Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood is a novel written by Truman Capote in 1966. In Cold Blood is a true account of a multiple murder case that took place in Kansas in the 1950's. The book outlines a brutal murder case, but it shows the story from many perspectives, not just that of the law. Capote introduces you to the Clutter family, a well known, very hard working and loyal family to the community. The town of Holcomb is a small farming town. There is not much excitement in the town, and that is the way the people liked it. Everyone went to church and the community trusted each other, until the unthinkable happened. The town's most prominent family was killed. It is even worse when the only clues are two sets of boot tracks. Everyone in and around the town become scared because if such evil could be brought upon the best family known, what will happen to them? When Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood, he wrote a masterpiece. When he wrote the book he developed the character Perry so that even after you watched him kill you feel sympathetic for him. He proves that you can even see some good in the worst of people. He does this by slowly developing Perry's character. He gave an in-depth view of Perry's world. He showed that Perry, although he had troubles in his life and sometimes had a total disregard for people's life he also respected the people. Perry felt bad for some of the people he met. He also was willing to forgive people.

Truman Capote was born Truman Streckfus Persons, in New Orleans September 30th 1924. His parents got a divorce when he was four and his mother later remarried and took on the last name of his stepfather. Capote's childhood was extremely insecure. He was handed back and forth between relatives. When Capote was a child he started to write to deal with the loneliness. At age ten, Capote made up his mind to become a professional writer. Because he knew what he wanted to do with his life, Capote shied away from formal schooling. (Breit) By his mid teenage years he was technically accomplished writer. He stopped going to formal school when he was seventeen. He received a job at the New Yorker magazine. There he was just an errand boy but was noticed because of his mannerisms. During the early stages of World War II, Capote's interests still focused on his writing. (Norden p162) In June 1945, his short story 'Miraim'; brought him a lot of attention. It l...

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...of all, the thoughts of the characters were present.'; (http://www.sgi.net/marbles/zeno/capote.html) This sums up some major aspects of the book and why it was so interesting to read. Capote worked to make this book very good all around, he didn't just write a standard documentary. He used important literary methods to convey his total message.

George Garrett saw the book as a bold and praiseworthy step for the technically conservative Capote: "He has always been known as a distinguished stylist and as an imaginative storyteller, but he has not previously shown a great deal of interest in the possibilities of innovative arrangement."(Microsoft Encarta)

Truman Capote is a truly great writer. His early childhood and his growing up all affected his writing. Even though In Cold Blood is a true account, he had to add many features to it so that the novel would get a unique feel to it. He used some of his life experiences to help add to the detail. He sympathized with Perry deeply and was able to give the character of Perry a better cry to the world. Capote worked hard and tried something different with this book, we can safely say that he came near or did accomplish his goals.