ipl-logo

In Cold Blood Tragedy Essay

624 Words3 Pages

Whose tragedy is it? The tragedy of In Cold Blood is the damage dealt to the image of the American Dream by the Clutter murders. The deaths of the Clutter family severely damaged the image of the American Dream through the type of family that the Clutters were, the destroyed peace of Holcomb, and the random nature of the crime. The Clutter family nearly embodied the American Dream in structure and nature. The Clutter’s unexpected deaths ruined the trusting serenity of Holcomb. The nature and details of the murders cemented the fact that what happened to the Clutters could have just as likely have happened to anyone else. The progression of the Clutter family closely resembled the image of the American Dream. Herb Clutter worked …show more content…

After a relatively small amount of time looking into the Clutter family One of the investigators on the case said “Of all the people in all the world, the Clutters were the least likely to be murdered."(pg.53) The Clutters did not have any sort of real enemies. They were pillars of their community and had never had a serious quarrel with anyone. The fact that the Clutters could be destroyed in a night ,by what might as well have been a random act of nature, undercuts the idea of the American Dream. The Clutter murders showed people that a person could be practically perfect and still suffer horrible injustices. This mindset change is shown through the dream of detective Dewey. Though Dewey is fully committed to the case he shows in his dream that he subconsciously believes that the killers will never be caught. The Clutter case had caused Dewey to believe that the world is cruel and that injustice will ultimately prevail. The tragedy of In Cold Blood helped to signify the era where the American Dream lost some of it’s meaning. After the end of the 1950s the society of America began to change. People began to shift away from the tones that ruled the 50s ,like consensus and conformity, and towards the tones of protest and disillusionment the dominated the 60s. The tragedy of the book helps highlight the negative shift in society that came with the end of the

Show More
Related

  • In Cold Blood Quotes And Analysis

    684 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although Capote seems to be explaining the progression of the ongoing investigation regarding Clutter family murder, his words delve deeper to explain the resounding effects that a senseless crime has had on the residents of Holcomb. Therefore, Capote depicts the shattering loss of innocence that these murders have caused to interrupt this small, tranquil community. Through structure, the author transforms the simple town of Holcomb into a dreary community. Capote introduces the second section of the book with a depiction of the leisurely activities of days past; “...Andy Erhart had spent long pheasant-hunting afternoons at River Valley Farm, the home of his good friend Herb Clutter, and often, on these sporting expeditions, he’d been accompanied

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Capital Punishment In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    1512 Words  | 7 Pages

    Dewey says, “The crime was a psychological accident, virtually an impersonal act; the victims might as well have been killed by lightning. Except for one thing: they had experienced prolonged terror, they had suffered. And Dewey could not forget their sufferings. Nonetheless, he found it possible to look at the man beside him without anger—with, rather, a measure of sympathy—for Perry Smith’s life had been no bed of roses but pitiful, an ugly and lonely progress toward one mirage or another.” Capote is attempting to show the audience how one should feel

    Read More

  • In Cold Blood Dialectical Journal

    436 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the discussion, I didn’t talk as much as I should have because for the questions that I didn’t raise my hand for I didn’t have an opinion for the discussion at hand, or at least I didn’t have a solid response that could be backed up with the text or generate more discussions among the group. For the two times that I did respond to someone’s response, I felt that I had a view worthy of being shared among my group, and this was supported when some of my peers agreed with the point I made and added their own view on top of mine. But for my second response, it was more like two responses which were included in one as a result of my wanting to respond to something that was mentioned before but that I wasn’t called on for, and for the most recent response at the time. The story closes with the image of a giggle to further convey to the reader that Mary’s mentally unstable.

    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

  • Destiny And Fate In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    679 Words  | 3 Pages

    Page 4-5 Destiny & Fate, Effects on dreams Destiny and fate correlates with the theme that dreams will fail and die. Characters do not decide their destiny. However, they do decide their dreams. A character's fate and destiny affects their dreams. Whether their dreams come true or not, has many contributing factors.

    Read More

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

    871 Words  | 4 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.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast In Cold Blood

    1357 Words  | 6 Pages

    “In Cold Blood”-Comparison In 1959, the Kansas town of Holcomb was left horrified after the murders of the Clutter family. The shocking murder caught both the attention and hearts of those who learnt of it. In 1966, Truman Capote brilliantly captured the acts of the murders in his book “In Cold Blood”. Shortly after in 1967, Richard Brooks released the adaptation to Truman’s book, “In Cold Blood” which uniquely captures the essence of the murdered and the murderers. Capote and Brooks depicted the killers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock in two comparably different lights While observing both works of “In Cold Blood” various differences and commonalities stand out including; the portrayal of Mrs. Clutter’s or Bonnie’s illness, how the murderers

    Read More

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

    573 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through similar tactics Capote allows the reader to feel sorry for Dewey, even though he is the man who catches the killing pair. Detective Dewey is first introduced in part two of In Cold Blood, where the readers learn that this would not be an easy case and the Dewey would be the head detective, even though he had personal ties with the Clutter family. The reader would automatically feel sorry for Detective Dewey because he was going to do heavy investigating on a murder of a family he knew and there was very little time to mourn the deaths. Detective Dewey spent countless hours trying to chase down every lead that popped up, taking family time away, which wears on all family members. The reader feels sympathy for Dewey as he loses time with his family around the holiday time because he has become so involved in the case.

    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

  • Analysis Of The Death Penalty In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    432 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout In Cold Blood, Truman Capote hints at his own opinion of the death penalty, yet lets the readers decide for themselves what they believe Hickock and Smith's punishment should have been. When the murderers are being hanged, a conversation occurs between a reporter and an investigator about what it might feel like to be hanged: "'They don't feel nothing. Drop, snap, and that's it. They don't feel nothing.' ' Are you sure?

    Read More

  • Winter Dreams American Dream

    1044 Words  | 5 Pages

    She had brought him ecstatic happiness…” (Fitzgerald 6). However, this feeling of happiness is juxtaposed when he realizes that the American Dream, symbolized by Judy Jones, “treated him with…indifference, with contempt. She inflicted on him the innumerable little slights and indignities possible in such a case…. She had brought him… intolerable agony of spirit” (Fitzgerald 6).

    Read More

  • Symbolism And Diction In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    1142 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Literary Techniques In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    450 Words  | 2 Pages

    The non-fiction novel ‘In Cold Blood’ interestingly begins as a fiction novel would-with the author setting up the scene of the gruesome quadruple murder about to take place, unbeknownst to the victims. Capote describes the isolated flatlands of rural Kansas, and introduces the victims and their killers as if they were the main characters of a fictional murder mystery. What immediately struck me is how Capote uses literary techniques like the simultaneous narration of the lives of the killers and victims, and the fragmented retelling of the story not specifically in the order of events, which makes the story read more like a work of fiction than of pure journalism. As one gets engrossed in the book, it gets easier to forget that the story is based on truth and is not just a fictional story born in Capote’s head. Capote also demonstrates his mastery over the ‘thriller and suspense’ genre, detailing the Clutter family’s everyday lives, emotions and experiences but with progressively higher levels of anticipation as the pages go by, employing versions of the omnipresent phrase, ‘and that was their last’ for dramatic effect.

    Read More

  • The Winter Of Our Discontent Steinbeck Analysis

    1061 Words  | 5 Pages

    In The Winter of our Discontent by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck discusses what the American dream meant for families in the 1960s. The American dream that most families strived for included a happy marriage, well behaved children, a stable job with a decent paycheck, and a nice house. Every character in the novel has a dream that they wanted to accomplish but could not. Ethan dreamed of wealth and power, but felt guilty in the end because he went too far in trying to reach his goals. Marullo already had his dream, but it was stripped away from him when Ethan reported him to immigration services.

    Read More

More about In Cold Blood Tragedy Essay

Open Document