A Review of In Cold Blood
Upon arriving in Holcomb, a small congregation of buildings on thehigh wheat plains of western Kansas, Perry and Dick, two men recentlyparoled for petty crimes, left almost no evidence behind except for abloody footprint and a radio they stole from the Clutter house. In theinvestigative nonfiction murder story "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote, thestory of Perry and Dick and the night of November 15, 1959 is relived.This fast-paced and straightforward documentary talks about the nature ofAmerican violence, and details the motiveless murder of four members of theClutter family and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, andexecution of the killers, but not before the reader gets to know Dick and While reading Truman Capote's nonfiction novel, "In Cold Blood,"Capote's presentation of the facts surrounding the murders of an obscureKansas farmer and three of his family members becomes almost frightening.At many times, the author of this paper was left wondering why this bookwas having such an effect on him and why it seemed so realistic to him.Initially, one may think the answer to be that the book was a true account-because these things had actually happ
Perry seems to have no remorse for his actions, whatsoever. He says,"whole sections of my Dad was ignorant of. Dick,too, showed very little concern over his participation in the murder offour people. Smith "grinned and winked at Dewey;jaunty and mischievous" (340). After the chaplain finished his prayer forSmith's soul, "the prisoner spat his chewing gum into the chaplain'soutstretched palm" (340). My hands--but I couldn't control them. Shortlyafter their executions, Capote admitted to having become an alcoholic andan addict of tranquilizers to help him deal with the stress. Capote has adefinite reason for devoting so much space in his book to the lives of thekillers, as he regards the killers' previous lives as one of the chiefmotives for the murders. Capote is definitely convinced that these two men were products of theanger, rage, and isolation they felt from a very early age. However,it becomes apparent it wasn't just the horrific story of these murders thatis troubling, but the aspect of how Capote tells the story that makesreading it uneasy. I never got any encouragement from him or anybody else"(133).
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Acceptance Essays
