Book Analysis: In Cold Blood

Joseph Rodrigues
AP English
Mr. Sparta
2­19­15
“ In Cold Blood” Analysis
During “ In Cold Blood,” Truman Capote uses an abundance of imagery in order to help convey the story by making the reader feel more connected to the events which unfold. Capote does this by writing about the landscapes which are experienced during the story, in order to paint a picture of the environment for the reader just as an artist does. For example, Capote begins the story by describing the town of Holcomb in great detail. Capote says, “ The local accent is barbed with a prairie twang, a ranch hand nasalness, and the men, many of them, wear narrow frontier trousers, Stetsons, and high­heeled boots with pointed toes.” (pg 3) By using description in such great a detail,
Capote is able to create a world for the reader which is very easy to assimilate into because of the ease which one is able to picture the place being described. Another example, where Capote uses imagery is when he describes Mexico, “ Mountains.
Hawks wheeling in a white sky. A dusty road winding into and out of a white dusty village.” (107­108) Once again by using imagery Capote is able to paint a picture for the reader which in turn helps to convey the mood. By describing Mexico in this way Capote is able to establish a mood of isolation which in turn could be interpreted as a metaphor to how Perry and Hickock fit into society. Additionally, since Capote creates a world in which the reader feels connected, that in turn leads the reader to feel personally

affected by the events which happen during the story. Thus by using imagery Capote is able to create a reader which is more connected to the story and remains on the edge of their seats while reading it.
Also in addition to using imagery when crafting his story, Capote also decided to write in the third person as a rhetorical strategy. Even though he directly researched the topic and could’ve wrote about the story from a first or second person perspective,
Capote ended up writing the story from a third person point of view in order to open up the ability to write the story as if he was narrating it. For example, even though the book is classified as non­fiction and is based on research it feels as if it’s a novel because of the way it is written. Additionally, since Capote writes the story as if he’s narrating it he in turn is able to convey characters in a way that can only be done by novels. This in turn leads to more complex characters and a greater understanding of why the killers in the story did what they did. An example of this is how Capote conveys Perry Smith as possibly having antisocial disorder. One example of this is when Perry is reading the newspaper about the murder he committed and he states there is a grammatical error, showing that he was more concerned about proper grammar over that fact that he just murdered an entire family in cold blood. (89) In addition by writing the story this way
Capote is also able to show how characters feel about something at the same time. For example, when Perry states that he thinks there has to be something wrong with him and Dick in order to do such a heinous crime Dick immediately voices his opinion that he believes he is normal. ( 108) By doing this Capote is then able to add more dimension to his characters because their view on the world is more complete and the

reader feels he or she knows the character on a personal basis. Thus by deciding to write “ In Cold Blood” in third person Capote is able to create an atmosphere where the story feels more like a novel and the character are well developed on many levels.
Another rhetorical strategy that Capote uses is flashbacks. Capote uses flashbacks because they are able to add another level to characterization and make his characters more deep. Also by deciding to do this, the reader is told the event of the killing early, but is still not understanding of why Perry and Dick would do such a crime.
In turn this allows Capote to use flashbacks in order to reveal why the characters acted how they did. For example, during the story Perry is described as having a troubled past and it is evident when Dick flashes back to when he and Perry were in jail and thinks, “
Perry could be such a kid , always wetting his bed and crying in his sleep.” ( 108) This clearly shows that Perry has emotional problems and isn’t mentally stable since he is crying and wetting his bed on a regular basis. In succession, this also reveals to the reader that Perry is unpredictable in how he acts and in turn gives more reason as to why he would murder a family. Also another example of Perry Smith’s troubled past is when Perry flashes back to how he used to be beat by the nuns who took care of him while he was a child. This flashback is important because it makes the reader pity Perry thus in turn making the reader more personally connected to Perry and hoping that he somehow grows as a person and prevails during the story.
Another rhetorical strategy Capote uses when telling this story is symbolism. This is evident throughout the entire story and through it’s use Capote is able to give events in his story a deeper meaning. For example, a symbol which Capote uses is the silver

dollar Perry finds in the Clutters’ house. Perry is depicted in a scene as crawling on the floor in order to retrieve a silver dollar as loot for his crime. When put into perspective, it is clear that the silver dollar symbolizes how senseless and unnecessary the crime was to kill a whole family just so one could be crawling on the floor to steal a girls dollar coin.
Another symbol which is present in the story is Mexico. It symbolizes Dick and Perry’s unrealistic hopes to achieve elegant life there when in reality they’re going to a place where opportunity is far more scarce than of that in the U.S. Once again this shows how senseless their plans are and that they do not think before acting and instead display antisocial traits of impulsiveness. In addition another symbol which Capote brings to light is Dick’s and Perry Smith’s tattoos. While dick is described as having a plethora of tattoos which are crudely designed, Perry on the other hand is described as having fewer, but more elaborate and professionally done tattoos. (30­31) For example Perry’s tattoos are described as being done by masters, “ Cookie the name of the nurse who had been friendly to him when he was hospitalized, was tattooed on his right biceps.
Blue furred, orange eyed, red fanged, a tiger snarled upon his left biceps; a spitting snake, coiled around a dagger, slithered down his arm; and elsewhere skulls gleamed, a tombstone loomed, a chrysanthemum flourished.” (32) This clearly shows that Perry’s tattoos are quite elaborate when compared to Dick’s crude unprofessionally done tattoos. In turn though, this could symbolize Dick’s crude nature and not necessarily evil nature, but on the other hand Perry’s tattoos could symbolize his evil nature and how he’s much more complex and could even be viewed as twisted instead of evil. (1507 words)