In Cold Blood: The Devastation of an American Dream

In Cold Blood: The Devastation of an American Dream

On November 14, 1959, two men armed with a shotgun and a knife, raided and killed a family of four. This occurrence resonated the community that lived close by (Knickerbocker 1 of 3). By contrasting the lives of the Clutter family and the lives of the killers, Truman Capote creates a harsh view of America and its increasing violence. Spending over half a decade writing the book, Truman Capote moved to Kansas and followed the end of every thread in the murder of the Clutter family (Knickerbocker 1 of 3). Capote wanted to establish that a truthful account can be as fascinating as the most ingenious thriller (Knickerbocker 1 of 3). Published in 1965, the book is a complete and exact interpretation of a middle-American town and the two vagabonds who eradicated the existence of one of the nation’s finest families (Levitov 1 of 3).

The characters in the book include the murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, and the Clutter family, Herb, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon Clutter. The murderers were social failures and disappointed romantics (Knickerbocker 2 of 3). Perry Smith had the normal existential hatred of the body because he despised his crushed legs (Knickerbocker 2 of 3). Sometimes at night, Smith, who was badly affected by enuresis, had dreams of an enormous bird that would carry him to salvation (Knickerbocker 2 of 3). Smith’s accomplice, Dick Hickock, was simply the kid next door that turned out to be bad. The only charming thing about him was when he was writing bad checks to salesmen (Knickerbocker 2 of 3). Capote puts the murderers in their domestic and communal situations and lets their declarations and actions talk for themselves (Levitov 1 of 2). Capote neither pardons nor judges the murderers (Levitov 1 of 3). The Clutter family made particularly heartbreaking victims. Herbert Clutter did not allow any drinkers to work for him on his farm. Mr. Clutter’s lovely daughter, Nancy, baked pies and was a dedicated member of the 4-H Club. Her father walked in on her while kissing a boy one time; she could no longer pursue a relationship with the boy since he was a Catholic (Knickerbocker 2 of 3). Mr. Clutter’s righteous wife, Bonnie Clutter, was badly affected with cold tremors and anxiety attacks. Mrs. Clutter was the only atypical factor within the Clutter household (Knickerbocker 2 of 3). Kenyon Clutter, the son of Mr. Clutter, was crafty in the basement workshop (Knickerbocker 2 of 3). The family’s lives rejected the opportunity of malevolence and in consequence, were fatefully diminished (Knickerbocker 2 of 3). “They had no vices and few faults of any kind. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) later concluded that ‘of all the people in the world, the Clutters were the least likely to be murdered.’” (Herisken 356).

To write the book, Capote moved west to the place where the slaying occurred (Knickerbocker 1 of 3). To Capote, the murders in western Kansas insinuated less obvious (Knickerbocker 1 of 3). He managed to not only acquire cooperation from the friends and family of the victims and the Kansas authorities, but