In Cold Blood Questions and Answers

In Cold Blood

In In Cold Blood, Truman Capote and Perry Edward Smith share a complex relationship marked by empathy and understanding. Capote sees parts of himself in Smith, particularly their traumatic childhoods...

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In Cold Blood

Capote's view on the death penalty is critical, as he implicitly disapproves of it by humanizing the murderers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, highlighting their traumatic pasts and the unfairness of...

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In Cold Blood

Perry's possessions in In Cold Blood reveal his detachment from reality and desire for human connection. Items like his guitar and treasure map highlight his fantasies and unrealistic aspirations,...

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In Cold Blood

In In Cold Blood, Perry has small, deformed legs, is bi-racial, and has weak kidneys. His personality is child-like, nostalgic, and shaped by a traumatic upbringing. Dick, on the other hand, is tall,...

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In Cold Blood

Capote's portrayal of Perry Smith in In Cold Blood effectively evokes sympathy by presenting Smith's troubled childhood, dreams, and vulnerabilities. Through detailed character development and...

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In Cold Blood

The title In Cold Blood by Truman Capote signifies the calculated and emotionless nature of the Clutter family murders, which were planned and executed without remorse by Dick Hickock and Perry...

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In Cold Blood

Early in the investigation of the Clutter murders, Agent Dewey helps develop two concepts about the number of individuals involved in the killings. One scenario is that there is a single killer. The...

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In Cold Blood

In "In Cold Blood," both Dick and Perry experienced significant motor vehicle accidents that contributed to their psychological state. Dick's car accident resulted in severe facial injuries,...

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In Cold Blood

Perry Smith's sister in In Cold Blood is named Barbara, often referred to by her nickname "Bobo," or as Mrs. Frederic Johnson. She is Perry's only remaining sibling and lives in San Francisco with...

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In Cold Blood

Capote shows bias towards Perry Smith by portraying him as a vulnerable and sympathetic character, in contrast to Dick Hickock, who is depicted as the cold-blooded mastermind. Capote emphasizes...

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In Cold Blood

In In Cold Blood, Truman Capote explores the effects of imprisonment on Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Perry's time in prison is depicted through interactions with Mrs. Meier, highlighting his...

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In Cold Blood

Agent Dewey thinks Nancy's cat's death might be important because it may have been a prelude to the murders. Like the murder victims, the cat didn't die a natural death. He died of poisoning.

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In Cold Blood

Willie-Jay, a friend and mentor to Perry in In Cold Blood, is attracted to Perry due to his intellect and talent. He tries to help Perry gain self-esteem and avoid violence, offering honest and...

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In Cold Blood

In Part 1 of In Cold Blood, dramatic irony is evident as readers know the Clutter family will be murdered, while the family remains unaware. The narrative tension builds as the Clutters engage in...

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In Cold Blood

Dick uses his charm to get money from retailers by using false checks. This was a simple question that is easy to guess.

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In Cold Blood

Truman Capote's opinion of Dick Hickock is that he is crude, unrefined and utterly amoral.

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In Cold Blood

Mental illness is a motif In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood

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In Cold Blood

This quote reveals Dick's premeditated intent to commit a violent act at the Clutter residence, specifically planning to rape the girl, which indicates a deeper malice beyond robbery. Although he...

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In Cold Blood

Bobby discovers Nancy's murder from Mr. Ewalt, who informs him at his family farm. Devastated by the news, Bobby, who had been with Nancy and her family the night before, struggles with grief and the...

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In Cold Blood

Capote's structure of the story to some extent shapes the reader's experience and interpretation. Thus, this is an example of a literary technique that will enhance the reader's experience of the...

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In Cold Blood

Nancy's father was angry about her relationship with Bobby. It bothered Nancy that her father's bad temper seemed to show no signs of abating.

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In Cold Blood

The Clutter family murder was committed by Perry Smith and Richard "Dick" Hickock, both ex-convicts. Hickock learned about the Clutters from a fellow inmate, Floyd Wells, who mentioned a non-existent...

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In Cold Blood

In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, Al Dewey, leading the investigation into the Clutter family murders, considers two scenarios. The first involves a single killer familiar with the family and their...

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In Cold Blood

Following the murders, Beverly Clutter married her fiancé, Vere English, just four days after the funeral. Originally planned for December 1959, the wedding was moved up because the extended family...

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In Cold Blood

In his efforts to present the narrative of In Cold Blood in a journalistic style that recreates the setting and the persons involved, apparently without bias, Truman Capote uses an omniscient...

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In Cold Blood

The protagonists in In Cold Blood are Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, the two criminals whose brutal murder of the Clutter family is the central focus of the narrative. The book delves deeply into...

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In Cold Blood

Perry and Dick planned to kill Mr. Bell and steal his car while hitchhiking. Mr. Bell, a meat-packing executive, picked them up, but their attempt was thwarted when he stopped to pick up another...

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In Cold Blood

The letters of Perry Smith’s father, sister, and former fellow prisoner are authentic.

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In Cold Blood

Floyd Wells, a former cellmate of Dick Hickock, informed Hickock about the Clutters and their supposed wealth, which led to the murder plot. After the murders, Wells, feeling guilty, informed...

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In Cold Blood

Perry Smith was convicted of premeditated murder in "In Cold Blood" due to his involvement in the brutal killings of the Clutter family. Along with Richard Hickock, he entered the Clutter home...

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In Cold Blood

Nye and Church use several strategies to break Dick Hickock psychologically during their interrogation in In Cold Blood. They don't mention the murder, present evidence that could presumably lead to...

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In Cold Blood

Capote's use of rhetorical strategies in In Cold Blood are, in some ways, hard to pin down. Partly this is because Capote was pioneering a new form of writing: the non-fiction novel. As such, Capote...

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In Cold Blood

Dick questions Perry's mental stability, noting his childlike behaviors such as thumb-sucking, bed-wetting, and obsession with fantasies like finding treasure. These traits stem from Perry's...

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In Cold Blood

Three days after the Clutters' funeral, the wedding of Beverly Clutter, a surviving daughter, is held in the same church. The wedding had been planned before the tragedy, and with relatives already...

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In Cold Blood

The Last to See Them Alive: The Clutter Family and Their Murderers, by Harry N. MacLean, University of Chicago Press, 2000.

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In Cold Blood

Dick's plan to impersonate a military officer didn't work. The police caught him and Perry Smith while they were driving a stolen car.

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In Cold Blood

The most dynamic character is Dick. He is the one with ideas; he is the one who makes things happen. Arguably the central event of the Clutter murders is really down to him, even if it’s Perry who...

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In Cold Blood

The Stockleins didn't hear the gunshots or screams due to several factors. The night was windy and blustery, masking any noise from the crime. Inside their home, the Stockleins were preoccupied with...

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In Cold Blood

Perry feels that the newspaper article is a bad sign and a trap. He's mostly worried that the investigators do have clues. Conversely, Dick feels that the newspaper article is a good sign. Dick...

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In Cold Blood

Capote's use of stream of consciousness in In Cold Blood is pivotal in exploring the minds of the murderers, Perry and Dick. This technique allows readers to delve deeply into their motivations and...

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In Cold Blood

Mr. Frederic Johnson is the brother-in-law of Perry Smith, one of the murderers in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. He is married to Barbara, Perry's only surviving sibling. Johnson is mentioned twice...

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In Cold Blood

Truman Capote employs many tools of the novelist, shaping his non-fiction work almost as if it were a novel. A question about style and why does the author choose to tell this story in this way.

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In Cold Blood

Capote's book traces the process of developing a full profile of the two killers. Capote was fascinated by them and he wanted to know everything about their lives, from their early childhood. He...

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In Cold Blood

Truman Capote evokes sympathy for the killers, particularly Perry Smith, by highlighting his abusive and contemptuous upbringing. This exploration of Smith's background, juxtaposed with the portrayal...

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In Cold Blood

In "In Cold Blood," "mean as hell" is a form of figurative language, specifically a simile, comparing a person's meanness to hell. However, "people are dumb" is not figurative language as it lacks...

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In Cold Blood

The main characters in In Cold Blood are Perry Smith and Richard "Dick" Hickock, the two criminals who murdered the Clutter family. In the original 1967 film adaptation, Perry Smith was portrayed by...

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In Cold Blood

The novel evokes a range of emotions, including sympathy for Perry due to his troubled past and amazement at his indifference to human suffering. Initially, it horrified readers with its depiction of...

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In Cold Blood

The central argument in Chapter 2 of In Cold Blood is the exploration of Perry Smith's psychological complexity and troubled past. Truman Capote delves into Smith's disrupted childhood, marked by...

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In Cold Blood

An example of historiographic metafiction in In Cold Blood is Truman Capote's sympathetic portrayal of the murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. While the book is based on true events, Capote...

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In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood is a creative work that uses imaginative description and dialogue to create a new type of reporting.

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