In Cold Blood Analysis

Truman Capote, a man who has made multiple outstanding accomplishments throughout his career, does not stick to one simple method of writing. Instead, he uses several different processes to accurately portray what he is writing about, all of which are tremendously complex in their own ways. While some aspects maintain a similar pattern throughout his works, most deviate from a set procedure. This is significantly evident in “Miriam” and In Cold Blood by the similarity of his detailed characterization and the distinctive differences found in the tone and overall style Capote has chosen for them.
To begin with, the elaborate characterization Capote uses in both “Miriam” and In Cold Blood greatly highlights the specific descriptions of the main
The style of “Miriam” compared to In Cold Blood contrasts so much due to how Truman began to discover himself as he continued to write. Miriam was his first story to be published in a magazine and stayed along simpler lines. With In Cold Blood, however, he designed his own intricate way of writing to get across the main purpose of the novel. “Miriam” has an overall feel of reminiscence – whether about the actual past of Mrs. Miller or simply wishful thinking of ‘What Could Have Been’, the reader cannot be sure. However, it is obvious (after much contemplation on the meaning of Miriam’s character to Mrs. Miller) that Miriam is the part of Mrs. Miller that she yearns after. This is shown by the line “Mrs. Miller felt oddly excited, and when the little girl glanced towards her, she smiled warmly”, directly after she simply notices Miriam for the first time (11). The way Mrs. Miller feels because of Miriam’s presence and personality shapes the entire style of the story to one of longing – a reflection of youth and fear of what is to come. On the other hand, In Cold Blood is a slightly fictional take on a hard-hitting journalistic narrative. This nonfiction type of writing was originated by Truman through this novel and has become a staple among numerous authors. It is written in two different perspectives (one of the Clutters and one of the killers), told by an impartial third-person perspective. It is because of this particular style and the research required to create such a specific type of story that Capote includes so many vividly gruesome details about what happened. In 2005, Truman once said in a documentary, “I think one has style or one doesn’t, but style is one’s self. It’s something that you don’t, you cannot…learn. It’s something that has to come from within you. And bit by bit, be arrived at and it’s simply there like the color of your eyes,” (VOA). It not