The Critical Response To Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

Usually when we think of nonfiction writing we typically think newspaper articles, scholarly journals, and memoirs. The novel In Cold Blood written by Truman Capote was noticed as a game changer in its time. It is classified under a non-fiction genre, however the novel itself is told as though it is a fiction story. Capote uses a peculiar writing style when telling the tragedy of the Klutter family murders. Sophia Leonard takes notice to this in her article “Journalism as Artistic Expression: The Critical Response to Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.” Leonard goes into depth detail about Capotes primary literary elements that make his nonfiction novel atypical for a nonfiction genre.

In Cold Blood tells the story of the Klutter family murders

in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. When it was released, the novel was successful due to it coming out only less than a year after the executions of the murderers took place.

However, that was not the only reason it gained so much respect and noticeability. Capote had declared that every single word of his novel was completely true (Leonard 6). This brought excitement to readers, due to when reading the novel, the reader feels as though they are there trying to figure out exactly what happened during the scene of the crime. Capote demonstrates an unusual literary style while writing his nonfiction novel. Capote had spent six years analyzing and talking to not only the murderers themselves, but the families in Holcomb Kansas that were affected by the misfortunate death of the Klutters. With that being said, some scholars argued the fact that Capotes work was completely factual, with no author input. Those scholars claim that Capote stays silent in his novel, rather than writing manipulatively in his work and putting his own twist on the story.

Others felt as though that he has spent so much time and effort getting to know these people and the town of Holcomb, that he had to have some sense of bias when writing the novel (Leonard 7). In the novel, the character Dewey seems to symbolically represent Capote. Dewey becomes an important character in the novel as he tries to get to the bottom of the murders. Though Dewey seems overwhelmed and so extremely involved in the case and drives himself to the point where he cannot sleep. His wife wonders if they will ever have a normal life again as the investigation continues. Capote feels as though that the thorough research and writing process also drove him to psychological distress.
In the novel, Perry is arguably the most dissected character. We learn the most about his past-life and the reader is able to tell that Capote had a connection with him. Capote tells Perry’s story and the reader instantly feels sympathetic towards him as a character, even if he is a murderer. Perry’s entire life it is him and his father. Even though he is bounced in different catholic orphanages, his father is the man he ends up with. They travel together in their mobile home, attempting to make ends meet. When Perry describes the falling out with his father, the reader begins to understand how he ends up in the metal position he is in. Capote goes into detail of their fight over hunger and how they almost kill each other over the last biscuit they have. “My hands got hold of his throat. My hands – but I couldn’t control them. They wanted to choke him to death” (Capote 136). By including all of this in the novel, Capote reveals Perry’s lack of education and shows that he is mentally instable. Even the fact that this is the longest chapter in the novel reveals a lot about Capotes relationship with Perry that could also persuade a bias argument when reading the text.
According to Leonard “Capote is a silent outside observer, commenting without becoming a presence within the novel” (8).

Yet, Capotes ideas and views on certain objects are implicated in parts of the novel. The Kansas M'Naghten Rule is a test applied to determine whether or not a person accused of the crime is mentally sane. It is a test for criminal insanity. In the novel, the psychologist states he is unsure whether or not Perry was able to tell right from wrong, and the judge does not press further on the situation. However, Capote includes that the psychologist would have diagnosed him definitely being mentally ill with the potential of being a paranoid schizophrenic. Capote wants to inform the reader on what the court did not allow even though the diagnosis did not occur in the court room. Even after this is stated, Capote seems to go on a rant about the psychologists in depth analysis of Perry and almost leaves it up to the reader to decide if Perry is given the correct

diagnosis.
Capote uses extreme and detailed imagery when writing his novel. The way Capote choose how he wanted the reader to go through the journey of the tragedy is truly unique. “Capote’s deliberate action of drawing the reader into the panopticon is important to understand because he shapes, controls, and molds the reader’s response to the text, instead of simply chronicling the events of the murders and their repercussions as might have been implied by his claims that the novel was “nonfiction” and “completely true” (Leonard 9). Instead of writing the novel in chronological order, he purposely leaves out the description of the murder. This allows the reader to feel suspense and continue to flip the page trying to figure out not only what happened, but if Dick and Perry got caught. When putting this novel together Capote had to carefully include the details he found important. Capote researched this case for six years. He collected almost 8,000 pages of notes and put it into a 346 page novel. It included details that no newspaper article or news segment would include. His use of imagery and artistic recreation of characters and scenes through extreme detail builds throughout the book. When reading, it is almost as though the reader is alongside Dewey, trying to figure out the bits and pieces of the case as well. The all come together to represent a deeper symbolic meaning and larger pictures of peoples, places, and specific spaces (Leonard 9). This shows how dedicated Capote was to stray this story away from being just an informative novel on the Klutters and their murderers. SO much thought and artistic expression was added for it to break the mold of typical nonfiction pieces.
This novel resonated in its time due to American being in a fragile state in the 1960s. We were at the height of the Cold War where social paranoia and social discomfort was definitely heightened. Capote himself meditated on the meaning of In Cold Blood and its reception amongst American readers in the 1960s, stating that the book can be seen as a “reflection on American life, this collision between the desperate, ruthless, wandering, savage part of American life, and the other, which is insular and safe” (Leonard 11). This novel represents, in Capotes view, just how fragile the American Dream is. Mr. Klutter is doing fairly well and had an ideal little family, his daughter baking award winning pies. He owns his own farm and has the ideal life in the 1960s. However, all it took was two petty criminals to destroy it all. The novel truly does contrast the lives of the Klutter family and Dick and Perry. We see both struggle and conflict throughout the entirety of the novel and proving that even when a person thinks they are secure, trouble can always find its way.