...The Guilt of a Man: Reason of Insanity or Plain Criminal? Truman Capote’s 1965 historical nonfiction, In Cold Blood, perfectly illustrates the lives of two men who committed an unforgiving crime. Set in Holcomb, Kansas, the mid-twentieth century, Capote spends a part of his life analyzing the depths and strategies behind these men’s true nature of their lives in exchange for his determined ambition to find out whether the men were wrongfully dealt with or rightfully executed. In order for Capote to expose the truth behind the men’s actions, he must go and find out the background of their lives’, and whether they were competent when committing this crime, more specifically one man. The wrongdoings of men, Perry Edward Smith and Richard (Dick)...
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...Truman Capote establishes many significant themes in his novel In Cold Blood. Capote utilizes the characters, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, in order to perceive them as cold blooded killers. In the beginning of the novel, it states “In the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by a blast from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces.” It was apparent that in this novel a frequent and compelling theme revolving around man’s inhumane treatment of other human beings was going to be salient in developing this perplexing story. In Cold Blood manipulates the theme of inhumane treatment to describe the murder that Dick and Perry committed, as well as a basis for character development. The murder...
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...In the novels Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson and In Cold Blood by Truman Capote both authors demonstrate their use of characters and their change throughout the novel. In Kidnapped, the characters David and Ebenezer Balfour and the characters Herb Clutter, Perry, and Alvin Dewey in In Cold Blood are dynamic characters because they all undergo a change within the novels. Furthermore, Capote and Stevenson use suspense to promote the character dynamics within the novels. Capote and Stevenson cohesively use suspense with irony, the theme of chase and the overall structure of their novels to illustrate the character dynamics. Suspenseful irony is used to show the change in character throughout the novels. Suspense adds to the theme of chase because the characters try to converge on something they are after. The structure of the novels plays to the authors’ use of suspense in their own styles. Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, Kidnapped, depicts the adventures of David Balfour in search of his inheritance in the perilous Scottish Highlands in 1751. David comes close to retrieving his inheritance, but his uncle, Ebenezer Balfour, has other plans for David. He tries to kill David by coercing him to climb a rickety, old stair-tower. David barely manages to make it out alive because his uncle has lied to him about the condition of the stairs thus the devious side of Ebenezer Balfour emerges. Ebenezer’s failed attempt to get rid of David calls for the use of his secondary plan involving...
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...In Cold Blood is a novel written by Truman Capote that is cited as the first nonfiction book. The novel was completely factual and recounted the events of a Kansas serial killing, while being presented like a piece of fictional literature. This book paved the way to creating a new genre and caused an influx of nonfiction work. The novel details the murder case of the Clutter family set in a closely knit, religious Kansas community. It recounts all the gruesome details of their murders. In Cold Blood explores the killers, Dick and Perry, pasts and their motivations. The book also presses a question that can still not be answered today; is the death penalty humane? Despite being a nonfiction novel, Capote’s work still contains a multitude of literary devices. One symbol in the novel was Mexico. Dick and Perry escaped to Mexico and had delusions that it would be a cheap place to stay where they could get a lot of women. They soon learned they were incorrect when they quickly became broke and it didn't crack up to the paradise try dreamed it to be. This symbolizes the line between reality and fantasy. Not everything in life turns out how you think and nothing ever comes easy without hard work. Perry himself is also a symbol. He symbolizes the grayness of morality and the fuzzy line between good and evil. Although Perry is a murderer, it’s hard not to feel...
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...Truman capote the author of in cold blood characters Dick and Perry are devious and malicious. Perry and dick are doing things they aren’t supposed to, to get money, both of them where murders of the clutter family. Dick went to jail for passing bad checks. The diction in this passage conveys the characters harsh way of seeing thing and their haughty attitude. ”usually so full of himself”, “dick drank three orange blossoms.” Dick put aside everything and started drinking without a problem. Dick was very selfish he only cared about himself most of the time. “I sympathize with that” Perry expresses sympathy towards dick. Also “dicks affection for his parents-Did indeed touch him” at this point they are both feeling emotional. At first dick was...
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...perplexing thought within the minds of many humans throughout history. From watching Law and Order or tuning into the famous OJ Simpson Trial, we as people are captivated by why some would commit this atrocious act against their fellow man. Just like in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart,” where both try to peer into the minds of murderers using symbolism and themes of madness; yet, the narrator's perspective and overall tone differ. Throughout both stories the authors explore themes of madness, be it focused on a main character or the narrator themself. In his book, In Cold Blood, Truman Capote explores sanity through Perry Smith, the man who famously murdered the Clutter family in their home in Holcomb, Kansas; all because him and his accomplice wanted access to the Clutter family’s safe. Perry was a happy child until his father started brutally beating his mother, who then took to drinking and promiscuity. Eventually she dragged her kids to San Francisco, where Perry was getting into trouble constantly. He blamed it on having "no rule or discipline, or anyone to show me right from wrong." (Capote 275) This lead to Perry’s...
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...In the book In Cold blood by Truman Capote, there are several themes presented to the reader throughout the book. One theme is mental illness and how it can influence or effect the persons affected. On the other hand, the author creates a sense of suspense and tension throughout the story. This is represented through many different parts and techniques. Foremost, a theme that emerges later on in the book is mental illness and how it can affect even the most seemingly innocent. As seen in this quote by Perry, “I didn’t want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat.” (Pg. 244) he expresses how he had no wishes to harm Mr.Clutter, and that he was convinced that...
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...Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays. The theme is about how one’s ambition can lead to their fall if they let it get out of hand. Lady Macbeth is one of the most aggressive and ambitious characters of Shakespeare’s plays. Much of the fame of Macbeth should be credited to her because it was her ruthless and almost man-like nature that set her apart from other women in Shakespeare’s plays. She is a round and dynamic character in this play because she changes and develops as the story’s proceedings unfold and conflicts emerge. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth gradually changes from being driven nearly entirely by ambition, to being manipulative of her husband to get her ways, and finally to becoming the complete opposite of her once strong-willed self. Lady Macbeth is seen as a woman of ambition in the beginning of Macbeth. Upon her discovery of Macbeth’s prophecies to become king, she immediately started to think about how to fulfill them. As her ambitious and cold nature overcame her conscience, she mapped out the murder of King Duncan with Macbeth. She came off as being very strong in the opening of the play. Shakespeare’s indirect characterization of her makes her unique from other female characters in his works, which is what sets Macbeth apart from the rest. Lady Macbeth has just as much ambition driving her as Macbeth has, if not more. Lynn M. Zott writes that Lady Macbeth’s ambition may be more aimed towards Macbeth’s successes and not solely hers...
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...Death Due to Hatred “Life is a precious thing, you never know when you are going to lose it” (Anonymous). Everyone has something to lose, their lives being the most consequential. This theme appears throughout various types of novels, whether it be a non-fiction, thriller, or romance. In Cold Blood, incorporates this idea by recounting several deaths in which some call cold blooded murder, as well as an execution committed in hatred. The author, Truman Capote, does this by following the history of Perry Smith, a man wrongly executed by the state of Kansas. This decision is inadequate due to his suffering mental health, the manipulation from Dick, and the cruelty of the death penalty. Mental illness affects nearly fifty four million americans in a single year. Perry Smith is a part of that statistic. Those who do not have complete control of their actions should not be prosecuted as if they do. Within the novel, a professional physician specializing in the field of psychiatry, Dr. Jones, assists in the diagnosis of...
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...sickly, eyes that are blind and shedding tears of blood, a deformation at the forehead, lips consumed by a black substance, and four streaks of blood at the neckline. Every portion of the piece tells the play symbolically. Foremost, the golden blonde hair represents Hamlet’s hair color in the cinematic production of Hamlet by Branagh. The pale white skin symbolizes Hamlet’s cold soul due to his father’s death. The white skin signifies how cold, isolated, empty, and detached Hamlet became. His father’s death caused him to separate from society. He felt as if nobody was sympathizing with him as he was grieving for his father’s death....
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...How is the theme of blame and motive established in Act One? In Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ the theme of blame and motive is apparent in Act One of the play. In this Act, we see the drama and hysteria of witchcraft begin to unfold, and during this blame is a dominant theme. In Act One we see Abigail Williams blame Tituba for the cause of Betty’s sudden illness. Abigail begins to accuse Tituba when she exclaims ‘I never called him! Tituba, Tituba’. Her claims are more believable due to her race, which puts Tituba at a disadvantage. ‘No, no, chicken blood. I give she chicken blood’ highlights the innocence of Tituba, however the blame is placed on Tituba with Hale’s response. ‘Are you silencing this child?’ establishes an accusatory tone and shows Hale’s alignment with Abigail in blaming Tituba. Parris's treatment of Tituba reveals his angry and selfish character. The incident also shows Tituba's powerlessness: she's entirely at her master's command. Tituba discovers that nobody wants to hear denials, just as Abigail earlier discovered. Because of this, Tituba knows she must provide a confession and so blames ‘Sarah Good’ and ‘Goody Osborn’. In response to this, Mrs. Putnam shouts out that she ‘knew it’, which shows a sense of satisfaction in getting someone to blame for the death of her children in infancy. During Act One the theme of motive is also a significant theme, in particular with the character’s Abigail Williams and Parris. Parris’s motive and main concern becomes...
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...Drew is blind and he is sailing the white sea in search of the werelord Moga so that he can obtain help in his fight against the army of Bast. In the story Drew is thrown overboard by pirates and washes ashore in the Cluster Isles where he gains the support of the children that are on the island and convinces them to fight back against the Kraken. The werewolf and the children eventually get to the Krakens sea fortress and get inside of it to release all of the prisoners and kill the Kraken, free count Vega, and capture Opal. Drew and his newly formed armada set sail for the jungle continent of Bast to reunite Opal with her children and to tell the elder council of Bast the truth of Opal’s brother and how he killed another werelord in cold blood. After this the council breaks out into a fight where the catlords alliance is broken and there is new hope for Drew to finally win the...
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...the Ann Petry’s novel The Street. Lutie Johnson transverse a harsh landscape of bitting cold in search of rooms of the night. Here the winds becomes alive down the blocks of 7th and 8th Avenues seemingly attacking the travelers as the world becomes filled with a cacophony of noise and movement. Through a usage of personification of a voracious wind, concrete imagery of signage and the theme of the street in a constant state of flux the urban world becomes a hostile place for Lutie Johnson. Body: In this passage, the wing has a nefarious purpose of its own. In a constant state of movement, its figurative fingers cause mayhem and upset where ever they roam. CONSIDER. For Lutie its seems to have hostile and almost sexual intent as “the cold fingers of the wind touched the back or her neck, explored the sides of her head.” Its’ henchman, in the form of forgotten papers ensnare and entrap travelers. SEEN IN. At times with can seem to bring fresh breath and life to a place yet here it animates the grim and dirt....
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...Farmer’s Children,” Elizabeth Bishop uses dark colors such as black and red to foreshadow the death of the children and blue to represent the cold and the winter. Additionally, she also uses yellow to show irony in the story by showing an illusion that the children are in a cozy, warm home but in reality they are facing abuse and neglect everyday. In “The Farmer’s Children,” Elizabeth Bishop portrays the theme that child neglect and abuse can lead to severe consequences by using color...
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...Although this seems like just a look on a mans life, there are many themes that tie us in. Hikaru uses many literary elements to develop those themes. Four of those elements are complication, false assumptions, flashbacks, and foreshadowing. Although there are many key themes, the two I noticed the most were the psychological effects of war and family complications due to the loss of a loved-one. Complications are defined as obstacles that increase tension. In the beginning of the book, the complications would be when Manase is faced with his memories of the time he was in the cave with the captain during the war, "He did not want to remember-Manase understood that very well. Even though he could taste his fear, he needed only to remind himself that he was lying on a soft mattress, not a cold bed of rocks."(28) The effects the war had on him were so immense that every night he would have nightmares of it. As this quote states, he didn't want to remember it. He would imagine those times in the war and the dreams seemed as real to him as the day they happened, that's why he needs to constantly remind himself that the war is over. When something is believed to be true; however is not true. An assumption isn't what's said, it is what is behind the words. This is the definition of false assumptions. Though Hikaru Okuizumi doesn't use false assumptions till the middle and end of the book, they are key in his themes. False assumptions are what leads Manase's family to fall apart...
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