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The Clutter Family In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

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The murder of the Clutter family, as portrayed in Truman Capote’s novel, In Cold Blood, was extremely difficult for the town of Holcomb to accept because of the community’s size and ambience, and the Clutter family’s popularity. The small size of Holcomb had a monumental impact on the town when the Clutter family was brutally murdered. Due to the fact that Holcomb was so small, everyone knew everyone else’s business. When the family was murdered, it made the crime personal for every citizen in Holcomb because of their closeness and familiarity. When describing Holcomb, Capote wrote, “The inhabitants of the village, numbering two hundred and seventy, were satisfied that this should be so, quite content to exist inside ordinary life - to work, to hunt, to watch television, to attend school socials, choir practice, meetings of the 4-H Club” (Capote 5). Holcomb was no …show more content…
Inhabitants went from never locking their doors to feeling so unsafe in their community that they began to question their very neighbors and their motives. It was extremely challenging for the citizens of Holcomb to accept the Clutter family being murdered due to the fact that Holcomb had the essence of being a town where people were not only neighbors, but also friends and family. The popularity of the Clutter family also overwhelmed the town of Holcomb since a large amount of Holcomb’s inhabitants believed the Clutter family would be the last people to ever be murdered. Numerous people looked up to the Clutter family and dreamed of a life exactly like theirs, so when this prominent household was viciously murdered, people lost hope for a better future and became fearful they might be next. When the Clutter family was atrociously murdered in Truman Capote’s novel, In Cold Blood, it was terribly difficult for the town of Holcomb to accept this tragedy due to the population and culture of the community, and their adoration of the Clutter

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