Apology In Cold Blood

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When one kid pushes another kid, the immediate response is to tell the kid to apologize. Although the child may apologize, he is not actually sorry for his actions. This may seem childish, but there may be some legitimacy behind the fake apology. Too often, when people err, they do not understand what they did, why their action was wrong, or why it is okay for others to repeat a similar action. In the same way, in Truman Capote’s nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood, when Perry Smith murders four members of the Clutter family, he has little to no remorse. It becomes evident to the reader that Perry Smith is truly a “cold-blooded killer”.
“When you kill a man you steal his life. I guess that makes me a pretty big thief” (Capote 290). This statement tends to give the reader an unsettling feeling, as Perry says it with such ease, as if it is no big deal. When he says this, he does not understand the number of lives that he …show more content…

When Perry contemplates if he should lose sleep over this conflict, he replies “Why? Soldiers don’t lose much sleep. They murder, and get medals for doing it” (Capote 291). First off, this statement is inaccurate as countless soldiers come home with PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and their lives are changed forever. Perry, on the other hand, made jokes about the murder just thirty minutes later. Soldiers have motives behind their killings, whether it was an order from a commander or self defense, they have a legitimate reason. Concerning the Clutter family case, a motive is never discovered by anyone, including Perry. The fact that Perry thinks that since soldiers kill people means it is okay for him to murder is absurd. He believes they feel nothing after, therefore it is okay for him to have no emotion. Even if this were true, it does not validate his murders and lack of remorse, his tendencies of a “cold blooded

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