Cold Blood - 1139 Words

In the non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, Truman Capote (1965) gives his own narrative of the Holcomb tragedy in which a family of four living out on a secluded farm were slaughtered with a shotgun by the collaboration of two individuals for a seemingly few dollars. In this novel, Capote gives a thorough character description of the two murderers, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, as he recreates their experience (much as he sees it as it would be from their eyes). He gives accounts preceding the event, through it, and eventually into their trial and execution. From the descriptions Capote provides, a psychological analysis of the mental states of Hickock and Smith can be asserted. Richard Hickock can be seen as possessing significant traits†¦show more content†¦Richard Hickock can be seen as possessing significant traits of psychopathy, while his partner Perry Smith is seen with traits similar to that of a life-course persistent offender. Through the described personality ch aracteristics and brief histories of Hickock and Smith, this essay will address this assertion with the two in question as individuals themselves, within their relationship to each other, and also as other characters see and analyze their psychological well being. The reader gets to â€Å"know† Perry Smith very well throughout the novel and acquires the sense that Capote feels sympathetic to his situation as compared to that of Hickock. Smith, introduced as much the loner type, is described by the narrator and the character Smith himself (in a letter to a psychiatrist) as growing up in a low socio-economic bracket with a broken family accompanied by a lack of love and stability characterizing his childhood (and continuing on to adulthood in which is the state of which the book... Read Full Essay In the non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, Truman Capote (1965) gives his own narrative of the Holcomb tragedy in which a family of four living out on a secluded farm were slaughtered with a shotgun by the collaboration of two individuals for a seemingly few dollars. In this novel, Capote gives a thorough character description of the two murderers, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, as he recreates their experience (much as he sees it as it would be fromShow MoreRelatedIn Cold Blood1256 Words   |  6 PagesTruman Capote’s non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood, was a breakthrough in literacy in that it was accredited as the first non-fiction novel. There was a lot of controversy when the book was first published because of the incredibility of the work. This could be expected in that time, because people where not familiar with the concept of non-fiction novels yet, but this is where the beauty of this style of writing lies, the recreation of the truth. It would have been impossible fo r Capote to have documentedRead MoreIn Cold Blood1371 Words   |  6 PagesTruman Capote’s use of form in his novel In Cold Blood really grabs the reader’s attention. His manipulation of form makes the reader feel as if they are part of the investigation that occurred after the unforgettable night at the Clutter house. He places the information that he gathered from the research in the book in a very interesting sequence that leaves the reader in a state of confusion. The way he jumps from the investigation to the killers within the book adds a sense of dramatic irony butRead MoreIn Cold Blood999 Words   |  4 PagesIn Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, the Clutter family’s murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, are exposed like never before. The novel allows the reader to experience an intimate understanding of the murderer’s pasts, thoughts, and feelings. 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In ColdRead MoreIn Cold Blood Book Review896 Words   |  4 Pagesand motives of complex crime, read Truman Capote’s â€Å"In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences.† If one scares easily, is squeamish or wants to avoid imagining a remorseless, brutal killer around every corner, do not. In his 1965 nonfiction novel, Capote paints a disturbingly vivid picture of the quadruple murder of the Clutters, a highly regarded and semi-wealthy farming family from Holcomb, Kansas. In Cold Blood examines the incentives and methods used by the killersRead MoreCold Blood By Truman Capote1322 Words   |  6 Pages In Cold Blood by Truman Capote would be a good, diverse addition to the ENG 3U course for many reasons, beginning with how the novel is non-fiction, but still manages to create a story line, while remaining appealing for the reason that it differs from most novels on course syllabus to the way the author can make you feel for the characters. In Cold Blood is a novel written about a real life event that happened in Holcomb, Kansas, 1959. A family of four is murdered in their house in cold bloodRead MoreCold Blood : The Trial Of The Century966 Words   |  4 PagesIn Cold Blood verses the Trial of the Century Timelines and storytelling are two of the important aspects of any trial which occurs in the American Courts. The story of â€Å"In Cold Blood† by Truman Capote’s original publication in a four part article in The New Yorker, In Cold Blood was turned into a movie, some would say a documentary of the mass murder, it mirrors the crime O.J. Simpson was accused of in many aspects as being brutal and deliberate but as in both instances the stories appear to bring