The main theme
of 's jounalistic novel is Nature vs.
Nurture. Working as a journalist for The New Yorker, Capote
noticed the article about the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, a small farm town
in which people were so secure that they did not lock their doors at night, and became intrigued
by the crime. When Capote went to Kansas with a €˜€˜meaningful design of his own in which he
originally intended to find out why the crime was committed, he soon discovered that he became
more interested in the personalities of criminals. During his jounalistic investigations, Capote
was intrigued by the one murderer, Perry Smith, who shot the members of the Clutter family in
what was labeled as a psychological accident.
To some critics, In
Cold Blood examines the critical role of psychological accidents in the recreation of
the crimes. However, critic Phyllis Frus, holds that Capote's method affords the
murders' explanation and rationalization within a framework of middle-class ideology and
psychological analysis. Thus, Capote's method used for the writing of his book is
"interpretive journalism." Intrigued by the background of Perry Smith, Capote
explored the idea that the half-Irish and half-Indian Smith was a tragic formula, concluding
from information that he gathered that Smith was innately intelligent, talented, and sensitive,
but his psyche was
warped and eroded by neglect, abuse,
humiliation, and unresolved emotional trauma.
Perry
Smith's mother was an alcoholic who died as she aspirated, his siblings committed suicide, his
father was a transient who kept Perry from establishing himself and acquiring friends at any
school. Capote's account of Perry's having taught himself to paint, play the guitar, and speak
with impeccable grammar, along with his repulsion of any vulgar literature while incarcerated
leads the reader to believe that Smith was, indeed, victimized by his horrible
environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment