In Cold Blood Essay

The Relationship Changes of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith Throughout In Cold Blood the friendship of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith changes quite often. Even though the two may believe that they need each other and that they are similar in each and every way, they each put their own personal profit above one another whether it is for small change, sex, or even as far as death. The two may be very close to each other, but their self-serving personalities get the best of them every time. In In Cold Blood, Truman Capote evaluates the moral decline of Hickock and Smith’s relationship through their delinquent acts that eventually lead them to an astonishing murder. (The Clutter Family Killings TruTv.com 1) Although the two got along at first their backgrounds were different in many ways, Hickock grew up with a well established family on a farm close to Kansas City. Although he was popular, athletic, and maintained a steady average his parents were unable to get him into a college on account of their financial situation even with the multiple scholarships offered to him for his athleticism. That same year Hickock was in a serious car crash that left him with a bit of a lopsided face. (Richard Hickock and Perry Smith Biography Biography.com 1) Smith on the other hand had troubles starting from an early age. His parents were barely able to scrape up a livings worth of money working in the rodeo as Tex and Flo. Smith’s parents eventually broke up and got divorced, mostly because of his mother’s drinking and sexual affairs. Smith moved with his mother and three siblings to San Francisco where his mother eventually put him into an orphanage where he was brutally abused by nuns for his constant bed wetting. Smith’s constant misbehaving soon got him into his first bit of trouble after getting caught stealing for the first time at the age of 8. Smith later traveled to Nevada and Alaska to be with his father once more. (Richard Hickock and Perry Smith Biography

Cited: “14 April 1965 – Richard Hickock and Perry Smith” Eotd.Wordpress. Web. 10 March 2010. Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. New York: Random House, Inc, 1992. Print. Geringer, Joseph. “The Clutter Family Killings: Cold Blood.” TruTv. Web. 8 March 2010. Krajicek, David J. “Dick Hickock, Perry Smith Killed ‘In Cold Blood’ 50 Years Ago.” NYDailyNews. 15 Nov. 2009. Web. 8 March 2010. “Richard Hickock and Perry Smith Biography.” Biography. A&E Television Networks. Web. 5 March 2010.