Response to Truman Capote’s excerpt from In Cold Blood (Art of Fact)

Capote has a very precise way of describing surroundings, people, and certain elements to capture the dark psychological story of two killers. In this piece, I can see the intense relationship between Dick and Perry, while they are on the run. Dick seems to be the more assertive type, while Perry seems passive. The piece starts off by Dick and Perry hitchhiking and thinking about killing the driver, so no one can follow them or get caught. Capote also does a brilliant job at portraying the feelings of Perry, while he is being reminded of his father: “Their laughter irritated Perry; he especially disliked Mr. Bell’s outbursts—hearty barks that sounded very much like the laughter of Tex John Smith, Perry’s father. The memory of his father’s laughter increased his tension; his head hurt, his knees ached. He chewed three aspirin and swallowed them dry. Jesus!” (163). This shows that Capote tried to capture Perry’s exact feelings, while being an outsider to his emotions.

The second section of this piece follows the detective working Dick and Perry’s case, Harold Nye. Capote follows Nye around his investigation as he describes the interview Nye had with the landlady of the hotel. I absolutely love the description of the landlady: “…the landlady’s long and lacquered fingernails search a page of pencil-scribbled names…A cockroach emerged, and the landlady stepped on it, squashing it under the heel of her gold leather scandal,” (164, 166). Capote also shows the scenery very well; I could tell this hotel was cheap, dump that probably couldn’t pass any inspection based on his descriptions of odors the place produced and the landlady’s grotesque appeal.

Capote also does a great job with suspense and intensity, especially in this section. This piece starts with Perry and Dick hitchhiking, then Nye investigating, then back to Perry and Dick on the run. The last section shows Dick and Perry’s desperation: they have no money, so they stay at a Salvation Army; they eat chocolate bars and chewing gum because Perry stole it from a drug store, and they steal a car they find. This last section also shows the dynamitic again between Dick and Perry’s relationship. Dick stole the chocolate bars and chewing gum, but got his favorite flavor, Double-mint, where Perry’s favorite flavor is Juicy Fruit. This small detail shows that Dick and Perry are very distant friends and as a accomplices together, Dick seems to be taking care of everything, while Perry sits back and lets him take command.

As far as Capote’s stylistic choices, I love he how uses short, concise sentences. He is not afraid to get to the point. He starts the third section with one or two words: “A cloudburst. Rain. Buckets of it. Dick ran. Perry ran too, but he could not run as fast; his legs were shorter and he was lugging his suitcase,” (167). I think as far as something I could take away from this piece to apply to my own writing would be to imagine myself in a place or in a situation and describe setting in a way to grab the reader.