Truman Capote favors Perry over Dick in his novel, In Cold Blood.
Capote and Perry
In Truman Capote's non-fictional novel In Cold Blood, he tends to favor Perry, one of the killers, over the other killer Dick. This unfairly hinders the reader's opinion towards the final sentencing, which is the death penalty. Capote does this by adding un-journalistic comments in his "journalistic" writings. We do not even know if Capotes telling us the word for word truth of what happened, he could have altered what actually happened, because he didn't take notes or recordings when he interviewed the killers. Another reason why I consider his writings unfair to the reader is because his emotional status, his announcement of homosexuality.
This is the story of the murder of the Clutter family in Kansas. The book starts off beginning with the day of the murders to the day the killers were executed. The two men, Dick and Perry, plan to rob a wealthy farmer's home. They plan to receive great wealth and move off to exotic islands, instead they gain a total of 42$ and bloodshed. The four members of the Clutter family are murdered with a shotgun pointblank in their home by the intruders. The killers then escape and travel around the country to avoid being caught. They are finally brought to justice in Las Vegas, and after their hearings and testimonies they both receive the death penalty.
In the novel Capote often inserts un-journalistic comments that sway our opinions towards a certain killer, Perry. Capote tells us information that we do not need to know, information that would not fit in any newspaper. "Perry, still reclining under the blue umbrella, had observed the scene and realized Dick's purpose at once, and despised him for it; he had "no respect for people who can't control themselves sexually,'" especially when they lack control..." (Page 201-202) Capote inserts this comment as if he is praising Perry, we didn't need to know this, and it gives us a certain ...
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In the novel Capote often inserts un-journalistic comments that sway our opinions towards a certain killer, Perry. Capote tells us information that we do not need to know, information that would not fit in any newspaper. "Perry, still reclining under the blue umbrella, had observed the scene and realized Dick's purpose at once, and despised him for it; he had "no respect for people who can't control themselves sexually,'" especially when they lack control..." (Page 201-202) Capote inserts this comment as if he is praising Perry, we didn't need to know this, and it gives us a certain picture, as if he is a nice guy. "When Perry asked Dick, "Know what I think?' he knew he was beginning a conversation that would displease Dick, and one that, for that matter, he himself would just as soon avoid." (Page 110) Capote informs the reader with a completely pointless conversation between Perry and Dick, he only told the reader this because he wants us to feel sorry for Perry. He wants us to think that Dick is in charge, and Perry is just there in his footsteps. "Look at his family! Look what had happened there! His mother, an alcoholic, had strangled to death on her own vomit." (Page 110) This is another example of Capote going out of his way as if he is persuading us to feel sympathy for Perry. With the exclamation points and with the persuading sentences, this defiantly is not journalistic writing.
Another reason why I believe Capote favors Perry over Dick is because when Capote interviewed them he didn't take notes. In Albin Krebs article on Capote he describes capote, "He explained that this came from "a talent for mentally recording lengthy conversations, an ability I had worked to achieve while researching 'The Muses Are Heard,' for I devoutly believe that the taking of notes, much less the use of a tape recorder, creates artifice and distorts or even destroys any naturalness that might exist between the observer and the observed, the nervous hummingbird and its would-be captor'". After reading this I realized that Capote might have altered everything he heard, to the slightest detail he could have made up something, something to make us feel a certain way towards someone, like Perry. I felt this even more when I read further into the article when Albin Krebs told us more about Capote, "He said his trick was to rush away from an interview and immediately write down everything he had been told." This not only backed up my statement about Capote favoring Perry over Dick, but it also concerned me... can we really trust Capote? Could Capote just be doing this because he feels a certain way towards Perry? This leads us to my next reason.
In Albin Krebs article he quotes Capote, "But I'm not a saint yet. I'm an alcoholic. I'm a drug addict. I'm homosexual. I'm a genius. Of course, I could be all four of these dubious things and still be a saint." Capote announces to the world his homosexuality. This could mean that for all the un-journalistic comments in the novel In Cold Blood, there could have been a stronger reason. It could have been love. Love between Perry and Capote. It's hard to share negative information about a person that you love, and that's what is happening in this book.
With the un-journalistic comments, the love and how the book was written I believe Truman Capote favors Perry over Dick in his novel, In Cold Blood. The book really makes the reader want to sympathize with Perry, even though they shot four innocent members of a family point blank with a shotgun. With that in mind I am glad they both got sentenced to death. A crime like that should have no other option. Mass murdering is defiantly wrong; any murder on purpose with admittance deserves the death penalty. I think Capote stands against the death penalty, that's why he favored Perry, maybe he thought it could take him away from the death penalty so he could have a relationship with him, maybe that's why he wrote the book, maybe its not a journalistic book but yet a persuasive book, an opportunity to let out his emotions.
