In Cold Blood
In Cold Blood"In Cold Blood" summary
Many times, people can find themselves thinking that nothing can hurt them. Things such as car accidents and robberies are all too common. Who would think to worry of such things as murder? No one would until something happens to wake everyone up, such as in Truman Capote�s "In Cold Blood". The book describes the almost unthinkable act of murder in a small town setting.
The novel is about the events and people surrounding the brutal slaying of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, a small western town. It covers the events leading up to the murders in both the victims' and the murderers' lives, the crime, and the aftermath, including the police investigation, trial,imprisonment, and eventual hanging of the two young murderers, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith.
In Cold Blood both begins and ends with descriptions of the wheat fields around Holcomb, Kansas. Capote has said that part of his reasoning for choosing to write about the Clutter murders was the remoteness of the setting. He wanted to broaden his writing subjects beyond the too-narrow personal world with which most writers concern themselves. The setting of "In Cold Blood" matters very much to the symbolism of the plot.
The novel begins on the day that the murders take place. The Clutter family is going about their daily chores. Nancy, the town sweetheart, is contemplating about how she is to get all of her chores finished. Her father, brother, and mother are carrying on as they usually would on a Saturday morning. They are an extremely happy family that holds grudges with no one. Capote introduces the audience to the family on a personal level.
Just outside of the small town of Holcomb, Kansas awaits a man named Dick. He is waiting for a friend of his named Perry. Perry likes to travel. One of his hobbies is randomly picking a destination on a map and just going there. This is partly the reason that Dick is waiting for him.
Dick�s real name is Richard Eugene Hickock. He was born on June 6th, 1931. He is a stout, blond man with blue eyes. He was imprisoned for many different crimes. He knew that Perry liked to travel. It was because of this that Dick was able to talk Perry into going on the road trip with him.
The well - planned road trip was destined to end up at the Clutter residence. This was by design of Dick. He was the one who wanted to kill the Clutters, and whoever happened to be at the house and in the way at the time of the murders. The motive for the murders was that the Clutters were rich, even though they were extremely modest...
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