In Cold Blood is a non-fiction novel written by Truman Capote. In Cold Blood was first published in 1966. It focuses on the 1959 murders of four members of the Herbert Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. As well as the murders Perry Edward Smith, and Richard Hickock. The novel goes into detail about Perry Smith more than Richard Hitchcock. Through Perry Smith, Capote addresses mental illnesses as well as the American Dream. Perry’s past shaped his criminal tendencies due to the traumatic experiences he had while he was growing up as well as his mental disorder. Perry had many dramatising experiences growing up such as his mother's drinking, his parent’s separation when he was only six, or when he fought with his father, as well as the abuse in foster homes, or his motorcycle accident. One of the traumatic experiences that Perry Smith had while he was growing up was the fight with his father.
”He tore loose and ran to get his gun. Came back pointing it at me. He said,’look at me Perry. I’m the last thing living you’re ever gonna see.’ I just stood my ground”(Capote 136).
This is when Perry Smith and his father Tex …show more content…
Traumatic experiences such as abuse from his parents and others such as the nun caretakers, his motorcycle crash, a fight with his father, as well as his desire for the American Dream. Capote possibly felt a connection to the real Perry Smith and possibly incorporated some of his own traits into the character Perry Smith in the novel In Cold Blood. Smith and Capote had similar experiences through their childhoods, such as their parents neglect towards them. Truman Capote wrote this novel in a patchy fashion with little pieces here and there similarly to how this essay was written. I did this to demonstrate what it was like to read In Cold