Mrs. White
English CP-A
10 February 2012
Truman vs. Capote
Throughout the course of Truman Capote’s research on the Clutter family murders’, he became very emotionally attached to the murderers, especially Perry Smith. While this is difficult to see through the very formal and veiled perspective of his book, In Cold Blood, the movie based on Truman’s writing, Capote shows a much different perspective and shows just how connected he truly was to the murders and to Perry.
While writing In Cold Blood Truman purposely kept a very formal and withdrawn third person point of view. He did this because he intended the book to be a non-fiction novel, based on facts, not his own first person point of view and opinion. Therefore In Cold Blood states what occurred, without showing his emotional involvement or influence on the case. That isn’t to say that his lack of commentary made his book unbiased or without opinion though. As the writer he still had the power to purposefully include the facts that he felt most important and supporting to his view. For example near the end of the book he chooses to include a snippet from a radio broadcast saying, “The rich never hang. Only the poor and friendless” (Capote 257). While there were probably hundreds of other things said on the radio that day, yet he chooses to include this one because it supports his opinion of Perry’s death sentence. Truman’s emotional influence is also shown in the format of the book, mainly with the way that he focuses the majority of the book on Perry. While the murder of the Clutter family is the main plot, all of the underlying themes and content relate to Perry. From the description of Perry’s childhood with “Tex and Flo” to his anger towards Dick when he learned he might try to take advantage of Nancy, all of the conflicts and character portrayal of the story is based on Perry. Truman would also constantly include small details about Perry’s life and personality, which have no relation to the actual murder, yet he felt would create stronger connection for the reader, “I could play a harmonica first time I picked one up. Guitar, too. I had this great musical ability…I liked to read, too. Improve my vocabulary. Make up songs.” (Capote 133). He includes these details because he felt sympathetic towards Perry, and wanted the audience to feel that way towards him too.
While Truman’s usage of third person point of view in his novel may give a somewhat more accurate and truthful idea of what happened the night of the murder, it neglects to incorporate Truman’s own experiences. Throughout the entire book the only real mention of Truman (with the exception of on the front cover of course) is when it is momentarily mentioned that Perry had spoken with a reporter, meaning Truman Capote. Unlike this, the film Capote shows the relationship between Truman and Perry, and how connected they became over the years. Like Perry, Truman had experienced a lonely childhood, and therefore they could relate to and understand each other. During the film Capote, Truman is quoted saying to his friend Harper Lee, “It's as if Perry and I grew up in the same house. And one day he stood up and went out the back door, while I went out the front.” This statement shows how connected he felt to Perry, and how while he believed they went through roughly the same experiences, Truman ended up a writer and Perry ended up in jail. Because of this Truman feels obligated to try to save Perry from execution, yet at the same time he can’t successfully sell his book or finish the story until Perry is dead.
This conflict between what Truman believes is right and what he needs to do take a huge toll on both his physical and mental state. In an article by Stetson Thacker, Truman Capote is quoted saying, “No one will ever know what In Cold Blood took out of me. It scraped me right down to the marrow of my bones. It nearly killed me. I think, in a way, it did kill me.” Truman’s personal struggles are never mentioned within In Cold Blood, yet this conflict as well as his connection to Perry is very well demonstrated within the film Capote, and can help the viewer to experience exactly what Truman Capote went through while making his book.
Works Cited
Capote. Dir. Bennett Miller. United Artists and Sony Pictures, 2005.
Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder And Its Consequences. New York: Random House, 1966. Print.
Rocha, Guy Louis. "Truman Capote's In Cold Blood." State Library and Archives. A Division of the Department of Administration. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
Thacker, Stetson. "Truman Capote's Purposes for Writing ICB." Freelance Writing. Suite101, 7 July 2011. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
