In Cold Blood
What does one gain from murdering a family? Capote wrote, “Then I aimed my gun. The room just exploded. Went blue. Just blazed up” (244). In Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood,” four shots to four heads occurred in the Clutter home in the isolated city of Holcomb, Kansas on November 15, 1959. The main characters are the Clutter family, and two men named Dick and Perry. Capote’s novel “In Cold Blood” illustrates the murder of a family and the case to capture the suspects, how mental illness/psychological states control the actions of individuals, the objective yet soothing style of his writing, and an implication on how Capote views the deaths and the death penalty.
The Clutters, Herb, Bonnie, and their two teenage children, Kenyon and Nancy, are …show more content…
He writes with objectivity, but in a soothing way. His objectivity contributes towards retelling the story of the Clutter murders and the facts about the case. However, this writing style is new, or different, compared to his normal writing style for his other works. Encyclopedia of World Biography states, “The ornate style and dark psychological themes of his early fiction caused reviewers to categorize him as a Southern Gothic writer. However, other works display a humorous and sentimental tone.” Again, most of Capote’s works are written in an ornate or humorous style, but not “In Cold Blood.” For contrast, the style of another one of Capote’s novels, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” is rather blunt and focuses more on the shock-factor of the main character’s dialogue. Even though a majority of the novel is objective, Capote made sure to add quotes from people in the novel such as, “Just remember: If one bird carried every grain of sand, grain by grain, across the ocean, by the time he got them all on the other side, that would only be the beginning of eternity (69).” This, and others like this, add the soothing factor to the novel , variety, and attracts the reader’s …show more content…
Many tragic things happened in such a small, isolated town. The people of Holcomb realized if death can claim the Clutters, it can happen to them as well. Now, a good question can be what does one gain from murdering a family? An even better question is why does one think he or she gains anything from murdering a
The Clutters, Herb, Bonnie, and their two teenage children, Kenyon and Nancy, are …show more content…
He writes with objectivity, but in a soothing way. His objectivity contributes towards retelling the story of the Clutter murders and the facts about the case. However, this writing style is new, or different, compared to his normal writing style for his other works. Encyclopedia of World Biography states, “The ornate style and dark psychological themes of his early fiction caused reviewers to categorize him as a Southern Gothic writer. However, other works display a humorous and sentimental tone.” Again, most of Capote’s works are written in an ornate or humorous style, but not “In Cold Blood.” For contrast, the style of another one of Capote’s novels, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” is rather blunt and focuses more on the shock-factor of the main character’s dialogue. Even though a majority of the novel is objective, Capote made sure to add quotes from people in the novel such as, “Just remember: If one bird carried every grain of sand, grain by grain, across the ocean, by the time he got them all on the other side, that would only be the beginning of eternity (69).” This, and others like this, add the soothing factor to the novel , variety, and attracts the reader’s …show more content…
Many tragic things happened in such a small, isolated town. The people of Holcomb realized if death can claim the Clutters, it can happen to them as well. Now, a good question can be what does one gain from murdering a family? An even better question is why does one think he or she gains anything from murdering a