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Truman Capote's In Cold Blood tells the tragic story of the Clutter family, who were brutally killed by Dick Hickock and Perry Smith with a 12-gauge shotgun. Capote explores the backgrounds and reasons behind these murderers' actions, offering readers insight into their minds before and after committing this gruesome crime.
Capote highlights the important roles of Dick and Perry in the murder and capture through detailed descriptions, portraying them as contrasting foils. Using dialogue, imagery, and point-of-view, Capote emphasizes their unique contributions to the story and how their differing personalities were crucial to the Clutter murder case.
Despite their vastly different backgrounds, Dick and Perry's contrasting traits influenced their actions as they aged.
Capote vividly portrays Perry's tumultuous upbringing, marked by violence, tragedy, and dysfunction. His parents were divorced and constantly in conflict. His mother's struggle with alcoholism ended tragically when she died from choking on vomit. The rest of his family also faced difficulties - his father took his own life and his sister Fern had a tragic accident falling out of a window.
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In sum, Perry's early years were defined by great adversity and chaos.
My mother has been dead for eight years, leaving only my father and Barbara in my family. Perry's sister Fern tragically fell out of a hotel window to her death, with police discovering a bottle of alcohol with her. Perry's other brother committed suicide, and their father abandoned them at a young age. Subsequently, Perry was placed in an orphanage where he was regularly punished by nuns for wetting his bed due to his weak liver.
Perry faced challenges early in life at the orphanage, causing him to lose faith in God and religion.
Despite his difficult past, he enlisted in the US Army during the Korean War as a young teenager. After returning home, he was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that resulted in severe leg injuries and stunted growth. Perry eventually went to Alaska to join his father but their relationship ended abruptly after an argument over a biscuit led to his father threatening him with a gun and throwing out all of Perry's belongings. Following this incident, Perry decided to leave, saying "I picked up my guitar and started on down the highway" (136).
During his early life, Perry experienced tragic events, lacked parental guidance, and did not have a stable home. He did not learn important values like compassion, mercy, respect, and the sanctity of human life because they were never taught to him or expected from him. As a result, he held grudges against many people in his life. Dr. Jones, a psychiatrist who evaluated Perry, observed that his childhood was marked by cruelty and neglect from both parents.
Perry's lack of guidance, love, and moral values during his upbringing significantly contributed to his involvement in the Clutter family murder. In contrast, Dick Hickock had a more structured and fortunate upbringing, with supportive parents and success in school. His father proudly recounted Dick's achievements in sports, where he excelled as a star player in basketball, baseball, and football (297).
Dick was a good student, earning A marks in multiple subjects (Capote 158). Despite being offered a scholarship, he chose not to attend any educational opportunities after high school (Capote 278). Instead, he took on various small jobs, one of which led to a car accident with a company vehicle. As a result of the accident, he sustained extensive head injuries and his face was slightly deformed. Dr. Jones concluded that the accident also caused residual brain damage and instability in his personality (Capote 286).
After the crash, Dick's father noted a change in him, saying "He just wasn't the same boy" (Capote 255). His life took a downward spiral, with his marriage failing and going through two divorces. He lost his steady job and turned to petty crimes like writing bad checks and stealing. This led to him being incarcerated, where he met Perry, who was in jail for burglary among other charges.
Both Dick and Perry had agreed to murder the Clutters, but when the moment arrived, Dick hesitated while Perry did not. This contrast seems to be rooted in their pasts - Perry, who had a troubled upbringing, displayed no hesitation in committing the act. His difficult adolescence suggests a colder, more bitter, and lonelier individual, whereas Dick's more privileged upbringing hinted at a softer heart and a sense of conscience. Their relationships with others played a significant role in shaping their characters and personalities, affecting how they interacted with people.
Dick is a self-assured, commanding, and charismatic individual who views himself as very masculine. He has had multiple relationships and marriages (Capote 277 – 279). In high school, he excelled as an athlete and was not antisocial. He is a smooth-talker who manipulates people to his advantage (Capote 97). His ability to connect with others and extensive network of friends made him more compassionate towards the Clutters and others. In contrast, Perry lacked Dick's self-assurance and confidence.
Since childhood, he had no one. His family was gone and he moved frequently. As a child, he was abused by nuns, had few friends in school, and was often bullied. He referred to a "Big Yellow Bird" rescuing him from his tormentors. Perry once said, "My friends are few; those who really know me fewer still." He has had few relationships and has come to resent many of the people he has interacted with.
Perry's strong disdain for many people reveals his pessimistic outlook on society. This negative mindset influences his lack of remorse for the Clutter family's murders, viewing it as a necessary action with no alternative. Despite his usual solitude, Perry forms a deep bond with Dick as they travel together, even when their connection starts to deteriorate. This attachment becomes evident when Perry considers Dick's role in a possible escape plan, asking, "What about Hickock?"
All preparations must include him” (Capote 265). If Perry was planning to escape, adding another individual to worry about and the risk of getting caught is much higher. Yet Perry is too attached to simply let Dick go, but Dick in on another floor regretting that he didn't kill Perry when he had the chance. Both Dick and Perry's relationships with other people reflect in their personalities and attitudes towards contemporary society. Perry's passive, dainty nature and Dick's reckless, aggressive, asserting nature serve to offset each other's behavior to an extent.
Perry is compliant with those he perceives as 'larger', worrying about small details like stockings and torn gloves. He is concerned about the authorities tracing the crime back to them. Dick, on the other hand, is more impulsive and considers consequences after acting.
He can be reckless at times, as seen when he used his real name while writing bad checks in the same city where he committed the murder of the Clutters (Capote 213). Together, with Dick pushing Perry towards various schemes, and Perry urging caution and careful planning, they developed a bold yet meticulous plan. Capote skillfully demonstrates how Perry's actions and characteristics interact with Dick's, highlighting their contrasting roles.
Works Cited: Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. Boston, MA: G. K. Hall, 1993. Print.
Contrasting Personalities in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. (2021, Nov 30). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/in-cold-blood-by-truman-capote-literary-analysis-essay
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