What passage from In Cold Blood describes Capote's view on Dick and Perry's relationship?

Early in Chapter 2 of In Cold Blood, titled "Persons Unknown," Capote reveals his attitude towards Perry and Dick's relationship with these three lines of dialogue:

"Perry, baby,” Dick said, “you don't want that burger. I'll take it.”
Perry shoved the plate across the table. “Christ! Can't you let me concentrate?”
“You don't have to read it fifty times.” (85)

This brief exchange reveals telling information about each man's personality and temperament while demonstrating Capote's willingness to contrast Dick's pushy self-centeredness with Perry's sensitivity. Dick's assumption that he can help himself to Perry's food as well as his mockery of Perry's need to focus positions Dick as an antagonistic person. At the same time, Perry, with his mild cursing and futile protests, is presented as a victim of Dick's bullying.

As the events and the plot line continue to unfold, the relationship between the two killers becomes an important focus of In Cold Blood, and Capote's sympathetic attitude towards Perry becomes amplified as Dick's role as the cold-hearted leader of the murderous duo becomes clearer to the reader.

In the first section, "The Last to See them Alive," there is a passage in which Perry is waiting for Dick at a Kansas cafe called the Little Jewel. Capote writes from Perry's point of view, "Still no sign of Dick. But he was sure to show up; after all, the purpose of their meeting was Dick's idea, his 'score'" (page 14). Capote presents the Clutter robbery and murders as largely Dick's idea (though in this passage, Dick is contemplating going to Mexico).

Capote sees Perry as twisted and manipulated by Dick, who is unsympathetic towards Perry's needs. For example, later in this passage, Capote writes about the two large boxes Perry carts around with books, maps, and letters: "Dick's face when he saw those boxes! 'Christ, Perry. You carry that junk everywhere?'" Capote portrays Dick as hardened and unsympathetic, while Perry, whose history of abuse at the hands of his parents and foster caregivers Capote relates in harrowing detail, is presented as more sympathetic and as Dick's pawn. Later in this same passage, Perry romantically suggests prospecting for gold, and Dick dismisses the idea by referring to the movie Treasure of the Sierra Madre and saying, "Whoa, honey, whoa. I seen that show. Ends up everybody nuts" (page 15). Dick is clearly in control of their relationship, and he discounts Perry's ideas, dreams, and emotions. 

What is the relationship between Dick and Perry in In Cold Blood?

Although possessing the literary structure and techniques of a novel, In Cold Blood is actually a nonfiction work by Truman Capote published in 1966. It describes the murders of Herbert "Herb" Clutter; his wife, Bonnie; and their children, Nancy and Kenyon in 1959 by Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Smith. Capote traveled to Holcomb, Kansas, where the murder occurred and did extensive research concerning the crime and interviewed both Smith and Hickock several times before they were executed in 1965.

Perry Edward Smith (October 27, 1928 – April 14, 1965) was the older of the two killers, but despite that, he is portrayed as more of a follower than a leader. Of mixed Irish and Cherokee ancestry, he was abused as a child by his father, briefly raised by an alcoholic mother, and then sent to an orphanage, where he may also have been abused. After a tour in the military, Smith had a motorcycle accident which left in him with chronic pain in his permanently injured legs. Capote portrays him somewhat sympathetically as a dreamer who loved painting and wrote poems and felt remorse for the killings. He often functions as a sidekick, having ideas and dreams but being less practical, driven, and motivated than Hickock.

Richard Eugene "Dick" Hickock (June 6, 1931 – April 14, 1965) began as a popular student athlete but was disfigured in an accident and unable to attend college for financial reasons. He is portrayed as more practical and ruthless than Smith and the driving force in the pair's activities, making decisions and translating plans from ideas into reality. He also seemed to lack remorse and the capacity for self-reflection and second thoughts. He is shown as the leader of the pair.

How does Capote portray Dick and Perry as evil in In Cold Blood?

Truman Capote inserts his opinion about Dick and Perry being evil through the dialogue. The quotes Capote selects from the killers suggest Capote has characterized them as diabolic, wicked, or evil.

In chapter 3, Perry speaks to detectives about Mr. Clutter. “I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat,” explains Perry. There is a stark contrast between what Perry thinks about Mr. Clutter and what he does to him. The striking difference arguably emphasizes Perry’s evil traits. It’s possible to claim that Capote includes Perry’s gentle side to underscore his cruelty. In dialogue elsewhere, Perry is presented as a high-minded aspiring aesthete. The juxtaposition makes his murderous actions come across as deliberate and, thus, all the more evil.

Perry’s dialogue also draws attention to Dick's evil nature. Perry tells the detectives that Dick wanted to rape Mr. Clutter’s daughter Nancy. “I’m gonna bust that little girl,” Dick tells Perry. Dick’s plan to sexually assault a teenage girl makes him evil. At other moments, Capote uses dialogue to demonstrate Dick’s callousness. At a diner, as Perry frets about getting caught, Dick tells him, “Get the bubbles out of your blood. We scored. It was perfect.” Dick’s glee about possibly getting away with murdering a family reinforces his evil characteristics.

The quotes link back to Capote because this is his book. Capote called In Cold Blood a nonfiction novel. This provocative, paradoxical term indicates that Capote is using novelistic devices to portray real-life people and events. In a sense, Perry and Dick are characters that he created. Capote inserts plenty of nefarious dialogue, which makes it possible to argue that he’s of the opinion that these characters/men are evil.

Why are Perry and Dick depicted as evil in In Cold Blood?

In Cold Blood is of course a true story. Perry and Dick in the story formed the design of robbing the Clutter family and further planned to leave no survivors. They spent some time planning the crime, then drove several hundred miles to follow through. The multiple murders they committed were thus done cooly, deliberately, and with multiple opportunities to reflect on the enormity of their crime. Throughout the book, they present no redeeming qualities: they write bad checks to survive; and later plan on murdering another victim who offers them a ride so that they can steal his car. They express no remorse until they reach the gallows, at which point Dick simply comments that there are "no hard feelings," and Perry indicates that it is too late to do so.

They thus represent evil in its most human form: those who kill others for personal gain with no remorse or reluctance.