Nancy Clutter
Characterization: In Cold Blood
Character: Nancy Clutter
Nancy Clutter was the daughter of Herb and Bonnie that faced her tragic death in the Clutter home along with the rest of her family. Depicted as the perfect daughter, the death of Nancy is one that rocked the reader of the novel to the core.
Typical Girl Next Door
Nancy Clutter was the girl that had time to help everyone around her. When a little girl, Jolene, down the street calls asking for help with baking a pie, Nancy worked things out with her schedule to make time for her (Capote 18). Even though she already had other things on her plate, she cleared room to help Jolene with her pie. Along with this community service, that same day she was also assisting another kid with their trumpet solo, a bride with her dresses for her party, and running errands for her mother.
Rebellious Streak?
She doesn't always listen to Daddy it seems. What fuels her rebellion? The same thing that fuels every other teenage girl. Boys. Bobby Rupp is the lucky guy that she has set her focuses on, and has since about 6th grade. They've basically been going steady since then, but because they aren't from the same religious background, Nancy's father doesn't approve. He says that they could never get married, so they should just cut it off now. Nancy's feelings obviously outweigh her father's opinions though, because she continues to see Bobby (Capote 51).
Perfect Daughter
Even with the slightly rebellious streak that Nancy experiences, she is still the picture perfect daughter to the Clutters. She takes on the motherly role in the home because of the state of her Mother, and she excelles in school and everything else she puts herself into (Capote 18).
Rhetorical Analysis
Capote's characterization of Nancy Clutter allows us as the reader to have a more personal connection with her. While she is shown as the perfect all American daughter, she also has some characteristics that give her a more real feeling. We, as teenagers, can connect with her on an actual level about things that she is dealing with. Plenty of teenage girls like a boy that her father doesn't approve of. While I am not one of them, I have friends that do.
We also get a sense of the future she could have possibly had. By making her look like the perfect daughter, taking care of Kenyon, keeping the house up to par, it almost makes a comparison to her mom. Bonnie is practically bed-ridden and slacking in the mother department, but Nancy seems to take up for her where she slacks. It gives us more of a connection to Nancy because we can see the potential she would have as a mom, and how successful she would be in life. It makes her death even more sad because we see all of the potential that was lost on Nancy Clutter.
Works Cited
Geocities.ws. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
"Clutter Family Murders". Pinterest. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.