Success Through Manipulation

Chase Bowling

English 10A

Ms. Cleveland 23

December 16, 2006

Success through Manipulation

Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood, which is probably his most famous book. Although it was one of if not his best accomplishments it did not come easy. The only way for Capote to create In Cold Blood was to manipulate both the readers and the characters.

The reason why the manipulation of the readers was so important is because how would you create a good book if the readers already know the ending. One way he manipulates the reader is that he makes you feel sorry for the killers by going into great detail of their past. Like when Perry says “There was this one nurse used to call me ‘nigger’ and say there wasn’t any difference between niggers and Indians. Oh, Jesus, was she an Evil Bustard! Incarnate. What she used to do, she’d fill a tub with ice-cold water, put me in it, and hold me under till I was blue. Nearly drowned” (Truman 132). He also goes into such great detail that you start to believe or hope that the clutters will not be murdered, even though you know it is going to happen. “Before saying her prayers, she always recorded in a diary a few occurrences and an occasional outburst. It was a five-year diary; in the four years of its existence she had never neglected to make an entry, though the splendor of several events and the drama of others had caused her to usurp space allotted to the future.” (Truman 56). Without this the book would be to boring and never would have became as famous as it is.

Now the manipulation of Perry Smith was so that he could get the facts of how the Clutters were murdered. The only was to obtain this information was from one of the murders. Now in order to get the facts he needed to become