149-160 (YES FINALLY DONE WITH THESE!!)

These pages are the end of the second section in the book. Dewey, one of the main investigators of the Clutter murders, is the main focus on these pages. Capote describes Dewey as a person and reveals the characteristics that make him ideal for the investigator. Capote sets up a comparison between Dewey and Dewey's cat Courthouse Pete. Dewey forgets that he needs to pick Pete up from the veterinarian. Pete is at the vets because he is "famous for his pugnacity." The cat got into a fight with a boxer dog that left him all bruised and beaten. This can be said for Dewey as well. Dewey is letting the Clutter case beat him to death and he is even letting it run his life. He visits the Clutter home once everyday and all he talks about is all the different theories of how the Clutters could have been murdered. The cat can almost be foreshadowing of what will happen to Dewey if he continues to let his job control him.
Capote also adds a details about a dream that Dewey's wife had one night that had Bonnie, the wife and mother of the Clutter family, in it. Dewey's wife dreams that one night while she is cooking dinner, Bonnie is just standing there whispering something while having an estranged look on her face. Dewey's wife finally hears that Bonnie is saying "To be murdered...Nothing worse than that. Nothing." This haunts Dewey's wife and shows that the Clutters were in pain when they were murdered and they weren't as calm as they seemed to be when their dead bodies were found. I also think that this detail shows that maybe Dewey's wife will have more involvement in the case than was expected because these dreams are becoming premonitions of what happened the day that the Clutter family was murdered.

111-148

These pages give the reader more of an insight on Perry as a person. Capote adds details about a letter written to Perry about his sister, a letter about Perry's life from his father and details about his personal belongings that he carries around with him. The letter about Perry's life that was written by his father gives the reader an explanation to why Perry is the way that he is. In the letter, his father describes the relationship that Perry had with his mother and that Perry had chose to live with his father because his mother had basically kicked him out after not obeying to not see his father. It also develops Perry as a trustworthy person because his father states that "you could trust him with any amount of $ if your his friend." This characteristic in Perry has been shown briefly before in the novel when he decides to go with Dick to the Clutter's home even though he gets "cold feet" while at the gas station. This could later be important in the book because it could show that Perry was just as guilty as Dick was in the Clutter murders because he chose to go along with him.
The letter written by Perry' sister Barbara, the only living sibling he has left, shows the reader that the only family he has left, other than his father, feels no sorrow for him being in prison. His sister thinks that he could do much better and is almost bitter towards Perry because she doesn't understand how Perry is still loved most by their father even though he is the "mess up" in the family. Barbara has a family and the perfect life, yet her father clearly does not respect her like he does Perry.
Another detail Capote adds in these pages about Perry is the words he has in his "personal dictionary." The words that appear in this dictionary are "beautiful" to Perry and he writes them down so he will always be able to look at them. Yet, to others, these words would depict dark feelings upon them not feelings of happiness. Some of the words are "thanatoid=deathlike...depredate=to pillage, rob, and prey upon." Both of these words can be associated with the Clutter murders. Perry basically did "depredate" the Clutters because he robbed Kenyon of his radio and they killed them all in the end, preying on them just for their materialistic objects that the Clutters possessed. This personal dictionary can later be used against Perry by the detectives on the Clutter case because it portrays Perry as being a ruthless person that could easily be capable of committing such a crime like the one that happened to the Clutter family.

pages 94 - 110

In these pages Capote gives the readers clues that lead to Perry and Dick being the murderers. In the beginning pages of this section Capote states how the aunt of Kenyon and Nancy Clutter looked through the Clutter house and took along with her a person of authority because she had a feeling she was going to find something that would help in discovering the killers. The aunt got to Kenyon's room and knew something was different. She then realized that something felt different because Kenyon's Zenith radio was missing. She knew it had to have been stolen by the murders so this lead to another clue in the case. Then later on page 106 Capote proves the speculation true about Dick and Perry stealing the radio. He tells the reader of all the possessions that Perry has and along with them he states the Perry has a "gray Zenith portable radio." This is one identical to Kenyon's. This foreshadows the radio as being evidence later on in the book to prove that Dick and Perry were the killers.
Another clue given to the reader is a pair of binoculars that Dick has on page 108. Dick scans the landscape with a "luxurious receptacle initialed H.W.C." These are the initials of the father of the Clutter family, Herb. The only way that Dick could have these is if he took them at the time that he murdered the family. This is another instance of foreshadowing because it know seems like the binoculars are also going to be used as evidence against Perry and Dick.
I also realized the repetition of one detail in these pages. When describing the location that Dick and Perry are ate in these pages, Capote repeats "Mountains. Hawks wheeling in a white sky." He uses this only detail to describe the landscape. I think he uses this detail because hawks circle around in the sky before they prance on their prey. The hawks are the investigators waiting to catch their prey which is Dick and Perry. It is a metaphor set up by Capote. It can also be used to show how both Dick and Perry have had moments when they think about the possibility of them getting caught.

pages 77 - 93

So I'm on the second part of the book which is further than i think most people at this point. I'm still on the lookout for details because that is why I'm suppose to be reading it. At this part of the book the Clutter family has just been murdered. Capote begins to set up the investigation that occurs in order to find the killers of the Clutters. He tells of two hypotheses that could possibly explain how it happened. The reader at this point already knows how it happened and who did it but Capote still tells the story as if the reader knew nothing. He tells the story as it is unfolding to the people who are investigating it and the trials they went through to get to the real reason for the murders even happening to begin with. This detail I think aids in the readers understanding of the murders being shocking to people. The case has many open-ended clues that lead the investigators to no real answers. These details show the reader that it did take time and effort to actually find Dick and Perry. Without these details the case on the Clutter family murders wouldn't have seemed to complicated because the readers have known the story since the beginning of the book.
Another interesting detail that I noticed is on page 93. It is when Perry is telling Dick of his dreams that always have the "yellow sort of parrot" in them. Perry does not disclose some of the dream to Dick because Dick just doesn't understand and thinks the whole thing is stupid. This part of the dream states that Perry is taken to "paradise" by the bird and in this paradise is fruit that is "every bit free." This part of the dream seems like a biblical allusion to be because it is like the Garden of Eden. There is forbidden fruit that is available for Adam and Eve to consume. But after they ate the fruit they were taken away from paradise. This can be referenced to Perry because Perry's dreams are an escape to paradise to him. But once he wakes up (like Adam and Eve eating the fruit) he is also taken away from paradise because life as he is awake is far from being a paradise. I think this biblical allusion can also stand to prove that Perry is more "holy" than Dick is. Therefore if Perry is seen as a better person, he is almost seen as innocent compared to Dick that doesn't seem to have a bone in his body that cares about the act he committed.

Already tired of doing postings..

Only the third one and I'm already not in the mood for another one. I read up to the second section of the book at work (yes I had nothing better to do). One part of the way that the book is set up that I found interesting is how the sections of the book are. Each other "chapter" of the book in the first section is told from different view points. One chapter is told from the perspective of Dick and Perry and the next is from people who live in the town of Holcomb. This is interesting because it is constantly giving the reader two different ways of looking at the book. It is almost like a story within a story. The reader sees the story unfold as Capote tells about all the events that happened to Dick and Perry leading up to the murder of the Clutter family and at the same time he tells the story of what was going on in the Clutter family before they were murdered. It also seems to further separate the connection that Dick and Perry had to the Clutters. The chapters show that Dick and Perry really had nothing to do with the Clutter family before or after their death.
Capote tells about the certain events that lead up to Dick and Perry killing the Clutters. One event is when Dick and Perry stop at a gas station just outside of Holcomb. Perry goes inside the gas station to use the bathroom while Dick waits outside. While Perry is in the bathroom, he is portrayed as having "cold feet." It seems like Perry is not interested in the task that Dick asked him to assist him in. Dick asked Perry to help him pull off this job because Perry once told him how he killed a man in Las Vegas for no reason and this made it seem like Perry was perfect for the job. But, Perry is not just a cold hearted killer and he just secretly wanted to go out to Holcomb because it was close to a city where one of Perry's friends that he met while he was in prison was. This friend, Willie-Jay, was just about to get out of prison at the time Perry would be in Holcomb and Perry desperately wanted to see him. This didn't work out though and Perry now had a feeling he didn't want to go to the Clutter house anymore. I think Capote adds in this detail to show that Perry was just an accomplice and shouldn't have been accused for the murders like Dick was. I could also see Perry telling Capote this when he was interviewed by Capote because he would be trying to pin the whole incident on Dick. It's interesting because now it seems as if Capote is on Perry's side. So I will just have to see how the rest of the book goes.

2nd blog entry..

Here I go again with another posting. I found it interesting that Capote decided to go into great detail about Dick and Perry getting ready before they went on their road trip to get the perfect score. He states how the two men were "as tidy as two dudes setting on a double date." Yet, they were far from going to do such an innocent task like going on a date. Dick and Perry were all trimmed and ready to go. Capote could have chose to put this detail in because it is ironic (here I go again). Why would two people who were off to rob a family for money who were planning to leave no living witnesses get all dressed up to perform such an act? This could be because the two were trying to casually fit in and not draw attention that wasn't needed. Holcomb was a small town and the kind of town where everyone knew everyone else and no one was a stranger.
Another thing I noticed was the dialogue that Capote wrote about between Dick and Perry. Dick is calling Perry "honey" and a "beauty" as they are getting ready. This is not normal for cellmates to call each other such feminine names. I think Capote had this dialogue between Dick and Perry as a joke because the two were getting all dressed up to go do a horrific act. The two knew they were going to kill someone because they had all the necessities needed in order to succeed in a murder. I also don't think that Dick or Perry would have told Capote about such a conversation when Capote interviewed them. Men that were once in prison don't want to even have the slightest chance of people thinking that there was more to their relationship than just being cellmates. Jokes on these kind of relationships are made all the time but two guys who killed a whole family would not want to be seen in that kind of light.

Details..Who Would Have Know?

Capote recalls the murders of the Clutter family in In Cold Blood. He conveys his view on how the incident truly occurs through his use of detail. There are details that Capote uses that there is no way that he could have possibly know. He writes about private conversations that occur between the members of the Clutter family that no one would know even happened because the family was not alive long enough after the conversation to tell of it. This happens between Nancy and Kenyon, children of the Clutter family. Capote tells of a conversation that occurred between the two about smoking cigarettes. Nancy keeps smelling cigarette smoke and doesn't know why. Kenyon tells her that its coming off of her breath but Nancy just replies back with "No, funny one. Yours." This is significant because the children in the Clutter family are seen as wholesome and as the "cookie cutter" children. Nancy is especially seen as this because she is the "go to" girl whenever a younger girl needs aid in anything. She doesn't hesitate when people need a lending hand. This detail shows the reader that Kenyon and Nancy are normal teenage kids just like everyone else in the town of Holcomb. The conversation between them that Capote makes up helps to develop Nancy and Kenyon as characters.
Capote also puts in important details about Bonnie, the mother of the Clutter family. She is seen as a stressed woman who has gone through post partom disorder after giving birth to her children. Capote also adds a detail about the bookmark that was in the book that Bonnie was reading the day that she got murdered. The bookmark read "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is." This is almost ironic because no one could have foreshadowed the murders of the Clutter family except for Dick and Perry, the people who "kjilled" them. This detail also shows that even though Bonnie might have been a little looney, she still had her belief in life.

Why read In Cold Blood?

I am going to read for the details that Capote chooses to use even though he wasn't present for them.

Clutter Family Murder

The Clutter family was brutally murdered by Dick Hickock and Perry Smith in Holcomb, Texas at their family home. There are many questions surrounding the murder, which leaves many aspects of the murder left unknown. People have their different views on the incident and some clash with eachother. Some think that Perry Smith was the only one who actually killed the family and Dick Hickock was just there to see it all happen. This is what I have learned based off of my research.
Dick Hickock and Perry Smith were connected to the Clutter family through Floyd Wells, Hickock's former inmate at Kansas State Penitantiary. While Wells was Hickock's inmate he told him about Herb Clutter, the father and husband of the Clutter family, and how the Clutter family had a safe in their house that held thousands of dollars. Wells knew all this information because he worked for the Clutters prior to going to jail. Upon hearing the news of the money that was held in the safe at the Clutter's, Hickock became fascinated and determined in robbing the Clutter family for the safe. Perry Smith then became part of the plan to pull the "perfect score" when Hickock wrote to him asking for his help. Hickock knew Smith because Smith was also one of Hickock's former cellmates. Smith met Hickock in Olathe, Kansas where Hickock was currently living with his parents. The pair set off towards the Clutter home on Saturday November 15, 1959. Hickock told his parents that they were just going to see Smith's sister in Fort Scott and that they would be back Sunday morning. The two arrived at the Clutter home around midnight and the plan was ready to be put into action.
Holcomb, Texas was a small town in which everyone knew one another. It was for this reason that many people in town did not lock any of their doors at night. This made it very easy for Hickock and Smith to enter the home of the Clutter's because they just walked in through a side door on the house that led to Herb's office where the safe was located. Both men got in the house very easy, but they were suprised to find out that there was nothing in the safe. The men cut the telephone lines that led to both phones so that the Clutters could not call for any help. After finding that there was nothing in the safe, the men continued in the house and tied up Herb, Bonnie, Nancy and Kenyon. Hickock's plan was to kill all witnesses so that is what he was going to do. This was apparent because the men wore gloves so that they wouldn't leave finger prints but they did not wear masks because they were going to kill the whole family any ways.
Herb was the first one to get killed. His body was found near the furnance in the basement. His throat was sliced and he was also shot in the head. Kenyon, the youngest and only son of the Clutter family, was also found in the basement but on the couch. Kenyon was shot in the head. Bonnie's, Herb's wife, and Nancy's, Herb and Bonnie's 16 year old daughter, bodies were found laying in their beds. Both of them were shot in the head. All members of the Clutter family had their ankles and wrists tied up with rope. The original plan was to slice all of their throats but Smith could not take the sound it made when he cut Herb's throat so they just shot the rest of them. The knife that was used was a hunting knife and the gun was a .12-gauge shotgun. The pair left the Clutter home with $40 cash, Kenyon's radio and Herb'd binoculars.
The dead bodies of the Clutter family were discovered the next morning by Nancy's two friends Nancy Ewalt and Susan Kidwell. Nancy's friends came over because they drove to church with the Clutter family every Sunday morning. The investigation into the murders then began. Hickock and Smith wore gloves so they didn't leave finger prints, but they did leave behind bloody boot prints by the body of Herb Clutter. Another fact that was discovered was that Herb Clutter signed papers for $40,000 in life insurance just either hours before he was murdered. This life insurance also stated that if his death was accidental, the sum would double to $80,000. The police got a lead on who the killers of the Clutter family were from Floyd Wells. When Wells heard about the murders, he knew it had to be Hickock. Wells was the one who told Hickock about the family and he knew it had to have been him who killed them. Wells later received a $1,000 reward and got out of prison early because he had told the police about Hickock.
Hickock and Smith were not captured until December 30, 1959 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cops recognized the 1956 Chevrolet that the two were driving in and pulled them over and took them to the Las Vegas City Jail. In the beginning Hickock thought the police were only after him for violating parole and writing bad checks. But once the police showed Hickock the pictures of the bloody footprint he left behind and told him they had a witness to the whole murders, Hickock confessed and said Smith was the one who did all the killings. The two went on trial for the Clutter family murders in March of 1960. They were both found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to death by hanging. Dick Hickock and Perry Smith were hung on April 14, 1965.