by Cicely Richard

Created on: May 31, 2011

“In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote illustrates the marriage of nonfiction writing that delivers cold facts and fiction writing featuring descriptive details. Published in 1966, “In Cold Blood” tells the story of a brutal murder of Herbert Clutter, a farmer in Holcomb, Kansas, along with that of his wife Bonnie and two teenage children, Nancy, 16, and Kenyon, 15. At the time of the murder, the oldest daughter didn't live on the farm. The murders captured the nation because of its brutality, idyllic setting and the fact that the family didn't seem to have enemies. Capote reveals that the enemies came from outside the community and didn't know the family.

On November, 15, 1959, the Clutter family is retiring for the night, when ex-convicts Richard Hickock and Perry Edward Smith break in the home. Floyd Wells, a fellow convict, has falsely told them that the Clutter family keeps money on the farm. Hickock and Smith break into the home, and after finding no money, massacres the family. The men embark on a journey that takes them to Mexico and Las Vegas, where they are captured on December 30, 1959.

Capote paints a vivid picture of the landscape, transporting readers to the rural Kansas countryside with open fields and fresh air. Readers see the farms, tractors and animals prancing in the field. He also makes readers feel how ordinary the lives of the Clutter family is on the day they died. After they had a day of hard work, the family enjoys television with Bobby Rupp, Nancy's boyfriend. Their daily activities give no indication that they would become victims of crime. Based on the accounts of townspeople, everyone loves Nancy and Kenyon is industrious like his father.

Unlike crime novels that give one side of a story, “In Cold Blood” tells the story of all the people involved in the crime, including the criminals. Readers see that Capote want to get into the minds of the perpetrators. He presents details about Hickock and Smith's dysfunctional childhoods. Smith has a leg injury from a motorcycle accident and has an addiction to aspirin. Raised by alcoholic parents, Smith is abused by his father and other authority figures. Capote forges a strange friendship with Smith, probably the reason readers get so much more information about his past.

Capote carries this story to the bitter end, providing information about the police investigation, the court proceeded and the eventual execution of the criminals. Capote, who was present at the execution, records the last words of the men before their deaths.

Truman Capote decides to write “In Cold Blood” after reading a New York Times article about the Holcomb, Kansas murders. With the help of his childhood friend, author Harper Lee, Capote creates a detailed story set in America's heartland. He presents all sides of the story in this riveting tale of a senseless crime.

Source:

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/incoldblood/context.ht ml

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