In Cold Blood
In Cold Blood; a wonderful mystery novel written by Truman Capote that incorporates mind-boggling suspense and brutal detailing, I believe he did achieve his goal to be both objective and sympathetic. Capote gave not only the detailed account of Perry Smith 's and Dick Hickock 's childhoods but also the murder of the Clutter family. Smith 's childhood was very problematic and scarred by years of abuse, making us feel as if he committed the murder because of his sorrow past. “Perry had on several occasions run off, set out to find his lost father, for he had lost his mother as well, learned to 'despise ' her; liquor had blurred the face, swollen the figure of the once sinewy, limber Cherokee girl, had 'soured her soul ', honed her tongue to the wickedest point, so dissolved her self-respect that generally she did not bother to ask the names of the stevedores and trolley-car conductors and such persons who accepted what she offered without charge... Consequently, as Perry recalled, 'Iu was always thinking about Dad, hoping he could come take me away..." (Capote 161) This passage offers a glimpse into Perry 's childhood. He never had the solid upbringing or happy childhood, he was constantly miserable and in search of a father to save him from his drunken mother. This passage is meant to build sympathy toward Perry and to show that he suffered throughout his life. When he came to the Clutters they represented the life that he had always wanted, the life he hoped his father would bring him to, and the life he never had. We have pity for his unfortunate past when reading about how Perry has these recurring dreams, in which he is rescued from danger by yellow parrot, who “wings him away to paradise." By the end of the book, however, we become aware of some of Dick’s own insecurities: his failure to achieve financial security and support his first wife, Carol, and their three children, and his sexual interest in young girls, both of which he recompense for with his
Bibliography: . GradeSaver, 31 July 2009 Web. 30 August 2012.