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Truman Capote Nature Vs Nurture

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From the moment a person is born to the moment they die, they are constantly changing with the effects of their surroundings and their decisions. People are also influenced by their genetics, which determine hair color and other traits. These all contribute to the development of people and who they become as a whole, including their personality, values, and morals. People are influenced by many factors in life and psychology studies the human mind and its behavior throughout time. Literature and history often conveys the difference between nature and nurture in the development of people. Nature vs. nurture is complex theory and has been analyzed through the ages and both play critical roles in determining who and what people become as they …show more content…

The Clutter family was brutally shot and killed by Perry Smith and Richard “Dick” Hickock, due to rumors of a hidden safe. Capote gives the readers a peek of Smith and Hickock’s lives before the murders to bring question to the theory of nature vs. nurture and how it changes behavior, regarding Perry and Dick’s crime that would ultimately lead to their execution. With Dick Hickock in Capote’s book, both nature and nurture play a critical role in his character. Dick was born into a loving family with a nice house and normal upbringing compared to Perry. Capote mentions that Dick grew up as an all-star athlete, maintained good standing grades in school, dated girls often and cared deeply about his family, and nevertheless, ends up as a cruel and malicious criminal. Some believe that Dick was a natural born killer who, despite his kind and stable upbringing, inevitably would have adapted a life of crime. Dick exemplifies how malicious intent and evil essence could be implanted by nature and greatly determined his future. Dick may have also been influenced by his inability to achieve the American Dream. He discusses his wish to live “‘a regular life,’ with a business of his own, a house, a horse to ride, a new car, and ‘plenty of blond chicken’ (Capote 55). After divorcing Carol and

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