In Cold Blood: Capote's New Non-Fiction Essay

During the investigation the reader gets totally involved with Alvin Dewey, the main detective in the Clutter investigation. “When they find Smith and Hickock, Capote makes the reader wants to cheer aloud for the investigators.” (Manaly 1). The movie is not as involved, you do not get as caught up in the investigation while watching the events of their capture unfold, as you do while reading Capotes reenactment.

John Hollowell's, critical analysis of Truman Capote's novel In Cold Blood focuses on the way Capote used journalism and fiction to try and create a new form of writing (82-84).

Capote goes to great efforts to show the admiration which the community held for the Clutter family, one of the elements which made the murders so shocking. Everybody socialized with the Clutter family. For example, Mr. Clutter's friend Mrs. Ashida felt comfortable telling Mr. Clutter her conflict with her husband regarding the Ashida family's possible move, confiding that people like his family are the reason she wishes to stay in Holcomb.

Capote paints the picture that the tiny town of Holcomb was unknown to the rest of the world because of how trivial in size it was and how unimportant it was. When he said that “few Americans--in fact few Kansans--had ever heard of Holcomb” he paints the image of a small, rundown, unimportant town in the middle of nowhere. Truman paints the picture that the world doesn't know about Holcomb because it is in the middle of nowhere and because nothing ever happens worth knowing about. He paints the picture that the town in unknown to the world making the town seem innocent and peaceful because if it wasn't peaceful it would be talked about in the neighboring towns as to why this crime was going on in this tiny town

This nonfiction work is for the most part unbiased. Capote's extensive research on this real-life event is not marred by his own personal feelings about the crime committed. The fact that he tells both sides of the story adds to the objectivity. Capote doesn't render judgment for two reasons: it is important for the reader to draw conclusions about the "philosophical-sociological-psychological circumstances of the mass murder," and Capote concluded that there should be no interference with the readers' judgmental process (Reed 107). The narrator, up to the criminals' day of execution, shows no bias whatsoever; the trial could have been an easy opportunity for the narrator to express his own opinions on how the criminals should be punished. Capote is adamant in giving the facts to the reader directly and letting the reader formulate his or her own opinion. For example, of the death sentence, Capote writes, "In March 1965, after [Perry] Smith and [Dick] Hickock had been confined in their death row cells almost two thousand days, the Kansas Supreme Court decreed that their lives must end between midnight and 2:00 A.M., Wednesday, April 14, 1965" (336).

He establishes his credibility early in the text through his comprehensive understanding of the Clutter case, as well as his in depth interviews with the friends and families of the Kansan family, easily earning the trust of his readers. Capote describes the lives of the Clutter and the murders in great, utmost detail; thus, creating an artificial connection between the characters and readers. In every act, Capote never fails to illustrate a scene at length. Rather than focusing on just the perspective of the Clutters, Capote goes the extra mile and implements several stances, including the murders and the people of Holcomb. Capote clearly spent years of research and observation on the case, leading people to acknowledge his expertise on the

Conflict, in the beginning of the book Capote starts sympathizing with the Clutter’s family last day alive. Capote used a strong sentence to give us a point of where we are in the book. In the book it says, “Then, touching the brim of his cap, he headed for home and the day’s work, unaware that it would be his last.”(15) He tells us who the family was murdered. In the beginning of the book it is easy to confuse that Mr. Clutter was the murderer. Then, In Cold Blood the author, Capote, uses many foreshadowing in his book. One in specific is a extremely strong foreshadowing. In the text, “Four shotgun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives.”(5) American Novelist, Capote, exploits foreshadowing in his book. He takes

Capote starts his novel describing the small town of Holcomb, setting the stage for how the murders will change the town. Capote wants to make the readers understand that the small town

Capote presents alternating perspectives, the four members of the Clutter family Nancy, Kenyon, Mrs. Clutter and Mr. Clutter, being victims, and the two murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. These different perspectives allow the reader to relive each side of the story for

He described in great detail the murders and emotion of each family member, the background of the murderers, and the heartbroken town of Holcomb, Kansas. He gathered the information from his experience while investigating the crime with the police. He had questioned members of the community and the murderers. Capote was a credible source that captured and revealed the truth and emotion of the Clutter case in his non-fiction book. He wrote and structured the book with great detail and syntax to appeal to the reader. He contained his own opinions on the death penalty and connection between Hickock and Smith. Capote truly wrote an amazing novel based on a true murder case. His life was forever changed after launching this best-selling book full of secrets and

As Truman Capote guides his readers through the thrilling story of the homicide of the Clutters family in his nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood, he gives the them a clear conception of the characters in his story. The characterization of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, the two vicious killers, enhances the richness of the story by adding depth to the characters. Capote manipulates ethos and visual imagery to illustrate Dick’s corrupt nature, while he skillfully exploits assumption and pathos to characterize Perry as a sympathetic character.

In his novel In Cold Blood, Truman Capote writes about the Clutter family murders, which took place in November 1959. Herbert Clutter, Bonnie Clutter, and two of their children (Nancy and Kenyon) are murdered in their Holcomb, Kansas home by Perry Smith and Richard “Dick” Hickock. Capote 's novel, though telling the tale of true events, took on fictional, literary elements, creating a genre of its own: the nonfiction novel. It is through these literary elements that Capote sought for his readers to relate with the two killers, or at least gain a greater understanding of how their minds worked. His characterization of both Perry and Dick is planned carefully throughout the book, and only towards the end does the reader truly get a grasp of their personalities. This withholding – perhaps even manipulation – of information and how Capote presents the information allows him to achieve his purpose for the novel.

Capote purposefully detaches himself from this section of the story, allowing the only sense of sympathy come from those who personally knew the Clutters. Because Capote is not able to form a personal relationship with any members of the Clutter family, he simply chooses to briefly explain the family’s murder and shift his attention to the murderers instead. The Clutters all-American image could not rescue them from tragedy and instead of portraying the family as victims, Capote focuses on attempting to encourage the audience to remain optimistic on their views regarding the family’s murderers.

Capote begins his novel with a conventional narrative structure choice: describing the setting. He spends several pages familiarizing the reader with the town of Holcomb, Kansas. This move is crucial, especially when contrasted with his unconventional choices for the traditional narrative timeline as the book progresses. As Capote introduces the reader to the Clutter family, with a particular focus on Herb, he sets the groundwork for the conflict. With necessary background information in mind, the reader first confronts the conflict with the words, “...he headed for home and the day’s work, unaware that it would be his last” (13). It is this moment, that the reader experiences the first sense of satisfaction. This is the

In conducting his research for the novel, Capote managed to make friends and sources of the relatives and neighbors of the Clutters and the killers, the lawyers, the police, and Dick Hickock and Perry Smith (33). He did not use a tape recorder or a notebook when speaking with his sources, but relied on his memory to keep the facts straight.