Handcarved Coffins

In Truman Capote’s novella, “Handcarved Coffins: A Nonfiction Account of an American Crime,” he gives a detailed description of numerous murders brilliantly executed in “a town in a small Western state” (Capote 68). These murders are so meticulously organized that the perpetrator is never brought to justice. However, the identity of the killer is brought to light by a detective named Jake Pepper. Jake ultimately points his finger at the prominent Robert Hawley Quinn, Esquire. (Esquire was added by Jake, not as a gentlemanly gesture, as is suggested, but to show the irony in his personality.) Jake’s despise of Quinn is revealed when he quotes Mark Twain, “Of all the creatures that were made, man is the most detestable. Of the entire brood he is the only one, the solitary one, that possesses malice. That is beset of all instincts, passions, vices—the most hateful. He is the only one creature that inflicts pain only for sport, knowing it to be pain. Also in all the list, he is the only creature that has a nasty mind,” saying “that describes Mr. Quinn perfectly” (Capote 80). These statements set the stage to delve into the mind of a possible serial killer and uncover his innermost workings.

But first, more on the background of R. H. Quinn. Quinn comes from one of the oldest families in the area. He and his two younger brothers own and operate the B.Q. Ranch, a ten thousand acre ranch that has made them all very wealthy. It is through this ranch the area’s main irrigation source can be found, the Blue River, which came to be a heated discussion topic. Bob Quinn is the boss of the ranch. However, a responsibility which may have been bestowed on him as the eldest.

As was stated earlier, the Blue River was a very touchy subject at one time. Before the town appointed a committee to decide the river’s fate, the widest and deepest stretches flowed through Quinn’s ranch. His irrigation supply would be affected the most if it was decided by the committee to make a diversion in the river. The decision was made to make the diversion and shortly there after, Quinn became a suspected serial killer. Each member on the Blue River committee began to receive anonymous packages in the mail containing a small hand carved coffin and inside the coffin there was a snapshot of the eventual victim.

In order to be classified as a serial killer, one must “kill three or more people in three or more separate events, over a period of more than 30 days, including an �emotional cooling-off’ period in between the homicides” (“Serial Killer”). Bob Quinn supposedly did exactly this. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, The Baxters, The Hogans, Clem Anderson, and Dr. Parsons were all killed by someone with the same calling card, a miniature coffin. “A man had whittled the coffin. A man with strong fingers…” (Capote 90). Serial killers also have a history of leaving “calling cards,” signatures that mark their deeds and announce to the world that they have struck again. “They do so to taunt police and the public, to create fear that they will kill again and to feed their own ego” (“Killers…”). This leads to the questions of why Bob Quinn would want to taunt the police and the public, and why leave a calling card.

First of all, handing out calling cards allows Quinn to show his potential victims that he has utter control over them, which is one of the most common characteristics of a serial killer. By placing a picture of the victim—“a casual, candid snapshot…not posed…unaware of being photographed” in each person’s miniature coffin, Quinn’s stalking messages rang loud and clear (Capote 69). They never knew if or when someone was watching them. They didn’t know if they would be the next victim for sure, how or when their day would come. Bob Quinn is playing the ultimate mind game with these people formerly on the Blue River committee. This reveals his egocentricity as a driving force. Quinn is “an idealist, an achiever; he set himself tasks, and his tasks were his cross, his religion, his identity…a fanatic” (Capote 109). He seems to savor his every accomplishment, no matter how minute. After winning a chess game against Jake, Quinn “vociferously