Read our complete notes on the novel “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote. Our notes cover In Cold Blood summary, themes, and critical analysis.
Introduction
Truman Capote was an American journalist, novelist, playwright, short-story writer and actor. Many of his writings have been admired as literary classics including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958) and In Cold Blood (1966) which was labelled as a “nonfiction novel”. Capote lived a miserable life throughout. He had a traumatic childhood due to his parents’ divorce. Long absence from his mother also affected him.
Due to the failed marriage of his parents, he lived most of his childhood with his aunts and cousins in Alabama. He became good friends with another great novelist, Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird. Their friendship lasted for the whole of Capote’s life. He rose to prominence with his novel Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948) and gained recognition for the true-crime novel In Cold Blood.
In Cold Blood is a journalistic novel about the murders of a farm family in Kansas. Capote read about the murders in the New York Times’ article. For investigation, he along with Harper Lee went to Holcomb, Kansas after the funeral. They remained there till the investigation ended. They interviewed the inhabitants of the town and the investigators assigned and wrote thousands of pages of notes. Capote also built a particular relationship with the murderers, Perry Smith and Richard Dick Hickock. He spent about six years working on the book and ultimately made it a true-crime novel.
In Cold Blood gained early success because of its persuasive prose style and considerable detail. The book was also lauded for its triple narrative technique i-e which describes the lives of the murderers, the victims and the community in rural villages. Capote has also given proper attention to the family backgrounds of the two murderers and their psychological traits. He has also commented on the complex relationship between them. Critics regard it as a true crime novel and laud it for its genuineness though some of the events differ from the real events. It was published originally in four parts in The New Yorker and then as a novel in 1965.
In Cold Blood Summary
The novel consists of four chapters. The summary of each chapter is given below.
Chapter 1
The setting is Holcomb, Kansas, a town of approximately 270 people, located at the carrefour between the potent pasture of the Midwest and the grubby span of the High West. The pueblo consists of a post office, the Holcomb school, the Teacherage where several of the pueblo’s teachers live, and Hartman’s Cafe (run by Mrs. Hartman). The stillness in the city is destroyed, in the early morning, by gunshots.
The story rewinds two days back. The Clutter family is introduced to the readers. The family consists of the couple, Herbert and Bonnie Clutter and their children; Eveanna, Beverly, Nancy and Kenyon. Herbert Clutter is the master of the family. He is a person who has achieved his American Dream. He runs a ranch and supervises his employees. He is very generous and fulfills the needs of his subordinates. He does not like people using tobacco and alcohol. His wife
Bonnie Clutter lives a miserable life. She suffers from depression and is bedridden.
Eveanna is married and the mother of an infant. Beverly is a nursing tutee who is going to marry soon. Nancy is the darling of the town. She is energetic and lively. She is a dream-girl and wants to go to New York and attend college. She dates a local boy named Bobby Rupp but does not see her future with him. Kenyon, the youngest wants to be an engineer or inventor, is all day busy in making gadgets and other electronic equipment. The family is tightly-knit and they have a very comfortable life.
Herb, Herbert, thinks about sleeping as it is too late. His wife sleeps alone in Eveanna’s previous room. They have not slept together for many years which reveals their failed marital relationship. They live in a well-built house built by Herb himself. He drinks some milk and heads towards the livestock’s room with Teddy, a dog.
In this passage, Herb’s story through the ranks has been discussed. He works day and night to achieve that status. The writer tells us that, how with sheer determination and hard work, Herb has attained this status. How he has leapfrogged from an assistant to a county agent, with sheer hard work. He quits his job dreaming of running his own farm and achieves the status. People doubted his credentials but he proved them wrong.
Later, an employee of the farm comes to him and asks for leave as his child is ill. He gives him a day off and asks him if he needs any help. He then goes towards his garden of fruit trees built at the bank of the river and thinks of the jolly days of their early marriage. Five pheasant hunters come to him with their guns and offer money to him for hunting. He permits them to hunt for free saying that he is not a poor man as they think.
Perry Smith, one of the murderers, is introduced in this passage. He is in a cafe waiting for his other partner in crime, Dick Hickock. He is busy drinking beer, smoking a cigarette and also studying the map of Mexico where he intends to go. He also dreams of becoming a treasure hunter in the tropics and dreams about having a future in the music world, in Las Vegas. He pays his bill and waits outside for Dick to discuss a plan for robbery. He is short in stature and openly praises Dick’s masculinity. His dreams are broken when Dick reaches in a car.
The story then jumps into Nancy’s experience in baking a cherry pie. She receives a phone call from Mrs. Clarence Katz, who tells her to teach her daughter about the cherry pie recipe. She hesitates because of her busy schedule working with her father. She visits his office and feels the scent of tobacco. Herb permits her to skip the meeting and she gets herself ready to help Jolene Katz.
Nancy enters her room to change clothes. She puts on her gold watch as well. Susan Kidwell, her bestie, calls her and she shares her worry about her father with Susan. She tells her that her father has started smoking. Nancy tells her that she wants to be “father’s girl” and does not want to disobey her father in any case. Susan tells her that Bobby can be the reason for her father’s trouble but Nancy does not think so. However, she thinks secretly that Bobby might be the source of trouble.
Perry sits in Dick’s car. Dick still wears his mechanic attire. He looks for his guitar in the backseat. He finds a gun and some other tools for robbery. He also spots a vest filled with shells. He asks Dick about the vest and Dick tells him that it is part of the plan. Dick promises him that he will see him blasting hair over the wall. Both of them go to Bob Sands’ Body Shop, where Dick works. Dick tells him that he was with his father at home that’s why he came late. He also tells him that he has lied to his parents telling them that they, he and Perry, are going to Fort Scott to borrow money from Perry’s sister.
The story again comes to Clutters’ house where the cherry pie is being cooled on the table. Nancy feels happy that she helped her. Jolene wants to eat the pie instantly. She offers some pieces to Bonny and Nancy. They decline because Nancy is ready to go to help another girl in the neighborhood and Bonny is suffering from a headache. Nancy leaves so Bonny keeps the company of Jolene till her mother picks her up.
Jolene is feeling shy but tells Bonnie that her home economics teacher in school admires Nancy. Mrs. Clutter acknowledges, telling her that her children are efficient and they do not need her. Bonnie leads Jolene to her room and opens her a small paper fan. She tells her that such little things are for her. She also tells her about her illness and hopes that God will have mercy upon her. When Jolene’s mother comes, Bonnie offers her the fan which she accepts. Bonnie then goes into her bedroom. Her bedroom is greatly embellished. The windows are shut. She thinks about her past and blames herself for bringing disrepute to her family. She changes her nightclothes and begins to read the Bible.
When Dick and Perry ready the car, they spend ample time in the shop’s washroom. Both of them reveal their bodies. Both of them have flaws, in one way or the other, in their bodies. Dick’s face is curved because he had a car accident. Being naked, Perry’s own flaws are also visible. His legs and lower body are scarred and twisted due to a motorbike accident. That accident has given him chronic pain due to which he uses aspirin continuously. Dick decides that they have wasted enough time and tells him to go. They reach the pueblo of Emporia to buy some more things for the looting. Perry asserts that they should wear women’s attire over their faces to conceal their true selves. Dick refuses and comforts Perry that his plan is flawless and they will be able to execute it properly.
Kenyon is busy in the cellar making a wedding gift for his sister Beverly. He is an introvert and does not take any interest in girls. He goes outside to work in his mother’s garden when he sees Paul Helm. Mr. Helm asks him about a vehicle in the driveway and Kenyon tells him that it might be Mr. Johnson’s, the insurance agent. Nancy, fresh from swimming, comes on the back of her Babe. Mr. Helm leaves.
Dick and Perry, who are still searching for a black pantyhose, park the car outside a Catholic hospital on the fringes of the town. Dick enters the hospital hoping that he might find one. Perry does not want to confront the nuns so he stays in the car. Perry thinks about his return to Kansas and hopes that he may get united with Willie-Jay who was his friend in prison. Willie-Jay had tried to change Perry to Christianity but failed to do so. He had also notified him of his bad temper. Dick dismisses Willie-Jay and Perry believes that he has disappeared. Dick comes back to the car with nothing and Perry is shaken from his musings.
The scene changes and now Bob Johnson, “the Garden City Representative of the New York Life Insurance Company”, observes Mr. Clutter who is busy writing a check for a new life insurance policy. Mr. Johnson jokes about his old routine of never carrying cash. Herbert talks about his daughter’s coming marriage and talks about his luck. He tells him that his life will get more settled in the coming years. Mr. Johnson takes the check from him, places it in his pocket and leaves.
Perry and Dick drive in the night. Perry thinks about the scenery and reflects on how he hates Kansas. He talks about Mexico and talks about renting a ship and going to Japan with Dick. He starts thinking about Japan but Dick interrupts his thinking.
The narrator of the following scene is Bobby Rupp, during his testimony at the police station after the killing of the Clutters. He talks about his connection with Nancy and praises her for her beauty and fame. He recalls the last time he met with the Clutters and says that he left that night at 10:30.
Again Dick and Perry are the subjects in this passage. They have dinner at Great Bend and then they travel towards Holcomb. After several hours they halt at a gas station on the fringes of Garden City. Perry, feeling his legs itchy, takes aspirin and rests for some time in the restroom. Dick impatiently waits for him in his car thinking that he may have changed his mind about the robbery. Perry has told him that once he killed a man and from thereafter Dick is convinced that he is the man for the job. Dick resolves to manipulate Perry and he has promised him to partner him with his hunting treasures. Dick also wishes for a luxurious life having a home, a car, a horse etc. Perry at last comes and they leave. They arrive at the Clutters’ late that night.
The next morning Nancy Ewalt, with her father Clarence Ewalt, goes to the Clutters’ so that she accompanies them to the church. When she rings the doorbell, no answer comes. They go to the Teacherage, to ask Susan about what’s the matter. After calling the Clutters’ on the phone, they decide to visit their home. Nancy, her father, Susan and her mother go there. Nancy and Susan go to the house first. They see the dead body of Nancy Clutter and rush out of the house screaming.
The police, along with Larry Hendricks and Mr. Ewalt, search the whole house.
Upstairs, they come across Nancy’s body. Then they discover Bonnie’s body in Eveanna’s former room. Afterwards, they find the dead bodies of Herbert and Kenyon down in the cellar. All of them were shot in the head from point-blank range. Mr. Clutter’s throat was also cut. The murderers’ only clue was a bloodsoaked footprint. Holcomb’s mailwoman Mother Truitt sees ambulances at the Farm. She tells her daughter, who is a postmistress in the town. She makes a phone call and comes to know about the murder of the Clutters. They both react with agony and terror hearing this horrific news.
People of the town come to know about the murders quickly. They react with shock, despair and incredulity. The owner of Hartman’s Cafe, Mr. Bess Hartman, is completely shaken by the news. Bob Johnson feels sad about the family’s death and decides to honor Herb’s life insurance policy, even though he hasn’t yet processed Herb’s check. Beverly, Eveanna and other family members come to Holcomb. Mr. Ewalt breaks the news to Bobby Rupp and Susan consoles him.
After the murder, Perry takes rest in a motel room in Olathe, Kansas. His smudged boots are saturating in the washbasin. Dick feels very hungry and enjoys Sunday dinner with his family. He is so tired that he goes to sleep instantly once he finishes his meal.
Chapter 2
Herbert’s home is cleaned up by four of his closest friends. They all praise him for his hard work and commitment. Alvin Dewey who is Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) agent is given the murder case. He is an experienced investigator and Herb’s personal friend. His team includes Special Agents Harold Nye, Roy Church and Clarence Duntz. They arrange a press conference in which Alvin reveals that neither of the females is sexually abused. He also says that they are trying to get any clue, motive or lead. The whole town is in a disarray. Fear is looming large in the town. The people in town feel frightened. Many of the houses keep their lights burning at night.
Perry and Dick sit in a cafe in Kansas. Perry reads about the murders in an article. Perry tells dick that they will get caught eventually bringing a connection with Floyd. Dick tells him that he will kill Floyd if he opens his mouth. Susan and Bobby agree to go to see Nancy a day before their funeral. They feel amazed when they see all of them dressed in their formal dress with their heads completely encased in cotton.
In Kansas City, Perry and Dick are busy writing bad checks. When they get enough money, Perry is excited that he will be able to go to Mexico to fulfil his dreams. He also dreams of getting married to the nurse who took care of him after his accident. He thinks that they will become treasure hunters in Mexico and will pay off bad checks then.
Alvin Dewey is busy investigating the murder. He thinks it strange that the murderers acted with simultaneous violence and tenderness. Perry and Dick load the Chevy with stolen goods and go to Oklahoma. Perry is relieved that his dream is finally coming true. Dick is sad because he thinks about his family. Only days after the funeral, Beverly marries Vere English. They marry so early because they think all their relatives are in town for the funeral.
Perry and Dick are enjoying their stay in Mexico. Perry is suspicious that something bad will happen to them as they have murdered innocent people. Dick dismisses his fear. He also hates Perry for his unusual habits. Perry thinks about his doomed life throughout. He had a troubled childhood. His mother was alcoholic, his sister was killed in a horrific accident, his brother committed suicide. He thinks he is doomed to lead a miserable life. He reveals he lied to
Dick about killing a man because he wanted to impress Dick.
Hartman’s Cafe’s steadiest customers Lester McCoy and Mrs. Hideo Ashida say that they are leaving the town following the unrest. Mrs. Ashida tells that her husband wanted to leave early but she refused. Following the murder, she also wants to leave. Dick and Perry aboard a small boat at the coast of Acapulco. They have no money and Dick decides to sell the Chevy. Dick does not do any manual work thinking that the wages in Mexico are very low. Perry thinks Dick cannot manage any money. Dick decides to go back to the States. They borrow some money and buy two bus tickets to the States.
Perry contemplates his past. His time as a Merchant Marine, his time in the Army, and his time in Worcester, Massachusetts. He recalls a letter from his sister, Barbara, in which she scolds him for his criminal behavior. After the letter, Perry hates his sister and wishes her to be at the Clutters’ house that night so that he would have killed her too. Later, Perry looks at his watch to note the time. He hurries Dick, who is busy being physical and intimate with a prostitute, to go.
In Holcomb, Alvin Dewey stops at Hartman’s Cafe for a cup of coffee. He gets some stick from local men due to his failure in locating the murderers. Alvin also remembers the murders occured in Holcomb in the past. Dick and Perry are busy hitchhiking in the Mojave Desert. They plan to take a lift from a stranger, then kill him and get the car. A man comes but does not give them a lift. They proceed on their journey.
Chapter 3
The chapter starts with Floyd Wells, Herb’s former employee and current inmate at Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing, who learns of the Clutter murder. Once he was a cellmate with Dick and told him about the Clutters’ well-being. Dick has told him that he and Perry will rob and kill the Clutters. Floyd fears retribution however he goes to the deputy warden’s office and tells him what Dick’s plans were. Alvin and his wife Marie also learn of Dick and Perry as the suspects in the murder. Alvin shares their photos with Marie. Dick looks like a criminal while Perry’s soft eyes do not prove him a bad guy.
The KBI starts its investigation. Agent Nye questions Dick’s parents in their house. His father tells him that Dick was a good boy however he became resentful because they could not send him to college. Dick’s mother argues that her son became a criminal because of Perry. Agent Nye spots a 12-gauge shotgun. Dick’s father tells him that the gun belongs to Dick. A travelling businessman gives a ride to both of them. Dick makes him busy and signals Perry to murder him. In the meantime, a third traveller gets on the car and their plan fails.
Agent Nye visits a house in Las Vegas where Perry once lived. The lady there tells Nye that she expects Perry soon as he has sent some luggage before his arrival. Nye then visits San Francisco to meet Perry’s sister Barbara. Barbara hates to discuss her brother. She tells Agent Nye not to tell Perry her whereabouts because she fears him. She has no clues for Agent Nye. Afterwards, the KBI decides to keep the information secret as they have no clue whether Dick and Perry are the murderers.
Dick and Perry head for Kansas City. They seek shelter in a barn from a rainstorm. Dick thinks that he will cash on selling bad checks and will spend the winter in Florida. Perry is convinced that they will get caught. They discover a car in the barn and decide to steal it. In Kansas City, Perry does the manual work of laundry while waiting for Dick to come. He thinks about his life and concludes that his life has not changed from his childhood days. Dick comes happily telling that he has written one bad check. They plan to go to Florida. In the meantime, Alvin is told by Agent Nye that Dick and Perry have been traced to Kansas City but nobody has caught them yet. Alvin thinks they cannot be caught and terms them invincibles.
Perry and Dick enjoy their life on the beach in Miami, Florida. Dick collects seashells and feels envious of a rich man who is enjoying with his wife. He is a pedophile and gives the seashells to a twelve-year-old girl to entice her sexually. Perry feels relieved when the girl leaves Dick. He feels his dream of being a treasure hunter and a musician has been destroyed. He contemplates suicide as an escape from the miserable life. They have no money and are leaving Florida tomorrow aiming to go west. On the same day, Bobby goes for a walk and inadvertently ends at the Clutters’ farm. He examines their house which has become a symbol of abandonment and despair. The only sound in the house is of the family’s pet horse, Babe, in the livestock corral still alive.
Dick and Perry team up with a boy who finds returnable bottles by the roadside. They collect a good amount of bottles and exchange them at a motel. They divide the money and have a great dinner in a restaurant. Afterwards, on 30th December Alvin gets notified through a call that both the murderers have been caught in Las Vegas. Afraid that the KBI’s evidence will not be sufficient to prove their crime, he sets off for Las Vegas.
Agent Nye and Church interrogate Dick. Agent Nye is surprised by Dick’s lean demeanor. Dick lies about the murders and both of them catch his lies. Dick persistently denies his crime. Then Agent Nye spots Perry outside the room and is amazed by his dark complexion and short legs. Alvin and Agent Duntz question Perry about the murders. Both of them accuse him of the killings and he remains silent. They are imprisoned in separate cells. Perry wishes to talk to Dick but cannot. Dick is assured that Floyd has betrayed him and feels angry for not killing him in prison. He also realizes that Perry is a greater weakness and regrets not killing him first.
They both are interrogated for the second time. Dick puts all the blame on Perry and tells them that it was Perry who killed them all. He tells them that he was unable to stop him. After Dick’s confession, the people of Holcomb feel shocked and confused that the killer is not one of their own. Some of them still believe that the real killer is someone else who is hidden.
Both of them are driven to Garden City in a police caravan. Perry is handcuffed and sits in the passenger seat besides Alvin who is driving. In Garden City, the agents turn Perry against Dick and Perry tells him the story of the murders. Perry tells them that they were so frustrated after finding no money in Clutters’ house. He says he also protected Nancy from Dick who was going to rape her. He tells them he wanted to kill even Dick after the murders as he was a witness. Alvin heard the story with horror also feeling sympathy for Perry. Outside, a large crowd is gathered to see the two murderers get escorted to jail.
Chapter 4
Perry is kept in a “ladies cell” because of his feminine qualities. Josephine Meier, the undersheriff’s wife, feels sympathy towards him and offers him food to eat. She tells her husband about Perry’s sympathetic character but he scolds her saying he is a murderer. Perry takes full responsibility for all the murders sparing Dick because he does not want Dick’s family to suffer. In the meantime, the county attorney gives his verdict that he will pursue the death penalty against both of them. Perry misses Dick very much.
Dick seeks a way of escaping jail. He plans to make a jailbreak and go to Colorado. He makes a knife in the hope of killing the undersheriff. The sheriff finds Dick’s knife and Perry comes to know of it. He has also dreamed of escaping jail. He even dreams of suicide but there is no way to escape the cell.
Meanwhile, the authorities decide that the trial will be held in Garden City keeping in view the sentiments of the people towards both of them. Many leaders in the city are against the death sentence. Doctors are called upon to examine the mental state of both the criminals. The doctors confirm that both are sane and fit for trial. The defense comes up with their own psychiatrist, Dr. Jones to examine them.
In the meantime, on 31st March the remaining belongings of the Clutters’ are sold in an auction. Their family horse, Babe, is sold to a Mennonite farmer much to the grief of Susan. Paul Helm views the auction as a second funeral. The authorities select a jury for the trial. The defense’s psychiatrist Dr. Jones takes details from Dick and Perry about their lives. They both write about their lives until the moment they murder the family.
When the trial begins, Mr. Hickock argues that the trial is biased against his son Dick. Floyd confirms the crime and says that it was planned. Alvin also testifies that Perry had protected Dick from raping Nancy. He also tells them that Perry gets all the blame to spare Dick’s family from suffering. Mrs. Hickock cries when she hears this and feels sympathy for both of them.
Don Cullivan visits Perry in jail. After eating the meal, Perry tells him that he does not know why he killed the Clutters. He tells him maybe he was satisfying his private anger on them. He also tells him that he does not feel guilty about the crime because he did not know the Clutters before.
When the trial resumes, Dr. John is summoned to testify. He was asked about whether both of them knew right from wrong when they were committing the crime. He shares his opinion about Dick that he suffers from “organic brain damage”. About Perry he says he is unable to draw an opinion. He may be suffering from schizophrenia and may be “murders without motive”.
In the final session of the trial the defense argues that the death penalty is harsh and it goes against Christianity. The highly experienced Logan Green, who is the prosecution’s attorney, argues that the act is barbarous and the murderers if spared, will cause more danger in the community. Finally, the jury finds both of them guilty and gives them death sentences.
Both of them survive their first execution date because of their case in appeals court. Perry goes for a hunger strike and is sent to hospital to be forcibly fed. After some days he begins to eat and returns to the cell. Two years go by and they are joined by other mates in the cell who are also having death penalties. Dick studies law books hoping that he will reverse his penalty. A final hearing is conducted, on the request of Dick, and the whole cast is reassembled in Garden City. After much discussion, they conclude that both have had a fair trial and there is no evidence of their innocence. Consequently, a new date is fixed for their execution.
Three more years pass and they survive three more execution dates. Their final appeal fails and a date is set for their execution: April 14th, 1965. Alvin, along with his team, comes for the execution. Dick shakes hands with the KBI agents feeling no remorse. He is hanged till death. Later, Perry is also executed. He apologized for all his crimes but was meaningless. Alvin is deeply moved by his execution. He also tells us that he was happy for all the people, related to the Clutters, living their lives happily afterwards.
In Cold Blood Characters Analysis
Characters are mouthpieces for a writer. A writer expresses his opinion about an issue through their characters. Writing a literary piece is impossible without characters. Through characters, the readers come to know about the writer’s opinion on a particular subject. In this novel, the main focus is on Herbert Clutter, the owner of the Clutter family, and the two murderers; Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.
Herbert Clutter
Herbert Clutter is the owner of the Clutter family. He is the master of River Valley Farm as well. He is a successful man and a prominent citizen of the town. He has achieved his success through sheer hard work and determination. He used to be an assistant at a farm but his determination to run a farm himself pays off. He pursues the American Dream and attains it through hard work. People doubted his credentials but he proved them wrong with his success.
Herb is a generous and sympathetic person. He shows sympathy towards his workers as well. He treats them kindly and pays their wages in time. One of his workers requests for a day off as his child is ill. He spares him for the day and asks him if he needs any help. He also allows the hunters to hunt in his orchards free of cost. He also instils his qualities in his children particularly, Nancy and Kenyon, who also work hard to achieve their own success.
Perry Smith
Perry Smith is one of the murderers of the Clutters’ family. He is a complicated guy and a round character who changes very quickly. He is Capote’s most complex character. His traumatic childhood has made him a criminal. His father did not send him to school. His mother was an alcoholic. His two brothers committed suicides and a sister who is afraid of him. His childhood was very troubled which has a lasting effect on his adult life.
He used to live in orphanages in his childhood where the nuns abused him constantly. He was brutally tortured in the orphanages. In his adulthood, he gets into a motorcycle accident which leaves him with crippled legs and constant pain. He craves for education all his life and sees himself as an individual with proper potential if given proper education.
He is mistreated all his life which results in him being a thief first and then a serious murderer. He wants to give an outlet to his anger and murders the whole Clutters’ family without any motive. The family has not done him any harm but he murders them brutally. He wants to achieve the American Dream by hook or by crook. He wants to go beyond his potentials to achieve that dream which results in him being a murderer.
There is a soft side to his personality as well. He does not allow Dick to rape Nancy before her murder. He does not like Dick being a pedophile. He becomes a teacher of Joe’s kids when he stays with him. He is very touchy and cries easily on an ordinary matter. However, being a murderer all his good qualities remain useless. He is caught by the police, sentenced to death, and executed finally.
Dick Hickock
Dick Hickock is Perry’s partner in crime. According to his parents he was a good boy in his childhood. He does well in school and in sports as well. However, he thinks life has not given him what he has wished for, so he wants to snatch it from life by whatever means possible. He sells bad checks and does not care for his actions.
He blows away all his money on alcohol and women. He is a rapist and a pedophile. He does not care about the consequences of his actions. He acts according to his own will and desire. He is a materialist and does not share any emotional connection with another person. He partners Perry for the murders because he thinks it is not a one man job. After succeeding in his crime he thinks about getting rid of Perry.
He does not feel any guilt for his crime. Perry always alludes to the fact that they have done many things wrong but Dick is fed up with Perry moaning about the crime. He tells him to forget about it as it is nothing serious for Dick. Lack of empathy and guilt are the biggest traits in his personality.
In Cold Blood Themes
Themes are the central ideas writers explore in their writings. When they want to address an issue they turn to literary writing. Truman Capote has put emphasis on many issues in his novel. They are given as under;
The American Dream
The American Dream, as defined by James Truslow, is “ a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position”. The idea of achieving this dream takes centre stage in In Cold Blood. All the characters strive to achieve this dream. They also want to know about who has achieved it and who has not.
Both the murderers want to achieve this dream but are devoid by circumstances. Perry’s traumatic childhood, his crippled legs and his poverty make him unable to achieve this dream. His inability of achieving this dream compels him to choose the life of crime. Despite being an intelligent and hardworking individual, he turns to the life of crime for achieving success because of his dire circumstances. Dick also turns to unfair means to achieve success. His low income and less resources frustrate him in his life. He looks for a shortcut to achieve success and turns to a life of crime, ultimately planning with Perry to rob the Clutters’.
Contrastingly, Herbert Clutter is a self-made man. He runs his own farm and lives a prosperous life. Unlike both Dick and Perry, he has achieved the American Dream by sheer hard work and determination. He has used hard work as a ladder to achieve success. He has also instilled the idea of hard work in his children particularly Nancy and Kenyon. They represent the ideal achievement of the American Dream for Dick and Perry.
The Idea of Evil
Truman Capote, in his novel, terms the idea of evil as relative which differs from individual to individual. What seems evil to one person, does not seem evil to another person. Perry does not think that his murder of the Clutters’ was an evil act. He argues that soldiers murder more men and get middles for it. However, he thinks Dick’s pedophilic nature as evil.
He even prevents Nancy Clutter from rape before murdering her. His idea is relative but ironic. He murders Nancy but prevents her from being raped. He thinks rape is evil but does not think murder evil. This idea is not cleared given his troubled childhood and traumatic life.
Christianity
The idea of Christianity as a force of redemption and salvation is discussed in numerous ways in the text. Holcomb City is a religious city and the inhabitants practice religion fully. The Clutters’ family is Methodist and their Methodist mindset can be related to their achievement of the American Dream. Although Perry openly shuns Catholicism, because of his experience with the abusive nuns who tortured and abused him, Christian norms and values are important to him.
Willie-Jay thinks Christianity can bring back Dick and Perry from a life of crime. She sees Christianity as a savior for both of them. Most Christians term the death penalty harsh for both of them and demand leniency from the authorities. Christianity acts as an antidote to killing and violence in the novel.
In Cold Blood Literary Analysis
Capote’s In Cold Blood is a nonfiction novel – the first of its kind. He has told the story of the Clutters’ family’s murders with great details. Prior to the novel writing, he had taken notes of approximately 8000 pages about the horrific murders. Capote and Harper Lee followed the investigation till the end and Capote then decided to make a novel out of it.
Capote’s art of storytelling is admirable. Capote has given his readers a detailed account of his characters. The readers know all about the main characters as well as the minor ones. They know about the dreams, ambitions and desires of each character. He has also given proper attention to the psychological minds of the main characters. Capote’s eloquent style and his extensive detail about the characters make him a better novelist. His language is simple and concise.
Capote’s novel can be read as a commentary on the American Dream. According to the novel, every individual seeks to achieve the American Dream but few individuals succeed in achieving it. Individuals like Dick and Perry turn to a life of crime trying to achieve it. They do not have the proper means to achieve it so they turn to unfair means. They seek criminal life as a shortcut to be successful in their lives and pursue it, unlike Herbert Clutter who achieves the dream through sheer hard work and determination. Capote wants to tell his readers that the American Dream cannot be achieved by everyone.
Capote uses ironies significantly in the story. Firstly, the Clutters’ were made comfortable before they were brutally killed is ironic. Perry also tells the investigator that he did not want to give any harm to Mr. Herbert and then he slits his throat. Secondly, Perry saves Nancy from being raped by Dick and then murders her. Perry does not think murdering someone is an evil act and does not feel any regret in the last scene while previously he had apologized for his crimes is also ironic.
Capote has used apt words and sentence structure for the narration of the story. The choice of words completely befits the subject matter. He has addressed the alarming subject of the American Dream in a very simple way. The plot is well-knitted. There are no loose threads in the plot. The story moves slowly and gradually towards its ending. Capote has taken care of every little detail in his masterpiece.
Capote describes the Clutters’ and the murderers contrastingly. His choice of words is different for both of them. He uses “Mr.” with Herbert Clutter but calls the murderers by their original names. It is because he respects Herbert for his hard work and determination in successfully achieving his American Dream. On the contrary, he does not have the same amount of respect for both the murderers who depend on shortcuts to achieve their success.
Symbols
The Title
The title of the novel In Cold Blood itself is symbolic. The denotative meaning of ‘in cold blood’ is “without feeling or mercy; ruthlessly”. In the context of the novel we, the readers, assume from the title that something brutal is going to happen. Afterwards, the readers come to know that the murderers have done the crime brutally and mercilessly. They have felt no sympathy for the victims. This is the first significant symbol.
The Clutter Family
The Clutter family is a well-balanced and perfect family. Most of the family members live a happy life. Most of them are busy in achieving their desires and goals in life. They symbolize a family which have achieved their American Dream. Herbert Clutter has achieved success with hard work and patience and he is busy instilling that idea in his children. His children are following their father’s footsteps in making themselves stable and independent.
Prison
Truman Capote criticizes the presence of prisons in the country and the way the criminals are treated there. He informs his readers that the prisons in the country do not reform the criminals rather they make them more brutal and cruel. The criminals, in the novel, who come out of prisons end up committing more serious crimes and are caught again. Floyd Wells, Dick and Perry all have spent time in jail and have come out more experienced criminals.
To sum up, Capote’s novel makes readers understand that the American Dream can only be achieved through continuous hard work and struggle. Men who follow shortcuts to achieve it mostly end up in a life of crime.
