The aspects that create a personality are built up upon two main guidances: family influence at a young age and inner conflicts. Balancing on a thin thread of neuro-normality and insanity, a personality is subjected to treatment that affects the individual’s view of life and the people around them. In the case of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, there were two main characters that displayed these aspects with much adversity: Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Both beginning from contrasting backgrounds and family homes, they miraculously ended up in equal situations: being caught committing a heinous murder that has been declared as one of the worst serial killings in Kansas history during the early 1960s. Therefore, Perry and Dick’s similar situations must be due to their innate psychological …show more content…
For the case of Perry, that would have been the motorcycle incident and for Dick, the automobile accident. Rather than having been deferred by family or their own impulses, a physical scan of their cranial functions could serve as a reasoning behind their similar situations. Another unlikely yet probable theory is that with both their characteristics aiding to each other’s inner Id, they created their similar situation. With Dick’s planning and ability to talk and Perry’s ruthlessness, their forces allowed them to carry out the murder cleanly. It is also possible that their similar situations were very possible, Perry could have met Willie Jay instead and not work with Dick, one of them could have shot the other throughout their trip, or they could have never went back to Kansas and provoked the police to heighten their case. Yet regardless of how it could have been avoided and the physical damage caused, Perry and Dick overall committed the crime based upon the personality that they acquired through their
Perry Smith and Dick Hickock are wanted for murder, robbery, and fraud. These two murdered the Clutter family in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas at the families providence. They had thought it would be a adequate family to steal money from. When they were unable to find the money they were looking for the decided to kill them in anger and left most of the family dead. They were motivated to do so because they wanted revenge on everybody who had treated them poorly in their young and adult lives.
Although Dick’s was fully aware of his actions, he even came up with the plan to go and try to steal from the Clutters, another important evidence that separates Perry and Dick is also overlooked by the court. Alvin Dewey states Perry, before signing the confession paper, “admit that Hickock had been telling the truth, and that it was he, Perry Smith, who had shot and killed the whole family” (255). It is revealed that Perry is the one who killed the members of the Clutter family and Dick did not. The court gives Dick the same death sentence that they gave Perry, the guy who actually did the killing. Although Dick is too some extent responsible for what happened to the Clutter and he was aware of his actions and what was happening, his punishment
In Capote’s In Cold Blood the readers see Perry fall to Dick’s murder tendencies even though he knows it's wrong. Perry follows the order of Dick to kill Mr. Clutter even though Perry didn't want to kill anyone. “I didn’t want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman.
Capote portrays only one of these two seemingly distinct characters (Perry) in a way that the reader feels the need to relate to and even sympathize with him. One can be taken aback by such an attachment to a murderer. This is not surprising as the author uses his compassionate diction to manipulate the reader’s emotions with a use of pathos, the appeal to emotions. At one point Capote goes as far as to write that “Smith’s life had been no bed of roses,” (Capote 245) attempting to have the readers relate to Perry. On the other hand, Capote has Dick say this about himself: “Deal me out, baby, I’m a normal” (Capote 116).
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.
While Perry is mortified that he and Dick could commit such a gruesome crime, Dick couldn’t care less. All Dick is worried about is how odd Perry is. Because of how quick Perry’s mood could change, Dick thought he was “spooky as hell.” Now, Perry wasn’t your average run of the mill man. He still wets the bed, cries in his sleep, and “could slide into a fury ‘quicker than ten drunk Indians’”.
It’s hard to understand how someone could take someone else life. Yet, if you were in a psychopaths shoes you’d probably get a kick out of it, which sickens me. Dick and Eric , two psychopaths , two normal people , with an evil
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.
However, the Clutters have certain aspects which could be considered ‘abnormal’, especially in the case of Bonnie, a depressed and reclusive mother. Perry and Dick are juxtaposed with the Clutters, they are a seemingly abnormal duo, who are antisocial, have a hunger for murder and are even physically disfigured. Both Perry and Dick have attributes that are still somewhat ‘normal’ despite their surface abnormality. Perry is sensitive, creative and sings, Dick has had an upbringing that was completely typical of any American child, that is, he was brought up in a loving and caring environment, with enough money to live comfortably and attend secondary education. Dick also constantly defends himself saying: “I’m a normal”.
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.
Myles Hypse February 3rd, 2017 English 1B 3:30-4:40pm Two Psychopaths Both of these stories give the reader a good look into the eyes of two psychopaths, who both refuse to take no for an answer. One of them, Arnold Friend although at first appearing friendly, is nothing more than a malicious predator, similar in kind to The Misfit, who greets his victims in a much more sinister way. The two characters, when stood side by side, almost seemed as they become one, yet are polar opposites. When one compares the character Arnold Friend to that of The Misfit, more similarities come forward than differences.
He is portrayed as a mastermind in the cold-blooded killing of the Clutters family, a man with little respect for the lives of others, which can be seen through Dick’s expression before the murder of the Clutters when he converses Perry, “We’re gonna go in there and splatter those walls with hair” (Capote 234). This sudden tone shift enables Capote to depict Dick as a cruel and immoral character. Dick’s lack of empathy and concern for other people beside himself allow him to commit crimes without remorse, which is in contrast to Perry’s moral contemplation after each bad actions they committed. Moreover, Dick is represented as the true criminal with evident motives in murdering the Clutters, while Perry is seen as a vulnerable victim who depends on Dick for validation and acceptance, something in which Dick happily provides in order to manipulate Perry, as Capote writes, “Dick became convinced that Perry was that rarity, ‘a natural born killer,’—absolutely sane but conscienceless, and capable of dealing with or without motive, the coldest-blooded deathblows. It was Dick's theory that such a gift could, under his supervision, be profitably exploited” (Capote 205).
Perry wasn’t just included in the plan, he was hand-picked by Dick. Dick believed that Perry had the killer mentality that was necessary to kill the Clutters’. Dick was very opportunistic towards Perry and wanted to use him. By using Perry, Dick proves that he is a manipulator who is also the mastermind behind the plan. The situation of Dick and Perry is comparable to the situation that had occurred twenty years prior to the Clutter family murder.
In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, there is no hero. The protagonist is not a hero, nor the law enforcement. Heroism becomes irrelevant when searching for justice following a tragedy such as the one seen on November 15th, 1959 in Holcomb, Kansas. Complexity, next to justice, is primary to put into account during the aftershocks . Perry Smith is the protagonist in the novel, not only due to author’s bias but also due to his sheer dynamic, a man disconnected from word to action.
In Cold Blood, the leader seemed to be Dick, while in the Hollandsburg Massacre it was Roger Drollinger. They seemed to provoke, lead, and do what they “thought” was best. In the end, it did not matter, because both parties of criminals got in put. The Hollansburg killers got put in sooner than the duo of Dick and Perry, but in the end both parties ended up