In Cold Blood
By Truman Capote
Summary
Herbert and Bonnie Clutter were the proud parents of Eveanna, Beverly, Nancy, and Kenyon Clutter. By November of 1959, only the youngest two of their four children still lived at home, Nancy (16) and Kenyon (15). The Clutters were a prominent family in the small farming town of Holcomb Kansas. They were very involved, and Nancy was even known to be the "town darling". The true heinous murders of this family would shatter the sense of security the town once possessed. This book was written about the true investigation of these murders, and even gives insight into the minds of the murderers, who are identified at the beginning of the book and followed throughout.
Review
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved the style Truman Capote writes in, it is descriptive without being overly gory, as well as easy to read. I would recommend this book to anyone interesting in reading a book about an actual murder case. The intrigue and relate-ability of this story is increased due to its close proximity to Meriden, not only distance wise, but also between the small town atmospheres.
Character ananlysis
Herbert (Herb) Clutter
Herb Clutter was a reliable, hardworking man. He graduated from Kansas State University, married one of his best friends' younger sister, and started a family. He was dedicated to his family and his farm, and was highly respected as a self made man.
Richard (Dick) Hickock
One of the two murderers. Dick was physically a short slim man. Dick had been married twice and was in and out of jail for passing bad checks. He was a confident man and exuded and air of so. He was a manipulative person and tried to use his power of persuasion even while on death row.
Perry Smith
The second of the two. Perry was a physically short, but solidly built man. He had a difficult childhood, and was therefor lacking proper schooling, though he longed to be well educated. He saw himself as special, particularly musical and intelligent.
Favorite Passage
"'Deep down,' Perry continued, 'way, way rock bottom, I never thought I could do it. A thing like that... Know what it is that really bugs me? About the other thing? It's just I don't believe it-that anyone can get away with a thing like that. Because I don't see how it's possible. To do what we did. And just one hundred percent get away with it. I mean, that's what bugs me-I can't get it out of my head that something's got to happen."
I like this passage, which is something Perry says to Dick in a conversation, because it gives you more of an idea just what one of the two murderers is thinking.
Works cited
"Richard Eugene Hickock | Photos 1 | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers."Richard Eugene Hickock | Photos 1 | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
"Clutter Family Slayings Shock, Mystify Area." Clutter Family Slayings Shock, Mystify Area. N.p., 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
"GCPD - Pictures of the Clutter Case." GCPD - Pictures of the Clutter Case. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.