In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood is a non-fiction novel based on the murder of four family members, the Clutters, in rural Kansas in 1959. The novel, by Truman Capote, revolves around two small time ex-convicts, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, who had recently been released from prison. These two individuals do not seem to be very intelligent and if they were by themselves, they probably would have been the same petty criminals they had always been. Together, they were a deadly duo. Both their lives had been filled with hardships, which had brought them to the life they led. Many social workers say the environment in which a man grows, often breeds his instincts. The reader is mortified by the murders, and yet there can also be something close to pity felt for the murderers. Capote brought to light the complexities of human nature by sharing with the reader the motivations of these two murderers. The turbulent backgrounds of Richard Hickock and Perry Smith greatly contributed to their crim...