Truman CapoteS In Cold Blood Essays - English-language Films

Truman Capote'S In Cold Blood Truman Capote was first introduced to the story of the brutal killing of the Clutter family one morning in November of 1959, while flicking through The New York Times, I encountered on a deep inside page, this headline: Wealthy Farmer, 3 of Family Slain (Capote, 3). He decided to write about the crime committed in Kansas, because murder was a theme not likely to darken and yellow with time (Capote, 3). Capote promptly headed for Kansas, where he spent six years researching, solving, and writing about the unforgivable act. Truman Capotes In Cold Blood, the final product of his years of research, is a masterfully written account of the cold-blooded murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas in 1959. In writing In Cold Blood, Capote presents the blood-curdling story of the brutal killing of the Clutter family in a journalistic style, and is able to exclude his point of view on all of the events; The most difficult thing in In Cold Blood is that I never appear in it, but I solved itThe whole thing was done from Al Deweys point of view (Newsweek, 60). Because of Capotes immeasurable talent for writing, he is able to present factual events, just as in a journalistic article, in a style that seems similar to a fiction novel. His focus in In Cold Blood is on the facts of the events which occur before, during, and after the murder of Mr. Clutter; Kenyon, his fifteen year old son; Nancy, his 16 year old daughter; and, Bonnie, his wife. Capotes emphasis on the facts can be seen through his thorough account of what the murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, took from the Clutters house, which was about thirty dollars from Mr. Clutters billfold, some change and a dollar or two (239) from Mrs. Clutter, a silver dollar from Nancy, and a radio. Added up, Perry and Dick gained between forty and fifty dollars (246) from their visit to the Clutters house. As well as being written in a journalistic style, In Cold Blood is written in a documentary style, which switches back and forth from the worlds of the Clutter family, and later of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, to the terrible half-world in which the two murderers live (McCabe, 561). By writing in the documentary style, Capote is able to be specific about the thoughts, feelings, and actions of all of the characters separately, making each characters situation and point of view clear to the reader. Throughout In Cold Blood, Perry Smith is presented to the reader as a heartless and savage murderer, but during his confession, he says, I didnt want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment that I cut his throat (302), which makes the readers realize that it is not his savage nature that drives him to murder; it is Smiths mental condition that does not allow him to feel that his actions are wrong. Along with being a journalistic and documentary piece of literature, In Cold Blood can also be classified as a detective story, because of all of the research and detective work that Capote, himself, did in order to write this extraordinary work, and because of all of the detective work incorporated into the plot. Al Dewey is the chief detective in solving the murders and figuring out the murderers. In actuality, Capotes detective work and research on the Clutter murders parallels Al Deweys work in the non-fiction novel. The combination of the journalistic, documentary, and detective styles of writing in In Cold Blood is what makes this work brilliant and masterfully written. Through the use of these three styles of writing, Capote is able to present the factual account of the detective work on solving the murders; the events before, during, and after the murders; and personal accounts of all of the characters involved. This combination of styles not only presents all of the possible accounts of the murders, but it also presents the events as a story, such as a fictional novel would present its plot. The unification of journalistic, documentary, and detective styles of Truman Capotes In Cold Blood Essays - English-language Films Truman Capote's In Cold Blood Marianoel Sulgatti November 1997 Life Goes On In the book In Cold Blood, Truman Capote engages in an analysis of both the murderers and the people who surrounded the Clutter family. Capote goes through an intensive breakdown of the characters, clearly showing how each was affected as an individual by the horrendous happenings of November 15, 1959. The Clutter murders jolted the peaceful lives and future outcomes of the residents of Holcomb County. Susan Kidwell, Nancy Clutter's best friend, is affected in a very unique way. From the beginning chapters we see how Nancy confides everything with Susan. Susan has certain privilages that no one can come close to having. Capote allows us to feel their closeness as in page 21 we are carried into one of their many conversations where they exchange secrets and dreams. This relationship explains Susan's reaction when she finds her best friend dead. When Nancy Ewalt shouts that Nancy's dead, Susan turn[s] on her. ?No, she isn't. And don't you say it. Don't you dare (Capote 60). Her love for her friend does not allow her to realize that Nancy is really dead. She is so overwhelmed with the circumstances that she cannot attend school until a couple of days after the funeral (94). Mr. Ewalt clearly states, Susan never has got over it. Never will, ask me (60). This fact is clear to the reader when in the last section of the book, Al Dewey finds Susan by the graves and she says, I'm really hap py. . . Nancy and I planned to go to college together. We were going to be roommates. I think about it sometimes. Suddenly, when I'm very happy, I think of all the plans we made (349). Although she experienced a tragic event, Susan is able to think back on Nancy and find happiness in the thoughts of the times they spent together. The truth is that she never gets over it because Dewey asks about her, but she cannot go on without including her dear friend in the picture. Bobby Rupp plays a major role in the life of Nancy Clutter. We can see how this is true because of all the pictures that Nancy has of Bobby caught in a dozen actions . . . (56). Bobby feels the same way toward Nancy. He too, like Susan, is unable to attend school for a while. It is very shocking to him to loose Nancy, not only because he has never lost anybody dear to his heart, but bacuse he claims to have loved her (94). A month and a couple of weeks later after the murders, near Christmas time, he still remembers her. . . . At mealtimes he [is] told again and again that he must plese eat. No one comprehend[s] that really he [is] ill, that grief [has] made him so, that grief [has] drawn a circle around him he [cannot] escape from and others [cannot] enter; except possibly Sue (203). For a short while, Susan becomes his only companion, for only she can understand who and what Nancy means to him. After a while though, they [are] forcing each other to mourn and remember what in fact t hey [want] to forget (204). So after that realization, both trying to get on with their lives, stop seeing each other. This helps Bobby grow and years later, leave town and get married (342). Alvin Dewey was affected in both his professional and family life. As soon as he is given the case, he makes it a personal preposition (80). The attitude taken upon the case possesses him. It gets to the point that his mind automatically reject[s] problems not concerned with the Clutter case (148). People ask him if he knows what he is making of himself and he replies by saying that [the Clutter case]'s all he thinks about (148). He has become terribly absent-minded. His family life becomes totally controlled by the case. When the phone rings constantly, he promises his wife that he will disconnect it. The hope that he might get another clue though, leads him not to disconnect it. He finds himself lying to his wife, smoking, not getting enough sleep, lacking proper nutrition,