born with the preset characteristics that will shape lives for years to come or whether actions are a result of the events and the environment that pave the way for our behavioral characteristics. Capote’s “In Cold Blood” gives the audience a detailed look into the upbringing of the character Perry Smith, creating a sympathetic outlook towards his past and attempting to bring a sense of understanding as to how a seemingly harmless young man could brutally murder four innocent people. In the case of Perry Smith, nurture was the cause of his actions in regards to the Clutter family murders.

    Read More

  • Sympathy In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    838 Words  | 4 Pages

    Truman Capote’s novel, In Cold Blood epitomizes the shifting sentiments related to the murder of the Clutter family which range from terror, to sorrow, to pride, and all mixed emotions in between. Yet through Capote’s particular descriptions about each character, the connection between their feelings and their actions become further clarified. In effect, the readers experience feelings of sympathy for the victims, their friends and family, the investigators, and even the brutal murders of the innocent family. In order to craft this association, Capote employs a pathos appeal to amplify the audience’s ability to sympathize with each and every character.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    539 Words  | 3 Pages

    How crazy would it be to interview criminals who murdered 4 people in cold blood? Well that’s exactly what Truman Capote did in this chilling book. In the novel In Cold Blood, Truman Capote used different rhetorical strategies to create sympathy and influence the idea that there are always two sides to every story. Some of the mainly used rhetorical strategies throughout the novel were imagery, diction, tone, and pathos. Furthermore, Capote also illustrated sympathetical emotion towards both types of characters, the protagonists and antagonists.

    Read More

  • Manipulation Of Language In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    1177 Words  | 5 Pages

    Facts and Fiction: A Manipulation of Language in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood English is a fascinating and riveting language. Subtle nuances and adjustments can easily change the understanding of a literary work—a technique many authors employ in order to evoke a desired response from their readers. This method is used especially in In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, a literary work which details a true event about the murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small community of Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. Although Capote’s 1966 book was a bestseller nonfiction and had successfully garnered acclaim for its author, there is still a great deal of confusion about the distinction between the factual and fictional aspects in the book.

    Read More

  • Criminality In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    1670 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Clutter family’s relationship with the American Dream seems more manifest than the families of the two killers. Through their murder, Capote hints at the destruction of the ultimate American Dream, an idea unfathomable to most. As so aptly put by a schoolteacher “…That family represented everything people hereabouts really value and respect, and that such a thing could happen to them- well, it’s like being told there is no God” (Capote 55). Through their violent end, Capote demonstrates the impossibility and naiveté of the American Dream; becoming society’s interpretation of the perfect family remains merely an illusion, rather than a protection from all the evil things that can occur in life. Capote exemplifies the Clutters as the concept of the American Dream, conveying social and personal virtues along with financial stability.

    Read More

  • Figurative Language In The Glass Castle

    945 Words  | 4 Pages

    "Ceremonies never did mean diddly to me." He took another long pull on his magnum. "I got a lot to regret about my life," he said. "But I'm goddamn proud of you, Mountain Goat, the way you turned out. Whenever I think of you, I figure I must have done something right."

    Read More

More about Creative Writing: Mr. Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

Open Document