...when there was an uproar against the up and coming “New Journalism”. This literary movement is when courageous authors want to try something different from the norm. This phrase was coined by Matthew Arnold in the attempt to make a new genre of newspaper history. When that plan backfired, Tom Wolfe changed the meaning. Now it is known to be when authors take a nonfiction topic and weave in literary devices to make it a fiction work. Wolfe and other popular writers during the 1960’s-1970’s participated in the movement, yet Truman Capote stood out above the rest. He changed a factual murder story into a fictional novel by using “New Journalism”, literary devices, and ending up changing the face of fiction novels altogether. “New Journalism” was not an initial hit for the public. Most felt that it was ruining perfectly good literature by emphasizing truth over facts. Capote was bold in his efforts to publish a novel with this style in mind. When Truman Capote first found out about the murder of the Clutter family he was instantly intrigued. He went out to Kansas and followed every step of the investigation and interviewed close family members to even the murderers themselves. This shocked the world because no one had ever interviewed those involved to get the facts straight and to understand what truly happened instead of inferring. Still many did not want to have anything to do with the interchanging of fiction and nonfiction. Dwight Macdonald was one of the United States’...
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...what was considered impossible to describe (Taylor). One way writers have been able to do this is through nonfiction novels. A nonfiction novel is a narrative, of book-length, that unfolds actual events and actual people written in the style of a novel (“Nonfiction Novel”). This style of a novel implies that the book being spoken of can be looked at as art as well as fact (Sharlet). In the mid 1960’s, a nonfiction novel journey began, beginning with the narrative journalistic qualities of Truman Capote, continuing with the story telling of such authors as Norman Mailer, and then continues to stay constant throughout present day literature with works like Katherine Boo’s display of immersion journalism. Truman Capote is said to have invented this new genre in 1966 with, what some call his finest work, the book In Cold Blood (“Truman Capote”). In Cold Blood details the 1959 murders of Herbert Clutter, his wife, and two of their children (Wikipedia). Even before the murderers were captured, Capote decided to travel to Kansas and write about the quadruple crime (Wikipedia). This nonfiction novel represents the genre well, primarily because it was based on approximately six years of research, including interviews with the neighbors and friends of the victims and even the two captured murderers (“Nonfiction...
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...In Cold Blood is a non-fiction novel written by Truman Capote. Truman Capote was born in New Orleans in 1934. His birth last name is ‘Persons’, but his stepfather adopted him and took his last name. Growing up, he was largely neglected by his parents and bullied by schoolmates. Truman was a very good student in subjects that interested him but failed in all other academics. Although, many of his teachers had recognized his excellent writing skills. During his teen years, Truman got a job at The New Yorker. He attempted to get his own works published, but they would not publish them and he quit. After many years and some hit novels later, Truman read an article of four mysterious deaths in Kansas in 1959. Truman and his friend, Harper Lee, went...
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...The Six Most Exciting Facts About Truman Capote 1. Truman Capote was neighbors with Harper Lee. Truman and Harper became friends at the age of only five (Alter). The two renowned American authors lived across the street from each other in Monroeville, Alabama (“Truman”:A childhood). Lee and Capote had many things in common, including the strained connection they had with their parents. They also had their love of reading, writing, and being read to in common. Furthermore, Harper would go on to work for Truman as a writing advisor before going on to write To Kill a Mockingbird (Alter). 2. Capote carried his childhood blanket with him always. Truman Capote did not have an easy, loving childhood. While he was still young his bipolar...
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...In Cold Blood Character Analysis Essay Perry Smith Is one born a murderer or does one become a murderer? That is the question that Truman Capote tackles in his non-fiction novel In Cold Blood. In his 1966 novel Capote relates in detail the true and horrific murders of four members of the Clutter family in 1959 in the town of Holcomb, Kansas, but more specifically focuses on the murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, and their motivation to commit such a cold blooded crime. Out of the two, Perry Smith is the most complex character who displays a natural ability to kill, but who also has been shaped to become a murderer, making a more “likable” character than his co-murderer Dick Hickock. In the first part of his novel entitled The Last to See Them Alive, Capote gives the reader hints that Perry Smith is indeed born a natural killer. When he was jailed in the Kansas penitentiary “Perry described a murder, telling how simply for the hell of it," he had killed a colored man in Las Vegas - beaten him to death with a bicycle chain” (Capote 54). After hearing the story his future partner in crime Dick Hickock “became convinced that Perry was that rarity, "a natural killer" - absolutely sane, but conscienceless, and capable of dealing, with or without motive, the coldest-blooded deathblows” (Capote 55). Perry Smith certainly proved to be “that rarity” when he cold bloodedly killed with a single shot in the head Nancy, Kenyon, Bonnie Clutter, and cut Herb Clutter’s throat...
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...Truman 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 for Capote to have documented the occurrence fully, because he only read about the murder after it had happen, after all, this was not what he wanted to do. Capote got a lot of criticism for the book, because of him bending the truth, putting in scenes that never happened and his ways of gathering information, but people still saw the talent that went into creating the non-fiction novel. Truman Capote will forever be recognized for this novel and the contribution he made to literacy. In this essay we will be discussing the strengths and weaknesses of In Cold Blood when it delivers facts and the credibility of the work. We will also be discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the novel when Capote bends reality and ad some parts of fiction. Capote never intended for In Cold Blood to be a documentary of the multiple murder that happened in the small town of Holcomb. When Capote published his novel, people where not familiar with non-fiction novels. People knew of the murders that had happened and started...
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...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 of psychopathy, while his partner Perry Smith is seen with traits similar to that of a life-course persistent offender. Through the described personality characteristics 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 “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...
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...Capote uses his nonfiction novel to criticise a justice system that punishes those who never had a real chance in life. Truman Capote, author of the non-fiction novel ‘In Cold Blood’, published in 1965 tells the story of the Clutter family murders. Capote uses the facts that he collected from the immediate people surrounding the case to establish his story. Capote uses these facts to establish scenes for the reader and allows them to see the Clutter family on their last day and the story of Perry and Dick. Capote also uses his novel to criticise the justice system of Kansas who punishes those who never had a real chance at life. ‘In Cold Blood’ contains details of the bias atmosphere that was present throughout the trial, the slighting of the M’Naghten rule and the stance that the result of capital punishment was unfairly executed. In the state of Kansas, the M’Naghten rule is not recognised and the justice system refuses to allow it to alter their cases. The M’Naghten rule states that the jurors ought to be told in all cases that every man is to be presumed sane, and to possess a sufficient degree of reason to be responsible for his crimes, until the contrary be proved to their satisfaction. Capote implies that this was a major missing link in the case of Perry Edward Smith and Richard Eugene (‘Dick’) Hickok. Capote tries to show his readers at multiple stages throughout the novel that Perry and Dick were not the perfect models for sane people. Capote truly embeds his criticism...
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...The concrete dictionary definition of a protagonist is the leader of the story. Many people would say Perry Smith, the murder of the Clutter family is our protagonist; however, we would need to include Richard Hickock because without him, this novel and crime wouldn’t have happened. There can only be one true protagonist in a story. This is why Truman Capote the author and controller of In Cold Blood is our protagonist. This novel that very obviously is biased. The reader can only view the story through Capote’s eyes. Capote was especially opinionated on two things, capital punishment and the felons themselves. It is very apparent that Capote is against capital punishment. He places several anti-death penalty statements and uses this book to...
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...Truman Capote has said, “ Writing stopped being fun when i discovered the difference between good and bad, and even more terrifying, the difference between it and true art. And after that the whip came down.” Capote had many experiences in his lifetime that influenced his writing. One of the novels that he wrote “In Cold Blood “ was written based on a true story of a kansas murder. Capote had grown attached to the story. So he decided to write a novel about it. Truman Capote was born on September 30, 1924 in New Orleans, Louisiana (“Truman Capote.” Encyclopedia of World Biography) . He was born to the name Truman Streckfus Persons. As a young kid he did not have very good memories of his mother and his father. Primarily due to the fact that...
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...An Obsession In Cold Blood: a 343 page book that took over a man’s life for six years. Truman Capote and his lifelong friend, Harper Lee, went to Holcomb, Kansas just six short weeks after the Clutter Family murders. Capote was able to make a tense, atmospheric, and grounded book. Along the way he discovered some unlikely friends, bold personalities, and encountered some questionable actions. Truman Capote was the type of writer who could make a mass murder into a six year project; he used his time for research and preparation. The “literary photographer” never used a tape recorder in his time writing the book, he took everything from memory and from the help of his assistant, Harper Lee. He had a way of writing that was described as literary...
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...festering obsession with money and fame. A perfect example of this would undoubtedly be Truman Capote. Capote was a literary mastermind who achieved the American Dream at a relatively young age , only to have it ripped away from him because of his own recklessness and self destructive decisions. Truman Capote was born Truman Streckfus Persons in 1924 in New Orleans, Louisiana (Boon 2). Truman had a childhood that was far from ideal in all aspects. His mother was Lille Mae Faulkner, a former Miss Alabama who would later commit suicide and his father Arch Persons was a businessman whom Truman was never close to (Boon 4). Capote’s parents divorced when he was young and his mother who saw herself not fit to be a mother, sent a young Truman to be raised by her relatives in Alabama. Truman developed a close friendship with his next door neighbor, Harper Lee. As children, Lee and Capote both knew that hey wanted to be authors and would later serve as inspiration for the other’s writing. Truman’s mother who had relocated to New York City remarried a wealthy Cuban businessman, Joseph Capote (Patterson 10). After she suffered from multiple miscarriages and come to the realization that she could no longer have children, Truman’s mother called for him to be sent to live with her. When he arrived in New York, Truman was legally adopted by his stepfather and began using the surname Capote (Boon 6). Truman attended the Trinity School but completely disregarded his education and earned extremely...
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...gloomy and depressing? This sentence is quoted from a novel titled In Cold Blood, written by Truman Capote. In this novel, Capote tells us about a little town in Kansas known as Holcomb. He portrays to us that Holcomb is a little, run-down town that doesn’t really have any events going on in it at all. Truman Capote uses rhetorical strategies, such as imagery, diction, and tone, to display to us “all” that it has to offer. Capote uses many rhetorical strategies to put into perspective for us the characteristics of Holcomb,...
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...1.The speaker of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is third person omniscient. Although the novel’s more emotional scenes are told in first person by various characters, they’re told through dialogue with another character, most of the novel is narrated by the omniscient narrator. Since the narrator is already all-knowing and gives insight to the thoughts of the characters, this person is static. 2.The purpose of this book is to report on the murder of the Clutter family and its consequences, but in the form of a novel. For example, Truman Capote does not just list facts and dates about the murders, but instead weaves a story together based on his own observations, official records, and interviews. He gives background on the family, opinions...
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...Law and Order or tuning into the famous OJ Simpson Trial, we as people are captivated by why some would commit this atrocious act against their fellow man. Just like in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart,” where both try to peer into the minds of murderers using symbolism and themes of madness; yet, the narrator's perspective and overall tone differ. Throughout both stories the authors explore themes of madness, be it focused on a main character or the narrator themself. In his book, In Cold Blood, Truman Capote explores sanity through Perry Smith, the man who famously murdered the Clutter family in their home in Holcomb, Kansas; all because him and his accomplice wanted access to the Clutter family’s safe. Perry was a happy child until his father started brutally beating his mother, who then took to drinking and promiscuity. Eventually she dragged her kids to San Francisco, where Perry was getting into trouble constantly. He blamed it on having "no rule or discipline, or anyone to show me right from wrong." (Capote 275) This lead to Perry’s...
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