Criticism In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

A scrawl of a pencil ignited the flame of a shotgun and exploded the career of the American author, Truman Capote. His blood rushed with thrill, for he was the creator of a new genre, the nonfiction novel. He rivets readers with his uniquely-detailed character growth and a shocking murder plot of the Clutter family; yet, Capote's journalistic character in In Cold Blood hold untrue. Despite condensing time and ignoring small details, the extent of a nonfiction novelist's purpose is to always remain truthful because the audience should not doubt one’s writing and characters should hold true to the people they were based-on. While still remaining within a reasonable time frame, a nonfiction novelist has the choice to increase the tempo to craft
Readers should still expect what they are about to read to be true, but up to a point due to bias. Capote uses no such warning caption, which can ultimately hurt his if major events prove to be fiction. In addition, Capote narrates as if he were a journalist reporting the case, but to remain ethical to his audience, when uncertainty about a scene arises, his writing should be worded in a less confident way. Kevin Helliker writes in the article “Capote Classic ‘In Cold Blood’ Tainted by Long-Lost Files” that instead of just KBI officer Mr. Nye traveling to Hickock’s home after news arrived of his possible guilt, as Capote writes, “three KBI agents and a local sheriff’s deputy – converged midday on the farm (9). Using phrases such as “I think” to caution readers about the truth here are helpful in being honest to a writer’s audience so they can remain trustworthy to him or
A nonfiction novelist should remain true to character personalities and seek out their own interviews to hear information first-hand. Capote relied heavily on Dewey for files and community members to interview and in turn, made him to be a crime-solving, “hero” figure (Keefe 7). “Capote didn’t help matters by announcing that he found the presence of a tape recorder or notebook intrusive when conducting interviews, and preferred to rely on his own recollection of what his sources said,” (Keefe 2) which ultimately stunts truth and the key of a nonfiction novel. Quotes also hold untrue when paraphrasing interviews in this way. Furthermore, Perry Smith, the second killer in the Clutter case, brings the persona of a romantic in Capote’s writing, not an assassin; this, like making Dewey “heroic” can likely hurt the victims’ families. In fact, Smith was “conscious and deliberate in carrying out the murders” with little to no regret (Keefe 2). As Dewey stated, if Capote was fond of a person, they are characterized in a positive light (Helliker 9). Major character details should never be miswritten, since they are what form a story. Though Capote gained fame from his so-called “nonfiction novel,” he has broken the law of truth; let Capote be a model for overstepping the creative bounds in the genre. Persisting on truth’s side is more honorable than