Essay on 'In Cold Blood' Dialectical Journal

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Essay on ‘In Cold Blood’ Dialectical Journal

Activity 1: Timeline

1. Normal Day for the Clutter Family and the Killers – Nov 14, 1959

Truman Capote doesn’t waste anytime revealing the details of the story, giving it away by saying, “At the time, not a soul in sleeping Holcomb heard them—four shotgun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives. Everything was going well in the peaceful town of Holcomb, KA. Herbert Clutter was a farmer living the American Dream. He was well off, from his hard work and enjoying his success. His family was happy, until one day, they were murdered by Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Him and his wife, Bonnie, have four children together, two of which were not murdered, Eveanna, and Beverly. These were their older children. Eveanna had started her own family, and Beverly was attending medical school. Their other two children were Kenyon, 15, and Nancy, 16. Nancy was well known for her pleasant vibes and attitude. Kenyon liked to spend his free time playing with electronics. He is an aspiring engineer. The day before the murders begins with Mr. Clutter getting up to eat and start his day of work. Nancy is woken up by a phone call from her good friend Susan, which leads to a conversation about Nancy’s date with a boy named Bobby Rupp. Meanwhile. Dick Hickock picks up Perry Smith at a coffee shop in another city in Kansas. They are the murderers of this story.

2. Murders – Nov 15, 1959

Dick fully intends on making sure that there are no witnesses left alive to tell the police what was about to happen. Perry isn’t too sure if things will go according to plan, so he asks Dick, so they can buy face masks to conceal their identities. Perry tells Dick the story of how he once beat a black man to death with a bike chain, for no reason. Dick becomes obsessed with this story. This whole portion of text in the story, just tells the reader that Perry and Dick must have underlying mental health issues. Before heading to the Clutter household, they have dinner at a steak restaurant, then they head over to the gas station to buy cigars and tape. Perry is addicted to painkillers. When Perry goes to the washroom to take the painkillers, Dick begins to lose confidence in Perry’s ability to be a “true killer.” He believes the Perry is beginning to get cold feet about the crime they are about to commit. Drive to Holcomb, and enter the house during the middle of the night, while the family is asleep. When they went into the house and didn’t find the safe they were looking for, they restrained the family with the tape. They slit Mr. Clutters throat and shot him. They then proceeded to shoot Kenyon, Bonnie, and Nancy. They only got around $50 out of it.

3. Perry and Dick become Fugitives – Nov 15, 1959 – Dec 30, 1959

Susan, Mr. Ewalt, and his daughter, also named Nancy discovered that the Clutters had been murdered, when they called the house, and no one picked up. On Sundays, the two girls go to church with the Clutters. They drive over to the house and knock on the door. No one answers, so the girls decide to enter the home through the dining room window, and they find Nancy, lying there, dead. They don’t believe it. Mr. Ewalt calls an ambulance. Dick and Perry have fled to Mexico. Dick funded trip by paying with bad checks. These cheques are fake and are used by criminals to get things without paying for it.

4. Regret Stage

Perry is having trouble dealing with what he had done. He says, “There must be something wrong with us, to what we did.” (Capote 131). Perry also talks about a reoccurring dream he has, where he is attacked by a snake at a tree filled with diamonds, but then saved by a bird.

5. Police Investigation

Mr. Dewey, the lead investigator for the KBI begins to work on this case. His theory is that who ever committed the crime most likely had a relationship with them, because of the details of the crime scene, and the fact that there was no known motive. While conducting the investigation, there KBI figured that there was no way robbery could have been the motive of the crime, because the family didn’t carry cash on them. They find footprints in the basement, which is where Herb and Kenyon where killed. Nancy and Bonnie were found in a blanket. Nancy had a gold watch tucked into her boot, so they figured that perhaps she heard them entering the house, and tried to hide her valuables. We find out that Floyd Wells is the indirect cause of the crime. He used to work for the Clutter family, and he told Dick about the house. Floyd shared a cell with Dick in prison. This makes the motive obvious. Dick was looking for money when he came to the Clutter house. This is the first time that the reader gets an idea of the motive, as Capote doesn’t reveal it until now.

6. Funeral for the Clutter Family – Nov 17, 1959

Approximately thousand people from the community showed up at the funeral. Susan describes Nancy as being in a coffin with cotton wrapped around her face.

7. Harold Nye (KBI Assistants) finds Dick and Perry’s families homes

Harold visited Perry and Dick’s parents’ houses, and the pawn shops where Dick was pawning items that he had stolen previously. However, he didn’t pawn Kenyon’s missing radio. He also visited a hotel that the two stayed at previously. Perry keeps his diaries there. Nye also had a meeting with Perry’s sister. During that meeting, she reveals that even she is afraid of her brother, she still loves him very much and wants to see him turn around and change his life.

8. Perry and Dick are arrested – Dec 30, 1959

Dick and Perry were arrested in Los Vegas, California. The police knew the licence plate of the car they were driving, because it was stolen earlier in the book.

9. Interrogation & Confessions – Jan 2, 1960

The suspects are arrested by two other members of the KBI investigation unit, Roy Church and Harold Nye. They proceed to question them. The two men have been preparing for being arrested and have an alibi made up to cover their tracks. When asked about their whereabouts on the night when the crime was committed, Dick responded with the planned alibi saying that he stayed overnight with Perry and a couple prostitutes. Perry gets interviewed, and is unable to lie to the investigators, Perry fesses up, admitting that the alibi Dick gave wasn’t the truth. Dick then tries to avoid the blame by claiming that Perry was responsible for killing the family, not himself. When he is being escorted back to Kansas by Clarence Duntz and lead KBI investigator Alvin Dewey, he tells them the truth, confessing that he shot Mr. Clutter when he tried to get out of the tape that he was tied in. He shot Kenyon next. They still do not know who was accountable for killing Bonnie and Nancy.

10. Murder Trial – Mar 22, 1960 – Mar 29, 1960

During the trial, the accused were placed in jail to wait for their trial dates and such. Dick was put in general population at a city jail, and Perry was put inside a cell, located underneath the Deputy, Wendel Meier’s house. His wife Josie takes care of him, makes him food, and begins to form a relationship with him. Perry’s time was pleasant there. He befriended a squirrel that lives near the home. Floyd Wells provided a character testimony. He said that he didn’t think Floyd was capable of murdering anyone. He claims that prisoners often write checks that their mouths can’t cash. In this case, this is what Dick did. Perry admits to killing the whole family, so this means Dick did not shoot any shots. The evidence gathered from Dr. Jones’s evaluation is presented in court, and the results show that Perry likely has schizophrenia, and Dick has borderline personality disorder, and possible brain damage, due to a car accident that he was involved in before the events of this book took place. The defense team is unable to obtain concrete evidence to prove their clients’ innocence. They were only able to get a character testimony and show the evidence that their clients both had serious mental health issues. The prosecution put forth their evidence, both from the crime scene and confessions.

11. Perry admits that he needs mental help and emotional support

After a few psychiatrists have taken a brief look at the accused, they determine that both men have the mental aptitude necessary to be tried in court. Dick’s lawyer begins to search for another medical professional that can take a more thorough look at the mental states of Dick and Perry. Soon, they find a psychiatrist that is willing to help. His name is Mitchell Jones. He examines the two men for a couple hours each. His test involves the two men to writing about themselves, almost like an autobiography. Perry wrote about his rough upbringing, which involved his family abandoning him and being abused by the nuns he was raised by. Dick says that he has a hard time staying in control of his own actions, and impulsive behaviours. It appears as if Dick may have OCD. He thinks that this issue stems from the car accident that he got into before the events of this book took place. He also tells Dr. Jones that he tries to encourage little girls to have sex with him, and that he only went to the house to rape Nancy.

12. Verdict is passed – Mar 28, 1960

13. Three other convicts are introduced.

The two men are placed in death row in KSP (Kansas State Penitentiary), which is referred to as the “Corner” in the book. There, there are three other convicts awaiting their execution date.

Out of the three, Lowell Andrews stands out the most. Two years prior, he had murdered his whole family in cold blood. Psychiatrists diagnosed Mr. Andrews with schizophrenia, who then used that information to plead “not criminally responsible.” However, the judge felt that Mr. Andrews was unable to disprove the M’Naughten rule, which is a law, that presumes that every man is sane. To disprove this, the defense must prove that they did not have the mens rea at the time they committed the crime. The defense tried to prove Mr. Andrews’ innocence, but the judge didn’t accept it, and sentenced him to death. The other two convicts awaiting execution are soldiers named George York and James Latham. They were good people, but they became serial killers after they started to believe that the world had become filled with hate, anger, and malice.

14. 1st Scheduled Execution Date Passes – May 13, 1960

Postponed because of file for appeal.

15. Appeals to the Kansas Supreme Court – Jan 1, 1961 – Dec 31, 1963

Dick looks for a lawyer who can file an appeal for case, because he feels like the trial was not fair. His appeal request was denied, as the judge believes that the trial fair, and thus should not be appealed.

16. Andrew is Executed – November 20, 1962

Lowell Andrews is hanged. His heart continued to beat for 19 minutes after being hanged.

17. Perry and Dick are killed – Apr 15, 1965

After 3 years and two more appeal attempts go by, Perry and Dick are scheduled to be hung on April 14, 1965. They make one more appeal attempts to get pardoned from the execution, but the Governor of Kansas, William Avery, declines it. The four members of the KBI investigation team show up for the executions of Dick and Perry. Dewey is a little bit bothered by the fact that they are being executed by hanging, because he wants them to feel the pain. Dick comes out first to be executed. He says this: “I just want to say I hold no hard feelings. You people are sending me to a better world than this ever was.” (Capote 420). He shakes hands with the four members of the KBI investigation team, then is dropped down the trap door to plummet to his death. Perry comes to be executed next. He says this: “I think it’s a helluva thing to take a life in this manner. I don’t believe in capital punishment, morally, or legally.” (Voss 143). He says sorry, and plummets down to his death, just like his former friend. They stopped talking to each other during their time on Death Row.

Activity 2: Biography

Author’s Educational Background:

Truman Capote attended Dwight School, which is a college located is Manhattan, NY.

What Qualifies the Author to Write Such a True Crime Book?

Well, Truman Capote had a very good reputation, as he was an established actor, screenwriter, novelist, and various other titles. This reputation gave him the publicity and credibility needed to make a book that the general public would actually care about. “In Cold Blood” is based on the actual story of the Clutter family murders. When he heard the horrific news of the tragic death of the Clutter family, He decided to head to Holcomb, KA. One important thing to consider or keep in mind, is that “In Cold Blood,” is based on a true crime case. This case was obviously very intriguing to Capote, and he decided to write a book about it. Because of the book’s realistic nature, it gives a good and truthful image as to how cases involving egregious crimes tended to play out back in that time. He worked on the book for six years prior to it’s release.

Activity 3: Content

What is the main idea of the book? What is the purpose in writing the book? What makes this particular crime or events worth writing a book about? What makes it interesting or different?

The main idea of this book is that even the people who commit the most egregious of crime, may not always be evil people. Sometimes, they are the victims of their own minds. Truman Capote wrote “In Cold Blood,” because he wanted to experiment his theory that journalism and creative writing could be put together to make something bigger and better. He called the outcome of this mixture, and “non-fiction novel.” This was the birth of this very popular genre. The events in this book are worth writing about, because the events go to show how much ignorance there was in the justice system at this time. It is obvious that both Perry and Dick had some serious mental issues that needed to be seriously considered during the sentencing. Perry has schizophrenia, and Dick may have brain damage and Borderline Personality Disorder. Perry has an extremely trouble past, filled with abuse and violence. Dick also admitted that he had trouble controlling his impulsive behaviours and that he felt that it was because of the car accident he got into. Dick seems to be a pedophile, so there are many underlying issues that the court should have examined more carefully before sentencing both Perry and Dick. There is no doubt that this book is unique and interesting, as it was a game changer and trendsetter in the world of novels, and all literature in general.

Pick three or four of the main events of the book and write a summary of the action, include what makes the event important to the overall structure of the book or story and what the event contributes to the author’s purpose in writing the book.

Murders

Dick fully intends on making sure that there are no witnesses left alive to tell the police what was about to happen. Perry isn’t too sure if things will go according to plan, so he asks Dick, so they can buy face masks to conceal their identities. Perry tells Dick the story of how he once beat a black man to death with a bike chain, for no reason. Dick becomes obsessed with this story. This whole portion of text in the story, just tells the reader that Perry and Dick must have underlying mental health issues. Before heading to the Clutter household, they have dinner at a steak restaurant, then they head over to the gas station to buy cigars and tape. Perry is addicted to painkillers. When Perry goes to the washroom to take the painkillers, Dick begins to lose confidence in Perry’s ability to be a “true killer.” He believes the Perry is beginning to get cold feet about the crime they are about to commit. Drive to Holcomb and enter the house during the middle of the night, while the family is asleep. When they went into the house and didn’t find the safe they were looking for, they restrained the family with the tape. They slit Mr. Clutters throat and shot him. They then proceeded to shoot Kenyon, Bonnie, and Nancy. They only got around $50 out of it. This event is the climax of the book. It really sets the tone for how the rest of the book will play out.

Verdict is Passed

After 40 minutes of jury deliberation, they found Perry and Dick guilty on four first-degree murder charges. They were sentenced 5 years in prison, with the death penalty at the end of serving their sentence. This event showcases the ignorance that the Criminal Justice System had towards mental illnesses back then. It is very clear that both Dick and Perry have some serious mental health issues, with Dick being a pedophile, and Perry having schizophrenia. The two men are found guilty, and the judge simply just gave them a life sentence without a second thought. This just goes to show how far the justice system has come in the last 60 years. The event is part of the controversial ending in Truman’s six-year long study.

Dick and Perry are executed by hanging

Dick comes out first to be executed. He says this: “I just want to say I hold no hard feelings. You people are sending me to a better world than this ever was.” (Capote 420). He shakes hands with the four members of the KBI investigation team, then is dropped down the trap door to plummet to his death. Perry comes to be executed next. He says this: “I think it’s a helluva thing to take a life in this manner. I don’t believe in capital punishment, morally, or legally.” (Voss 143). He says sorry, and plummets down to his death, just like his former friend. They stopped talking to each other during their time on Death Row. This event is significant to the structure of the book, because it concludes all the action and ties up loose ends.