Truman Capotes In Cold Blood - 1591 Words

Literature attempts to shape or reflect society, and oftentimes literature reveals truths and provides insight into the condition of that society. The American Dream is a dominant theme in American literature, and in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the idealistic dream is critically evaluated. In this paper, I will explain the context of the work, and then I will compare and contrast Dick any Perry (the murderers) with the Clutter family (the murdered) in relation to the theme of the fragility of the American Dream. Capote wrote what he considered to be the first nonfiction novel. Simply defined a nonfiction novel is one in which an event is reported using traditional literary and rhetorical conventions to expose broader truths†¦show more content†¦With the same command of language and imagery, Capote details the success of the agricultural community who had for â€Å"†¦the last seven years†¦[experienced] droughtless beneficence (5). In essence, the communit y has experienced much success financially. Capote provides further interpretation of the community’s success: â€Å"The farm ranchers in Finney County, of which Holcomb is a part, have done well; money has been made not from farming alone but also from the exploitation of plentiful natural-gas resources... its acquisition is reflected in the new school, the comfortable interiors of the farmhouses, the steep and swollen grain elevators† (5). The society which Luce discusses in his 1941 essay, one which represents ‘the abundant life,’†¦produced by ‘free economic enterprise’† (qtd. in Foner 863), is representative of Holcomb. In essence, the citizens of Finney County were, for the most part, living the idealistic American life. The Clutter family represents the ideal American family, one that has attained the American Dream. Capote takes great care to describe the family, the farm on which they live, and their influence on the comm unity which surrounds them. According to the text, Mr. Clutter has accumulated much wealth as a farmer, having a pile of milo-grain that is worth moreShow MoreRelatedTruman Capotes In Cold Blood1137 Words   |  5 Pagessought to compel us, entertained us, educated us, and drive us to madness. It has served as life instruction, by using the characters as the lesson plan, and we-- the students. By itself, literature is sometimes blunt, sometimes ugly, and in Truman Capote’s case, is sometimes so gruesome that we do not dare forget it. With the novels publication in the 1960s, a new genre called ‘New Journalism’ had begun to surface; it sought to combine the elements of journalism with the elements of fictionRead MoreEssay on Truman Capotes In Cold Blood1778 Words   |  8 PagesTruman Capote wrote In Cold Blood with the intention of creating a new non-fiction genre, a creative spin on a newspaper article with the author, and his opinions and judgments completely absent from the text, leaving only the truth for the reader to interpret. The pages of In Cold Blood are filled with facts and first-hand accounts of the events surrounding the brutal murder of a wealthy unsuspecting family in Holcomb, Kansas. Author Truman Capote interviewed countless individuals to get an accurateRead MoreCharacters In Truman Capotes In Cold Blood1330 Words   |  6 PagesJoseph Bouchie Honors English 9/1/17 Part 1: In the first chapter of â€Å"In Cold Blood†, Truman Capote switches between stories of the Clutter family, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. This transition allows Capote to focus on multiple accounts at once, and to connect the lives of the Clutter family to their killers. Dick and Perry are two essential characters in the first chapter as the beginning is told from Perry’s view. Dick Hickock is an uneducated somewhat charming man who didnt regret killingRead MoreJuxtaposition In Truman Capotes In Cold Blood1416 Words   |  6 PagesFor centuries, men and women have murdered each other for greed, lust, revenge, etc. However, in 1959, Truman Capote traveled to Holcomb, Kansas to discover the other side of murder. Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood, offers a close examination of the horrid murder of the Clutter family. He explored how two men of different backgrounds, ethnicities, and personalities joined together to kill an innocent family for riches. Capote provid es different points of view through each of his character’sRead MoreLiterary Imagery In Truman Capotes In Cold Blood1282 Words   |  6 PagesTruman Capote was a literary genius and had quite the way with words. His book In Cold Blood was a true work of literary art that he created with various rhetorical strategies and the truthful stories told by Garden City’s people and the two murderers of The Clutter Family ,Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Capote’s use of imagery, tone, and syntax when describing Perry the murderer of the Clutters is undeniably ingenious and brings out a more fiction feel to the story. In this essay I will provideRead MoreAnalysis of Murder in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood 561 Words   |  2 PagesTruman Capote’s In Cold Blood documents the homicide of the Clutter family, the search for the killers, and the trial and execution of the two convicted murderers Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Capote gives a detailed insight into th e lives of the four Clutters prior to their untimely deaths, focusing primarily on the daughter, Nancy Clutter. In his description of Nancy, Capote utilizes rhetorical strategies, such as imagery, parenthesis, and allusion, to give the audience a more intimate appeal inRead MoreEssay on Vengeance in Truman Capotes In Cold Blood2075 Words   |  9 Pagesfifty years ago in the [rural] heartland of America, that word evoked emotion out of the entire town’s population. Prior to writing In Cold Blood, Truman Capote had written several pieces that lead him to writing a piece of literature that would infuse fiction and nonfiction, thus In Cold Blood was created, albeit after six years of research (â€Å"Truman† 84). Truman Capote is one of the more fascinating figures on the American literary landscape, being one of the countrys few writers to cross the borderRead MoreEssay on Truman Capotes In Cold Blood2104 Words   |  9 PagesThey can afford to neglect minor details be cause they do not base their stories on factual information. There existed a period when this was the only practiced style when writing a novel. However, Truman Capote pioneered the nonfiction novel, as he called it, when he undertook the writing of In Cold Blood. His book described the well-known murders of the Clutters, a model American family. Due to the fact that Capote was writing a factual account of the crime, he thought it necessary to make his novelRead MoreEssay about Truman Capotes In Cold Blood2090 Words   |  9 Pages In Cold Blood is a novel written by Truman Capote in 1966. In Cold Blood is a true account of a multiple murder case that took place in Kansas in the 1950s. The book outlines a brutal murder case, but it shows the story from many perspectives, not just that of the law. Capote introduces you to the Clutter family, a well known, very hard working and loyal family to the community. The town of Holcomb is a small farming town. There is not much excitement in the town, and that is the way the peopleRead MoreEssay on Chronology in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood669 Words   |  3 PagesIn Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood the author writes the entire book, overall, in chronological order. Specifically in chapter two, â€Å"Persons unknown†, Capote begins the chapter with the events that happened one after another. As the chapter progresses Capote goes into more specific details and sometimes even goes back into time to give us, the readers, a more thorough understanding. In page 85, in the last paragraph, Capote goes into more details on how K.B.I members have nicknames. The author did