In Cold Blood Essay

AP Composition: Essay Assignment for Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood.
Monique Steyn.
Murder, mystery, suspense. For the first time these elements were combined into a non-fiction novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. In Cold Blood was, according to the author, based solely on real occurrences. After 5years of intense research and two more years of transcribing that research the novel was published in 1965.It was an in depth account of the horrific murders of the Clutters, an All-American family, the murderers (Dick Hickok and Perry Smith) and what lead to this gruesome tale. Although Capote attempted to write a novel completely absent of a visible author, Capote developed close ties to the murderers and thus being objective would be increasingly difficult. So despite his efforts to be perceived as invisible, Capote is present and can be “seen” through his bias and attention to detail, or lack thereof. Being the author entitles one to certain powers, and Capote had the power to add, or even withhold essential Capotes book is written to a large extent in the form of a narrative, where others accounts are the basis to the story. “Sliding off Babe, she sprawled on the grass at the edge of the garden and seized her cat, dangled him over her, and kissed his nose and whiskers.”(Page 40) This was not the creative mind of Mr. Capote who thought that this would be a nice addition to his nonfiction novel. No, this was the last account of Nancy before her murder, given by Mr. Helm. Truman could have chosen to put that account in a different form, perhaps displaying more of himself. But instead of that, Truman uses Mr. Helms account, and leaves it in this form. This is where Truman is attempting to convince the reader into thinking that he is in fact not present, the account is objective and un-opinionated; the events are not of his making, but simply the factual occurrence. This however is not the trend for the entire book…
Despite Capotes attempt to be invisible within his novel, he can clearly be seen through his bias. The latter part of Persons Unknown is dedicated to unveiling Perry’s past and is the longest chapter in the book. In this chapter, Capote builds a lot of sympathy for Perry, aided by including a very personal and perhaps even unforgiving letter from Perry’s sister. Within it, details of his family and how they regard him can be found. “His heart is broken because of you… you would only hurt him worse if you could.”(Page 141) and “Your confinement is nothing to be proud of…you are as an animal.” (Page 142) Perry has no one left, his sister carries a deep disgust for him, and his relationship with his father is in ruin. As for the rest of his family; they are dead. Perry has no one, and even though he is a murderer, because of these specific details, the reader sympathizes with him. The chapter gives his character depth, which was not a necessary thing for the author to do, but it is thus a very clear representation of Capote within these novels. In fact, if it were Capotes desire to make Perry seem like a cold blooded killer, and just leave it there, including that letter would be counterproductive. Capote wants to show a different side of Perry, to make him a touchable, relatable character through detail.
In the last part of the book, the trial, we see a full image of Capote. We see his protests to the unfair trial and the death penalty. The author is quick to point out the unwillingness of the lawyers to represent the clients that were assigned to them. “Someone has to do it. And I’ll do my best. Though I doubt that’ll make me too popular around here.” ( Page 257) And again shows how it is unfair, because the jurors have already made up their minds. “Ordinarily I’m against it. But in this case, no” (In reference to the juror, N.L. Dun nan’s opinion of death penalty) (Page 273). Clearly from the tone of the lawyer and the juror, Dick and Perry had no chance of getting a fair representation. There was no way that they would live through this trial, and Capote attempts to highlight this fact. Everyone’s minds were already made up before the trial even started, the action was just too close-to-home. By being so blunt about this means that Capote is taking off his veil, and showing himself. The tone of this part of the book shows Capote’s opinion, and thus himself. He is, essentially, his opinion.
How could Capote write a completely unbiased, factual book? It is practically impossible; somehow Capotes opinion is going to seep through the lines and into the literature. One cannot write pure facts in a novelistic way. Narrative account must highlight certain parts of the story yet stay within the factual story. Opinion will always play into all narrative accounts, be it in terms of tone, bias, or simply choosing to include or exclude certain factors as a whole.