In Cold Blood – Truman Capote, Essay Example

In Cold Blood was written by Truman Capote in 1966 and was considered to be the first non-fiction book of its kind.Since the justice and legal systems at the time were extremely biased, only a few writers were daring enough to actually explore the different elements that make up a particularly controversial case, thereby contradicting authority. More often than not, authors of criminal cases would only make a broad presentation of the details that are usually provided to them by the authorities investigating a case. Capote brought his story to life by utilizing these vague details and plunging into the case basics to create a piece that would allow authors and creative thinkers to become journalists who would be able to think more critically about this work than the conventional media due to their willingness to get their hands dirty. Ultimately, in this piece, Capote sets a precedent that encourages other writers to investigate stories and to develop a greater understanding of the knowledge that we are handed.

Truman Capote was well-known for his capacity to bring most of his narrative stories to0 life. In this publication, he chose to explore the case of the 1959 murders of Herbert Clutter in addition to his wife and his twochildren, which had occurred in Holcomb, Kansas. Capote had selected this case for further examination because he wanted to ensure that the all the factors making up the case would be fully determined and defined for the sake of improving public knowledge. We can therefore consider Capote to be an investigative journalist. One of the important techniques that he uses to gather his evidence is conducting research by interviewing the individuals that were directly involved in the case, such as Smith and Hickock. Therefore, his use of first person sources confirmed the accuracy of his findings. Furthermore, he compared these interviews to notes and reports that had been published about the case and the trial. Capote’s argumentwas compelling because he was able to capture the gist of the case that basically made up the overall value of the crime and how it is likely supposed to affect the society surrounding the case.

Considered by his critiques as a piece of writing that is half-way fiction and half-way non-fiction, this piece of writing was a well-celebrated, as it allows society to recognize that facts of a case often differ from the information that they are presented by the media. In presenting this story to the audience, Capote provides a narrative that presents a compelling, yet informative story. Notably, Capote did not label this work as factual or investigative in nature. He did label the writing as fiction, even though it was based completely on a real court case and related investigative research. However, because of the details he shared in relation to the crime, he wished to protect himself against those with power, hoping it would remain in this category. After the fact however, it has been appropriately shelved as a non-fiction novel, allowing us to form a greater appreciation of his genius. This has allowed Capote intends to show his readers the most important elements that make his writing rather different and unique compared to other forms of writing.

Overall, Capote’s work was truly exceptional. In addition to writing in terms of the new writing style that originated during the 1960s, Capote invested time and effort to complete this this work. He and his partner Harper Lee intended to seek more information than the authorities would be willing to provide them with regardless of the crime investigations that they themselves had completed. Capote wanted something more to share to his readers and he did not stop until he did get what he wanted. Capote demonstrates his effort by travelling to the site of the crime. All of these efforts are supported by the writing style that Capote uses. His use of dialogue, imagination, and storytelling throughout the book allows the reader to picture the court case and events as if it were happening in front of them. The imagery that these elements promote help the reader understand what is happening and make them care more about the case and how it can apply to them.

To note, the two authors, Capote and Lee, spend their time interviewing people who walked by the crime-scene, supposed witnesses to the case and other individuals who did have close connection to both the victims and the alleged suspects in the being of Richard Hickock and Perry Smith. It is clear from the reports that they are in awe of the crime that the two men committed, and were interested in hearing the full story from them. Giving the narration a complete vision of the case, both authors intended to make a definite intermediation on how human value and human characteristic do provide a better vision of what the whole case intends to tackle. Ultimately, therefore, the voice that this story tends to achieve is the fact that all humans have many things in common. Capote had reported that Smith told him “I didn’t want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat.” This shows that although Smith was likely crazy, he was still able to have a sense of humanity about him and felt bad that he was unable to control his actions. It seems, based on this particular quote, that the insanity plea that Smith had asked for should have been granted.

Capote, wanting to make a good impression to his readers, spent at least six years in completing the book detailing the case of the massacre of the Clutter family. The length of time spent in writing and coming up with good and effective narration for the target readers provided Capote with the right drive he needed in order to make sure that the details of his written works would not interfere with the truth that leads to public knowledge of what the Clutter Massacre case was really about. Capote’s novel was true journalism because providing a social lens of the matter is what makes the story more vindictive, especially in the course of developing an option of mandated social growth. Overall, it demonstrates the ways by which humans seek to understand what these massacre cases are about. One aspect of social growth that is considered important by Capote in his writing is the interconnection of human elements that are present in a particular community. Notably, Capote wanted to give his readers an understanding of the case based on what the people think of the matter, what the surrounding community aims to impose on the situation and how it is likely supposed to make an impact on how the people view crimes such as that of the Clutter’s. It may have been the author’s goal to help us understand human nature and to help us be prepared for this kind of uncertainty.

In conclusion, In Cold Blood was the first crime-related account that introduced the utilization of psychological methods in piecing together a crime for the purpose of investigative journalism. Although society was not as open to this techniques in the 1960s as we are today, Capote paved the way for the creation of excellent investigative stories in the modern news, such as those published by Vice. He opened the doors of analytical observation for the public to embrace the truth. Ultimately, he demonstrates that writing can be well-written, informative, and have a greater meaning, all in one piece.