There is little doubt t
Truman Capote, Alvin Dewey, and Pat Dewey
hat Truman Capote wanted to shock the entire
world wit
h the publication of
In Cold Blood; in fact, he made no
secret of that intent. And he did; he turned the world upside
down for the people involved with the tragedy and for the literary
world that suddenly had a book that it didn't know what to do with. He created a book
that no one can ignore or forget. This is a book that may keep
you up at night. You will
certainly remember In Cold Blood twenty years from now ... or longer.
A New Genre
"He wanted the facts to declare a reality that transcended reality."
Capote was no longer challenged with writing fiction. He had started writing professionally at the age of 17, and had eclipsed his own fame with such successes as Other Voices, Other Rooms and Breakfast at Tiffany's. He wanted a unique adventure, something different. Entering into the nonfiction world seemed ridiculous to everyone around him, which only prodded him more into the realm of the real world.
He was inspired by a newspaper article about a murdered family in Kansas. What could be more bizarre than to write about a tragedy such as this? As soon as he saw the clipping, he rushed to the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, to begin his work. He took along his best friend in the world -- Nelle Harper Lee, now famous for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Together, they gathered the evidence Capote would use to craft a revolutionary work of nonfiction. He called it a "nonfiction novel."
"In Cold Blood, the resulting chronicle, is a masterpiece--agonizing, terrible, possessed, proof that the times, so surfeited with disasters, are still capable of tragedy."
This is the story of multiple tragedies -- only a few of which Capote realized the day he started writing this famous book.
Quoted material from:
Truman Capote, Alvin Dewey, and Pat Dewey
A New Genre
"He wanted the facts to declare a reality that transcended reality."
Capote was no longer challenged with writing fiction. He had started writing professionally at the age of 17, and had eclipsed his own fame with such successes as Other Voices, Other Rooms and Breakfast at Tiffany's. He wanted a unique adventure, something different. Entering into the nonfiction world seemed ridiculous to everyone around him, which only prodded him more into the realm of the real world.
He was inspired by a newspaper article about a murdered family in Kansas. What could be more bizarre than to write about a tragedy such as this? As soon as he saw the clipping, he rushed to the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, to begin his work. He took along his best friend in the world -- Nelle Harper Lee, now famous for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Together, they gathered the evidence Capote would use to craft a revolutionary work of nonfiction. He called it a "nonfiction novel."
"In Cold Blood, the resulting chronicle, is a masterpiece--agonizing, terrible, possessed, proof that the times, so surfeited with disasters, are still capable of tragedy."
This is the story of multiple tragedies -- only a few of which Capote realized the day he started writing this famous book.
Quoted material from:
Knickerbocker, Conrad. "One Night on a
Kansas Farm." 16 Jan. 1966. The New York Times. 08
May 2008. <http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/12/28/home/capote-blood2.html>.
The Tragedy
In 1959, the tragedy began in a small Kansas community. A quiet, well- respected family of four was purposefully killed one somber night by two ruthless gunmen. In Cold Blood details what happened to the Clutter family when Perry Smith and Dick Hickock walked into their farmhouse on that blustery November night, but the book explains more than just that one event. You'll also read about tragedies that were Dick and Perry's lives. Being the researcher that he was, Capote interviewed multiple people who were close to the killers -- and the killers themselves -- to see what drove them to this breaking point, so that he could detail their side of the story, too. The results are chilling.
A Warning
Unlike what you've read in your previous classes, this is a work of nonfiction. Please remember that the events in this book are real. The people were real. If you go to look on the internet for information, you will ruin your experience of reading this work firsthand. Do not go online to look for information about this book until you are finished.
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Links Related to In Cold Blood (Please Note: Links contain spoilers.) |
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| LJWorld | Crime Library |
| The Lansing Current | Book Club Questions |
| Capote | My Article from NCTE |
|
Mrs. Noël's Materials |
|
| "A Christmas Memory" by Capote | |
| Discussion Questions for Part I | |
| Discussion Questions for Part II | |
| Writing without the 3-prong thesis | |
| A Student Essay by Erin Gardner | |
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