In Cold Blood By Truman Capote POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT

[carter1990]

Another open response for my lit class....

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote has transformed American literature in more ways than one, his use of suspense, his use of background information that is seemingly unrelated, only to make the murders that much more sinister. His character analysis allows the reader to dive deep into the lives of the clutter family. How does a book written over 50 years ago by a strange man who very much had his own personal issues influence todays writers? In order to fully understand how In Cold Blood has inspired many books and writers of today, it would be best to present the 3 most influential themes Capote utilized; character relation for sympathy, his use of suspense and finally his questioning of life and death.

The book itself starts by culminating a feeling of sympathy for the clutters. The reader knows what is coming but it is Capote’s character analysis that allows the reader to relate to the Clutters. Capote presents a question with the minds of his readers. He understands that if he can have the reader relate with the characters, the story of the murders will really reach the reader deep down.

“Always certain of what he wanted from the world, Mr. Clutter had in large measure obtained it. On his left hand, on what remained of a finger once mangled by a piece of farm machinery, he wore a plain gold ban, which was the symbol, a quarterly century old of his marriage to the person he wished to marry.” (Capote 3)

Capote really related to his reader in this quote. If the readers looks to get all they can from life, if they wish for love, if they are hard-working they will relate to Mr. Clutter. Even though Mr. Clutter deals with his own struggles he very much is a good person all which make his murder that more sinister. We as people are for the most part good people who have at times our own personal issues. Even if we don’t deal with the same personal issues Mr. Clutter is still a relatable character It is Capote’s ability to connect with his readers that allows the reader to be engrained within the story. This is one of the fundamental principles to creating a successful book; reach your readers.

It could be due to the fact we have been desensitized by the 7 o’clock news, various murders on TV and the newspapers but when this book was written in 1966 the magnitude of one individual murder meant so much more. In describing Mr. Herbert William Clutter “... confident face retained a healthy hued youthfulness and his teeth, unstained and strong enough to shatter walnuts, were still intact”. (capote 3) Here he presents that Mr. Clutter was in a youthful appearance and that he very much in good shape. Here Capote is creating an environment and a style of writing in which the reader becomes sympathetic to Mr. Clutter. Capote paints a positive picture of Mr. Clutter all of which lead the reader to become more sympathetic when Mr. Clutter and his family is killed. The truth is humans feed off pain just look at the way the news will always present murders. Capote understood this.

There are a few passages that point the reader to understand Capote’s questioning of life and death. Throughout the story the Clutter’s are painted in a positive message only for him to be blunt when they are gagged, and have their throats slit. Some scholars have questioned the validity of some of the facts that are presented In Cold Blood. Some scholars wonder if Capote was trying to culminate a certain feeling by manipulating facts.

"I told him, 'Now, Alvin, don't start that. Of course they did it. ' He said,
'Where's our proof? We can't prove either of them ever set foot inside the Clutter house!'
But that seemed to me exactly what he could prove: footprints - weren't footprints the
one thing those animals left behind? Alvin said, 'Yes, and a big lot of good they are -
unless those boys still happen to be wearing the boots that made them. Just footprints by
themselves aren't worth a Dixie dollar. (Capote 134)

Here good people have just been killed and justice cannot be served. This easily could put the reader in an uncomfortable position unless they themselves were similar to Charles Manson Or Jeffrey Dahmer.

The fact this book was written 50 years ago and is still talked about is an indication of its effects on American literature. But many scholars have posed questions about Truman Capote’s agenda in writing In Cold Blood.
“What he does not mention is his apparent indebtedness to a literary work published twelve years earlier, Flanner O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man Is Hard TO Find” (1953). The principal similarity, the massacre of a family, would be no consequence except that at two points in his “non-fiction novel” Capote seems to have sacrificed authenticity for thematic texture and borrow from O’Connor. (Tuttle 1)

Although Capote does a tremendous job in relating with his readers and his use of suspense and sympathy to sit here and suggest he influenced American Literature on his own would disregard those that influenced him. Also it should be noted the reason many people say Capote is an influence is because they are told he is.














Works Cited
Capote, Truman. Chaos: In Cold blood. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1966. Print.

Tuttle, Jon. "Glimpses Of 'A Good Man' In Capote's In Cold Blood." Anq 1.4 (1988): 144. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.

[FNAWrite]

"Also it should be noted the reason many people say Capote is an influence is because they are told he is."

You plainly assert the notion that he is an influential writer "Truman Capote has transformed American literature in more ways than one" Is this your own belief or did someone tell you?

[GKCfan]

I am curious about recent reports that say that there are some major liberties taken with the facts in "In Cold Blood." I'm not sure what was stretched or altered, but I'd like to know.

[sflaherty42]

This may be Capote's greatest work and it is easy to see why. His accounts of the murders are even more chilling when you take into account that they actually happened. His portrayal of the murderers shows how disconnected people can be from their actions.

[Alexavier-Taiga]

I am currently reading this book (halfway through part 3) and I have to say that it is one of the best books I have ever read. It is defiantly in my top five. I love Capotes writing style and the way he writes about the murders send chills up my spine. It is so matter-of-fact while still putting Capotes personal opinions in as well.

[lwahls2]

I would agree that this book is chilling, especially because it is a true account. I hope he didn't take liberties with facts because that would be truly disappointing. I have read that Truman himself was a flashy character so it wouldn't surprise me if things were embellished.