In section 4 of In Cold Blood, its clearly obvious that Perry Smith and Dick Hickock did not recieve a fair trial at all. They were surrounded by friends and acquantinces of Mr. Clutter. The jury was corrupted, having an extremely biased opinion on the matter. One juror was recorded saying, "Ordinarily I'm against it[Death Penalty]. But in this case, no"(273). This man is extremely biased on this case, yet he was still approved for juror duties. Throughout the whole trial, the courtroom atmosphere was extremely hostile. The judge himself appeared and actually was biased on the matter. He and Mr. Clutter were acquantinces. Whenever Perry and Dick's lawyers tried to object to something or get evidence removed, the judge would overrule it. The atmosphere of the courtroom and the biased opinion of the personel appointted made it impossible for a good defense. Even Mr. Hickock was reported saying, "No sense. Just no sense having a trial"(281). When Perry and Dick's lawyers appealed for another trial in another part of the country, they were turned down. When they appealed to get the sentence reduced to life imprisonment, they were rejected. Near the end of the original trial, Perry and Dick's lawyers had given up on really defending their clients, and were just trying to get the minimum sentence: life imprisonment. Dick, then Perry died between midnight and 2 a.m., Wednesday, April 14, 1965.

It was somewhat surprising to me to see how much emphasis was placed on the date, time, and place of the trial of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Especially referring to the place of the trial, they debated as to where the trial should be held depending on the people who live there. "The trial was scheduled to start on March 22, 1960. In the weeks preceding that date the defense attorneys frequently consulted the defendants. The advisability of requesting a change of venue was discussed, but as the elderly Mr. Fleming warned his client, 'It wouldn't matter where in Kansas the trial was held...We're probably better off in Garden City. this is a religious community...And most of the ministers are opposed to capital punishment, say it's immoral, unchristian...I think we stand as good a chance here and anywhere'" (266). This gave them a higher survival chance according to their lawyer and it made sense in the minds of Dick and Perry since all they were looking for was a mere spec of opportunity to save themselves. Since Garden City was composed of many churches full of ministers and God-fearing people, it was quite likely for them to speak out and for most to be strongly positioned against the death penalty. Though the two of them were looking forward to a long life in jail, they believed that there was a minimal chance of actually being sentenced to the death penalty with so many religious people in Garden City alone. This proved to be wrong when both Dick and Perry were sentenced by the court to be hanged until dead - the capital punishment.

This last section of the book to me was very disturbing. It had a much larger emotional impact on me than the other books (maybe exlcuding book one). I believe that most readers, especially I was left with this feeling, that something is unresolved. I believe this is because there is no happily ever after; this is a true life murder case. The Clutters are gone, and no matter what sentence Perry and Dick are given, they will still be gone. Perry and Dick are still murderers and that action cannot be taken back no matter how long they can postpone their sentence. I think throughout the whole book the reader is looking for some kind of conclusion, something that makes us feel content with the full story. But in reality, that is not the case. The end of the book leaves the reader feeling uncomfortable and distressed. The good guys are killed. The bad guys we end up feeling bad for and they get killed as well. The town will always have this incident in their minds, especially the people closely involved. The murderers might be gone and new people may live in the house, but something about this murder will last forever. I think that this realization that I had upon finishing the book is well represented by Al Dewey. When Al Dewey is watching the hanging of Perry he is surprised at the lack of relief or closure he feels of the Clutter case. This is proven when the book states, "Dewey had imagined that with the deaths of Smith and Hickock, he would experience a sense of climax, release, of a design justly completed. Instead, he discovered himself recalling an incident of almost a year ago, a casual encounter in Valley View Cemetery, which, in retrospect, had somehow for him more or less ended the Clutter case" (341). I think that this quote proves that Al Dewey as well as us readers need something unique for each of us to feel the closure of the whole Clutter case. Al Dewey realizes that knowing that Perry and Dick have been hanged is not going to relieve him of his whole burden but instead the whole case must be something he must slowly learn to let go in life, as he realizes when seeing Sue Kidwell in the cemetery. Seeing Al Dewey's realization makes me think about how I feel after reading the book. I cannot wish for this book to be a fairly tale, because it is not. Instead I must recognize that this story and its impact is real, but it doesn't have to forever impact me in the way that it does now. The lack of closure or the unresolved feelings that we have can never fully go away because of the reality of the story, but as Al Dewey shows us, there is a much better way to live with the story without a completely happy ending.

I agree with Jonathan's post. In the concluding chapters, Capote's opinion on the death penalty comes to the fore. It is obvious that Capote wants to make a political statement. First, he clearly opposes the M'Naghten Rule. He wants to tell the reader what the court did not allow. Also, after this section, he quotes at length from a study done regarding insanity and the death penalty. Much has been written about the way this society looks at insanity and punishes or addresses insanity, but here it is enough to say that Capote feels as much information should be made available to the jury as possible before the accused are condemned to death, which I found interesting.

In “The Corner,” I find myself feeling a tremendous amount of sympathy for Dick’s parents. They are shown to be devoted parents who have unconditional love for their son, even when he is charged with four grisly murders. From Dick’s autobiographical statement that he writes for Dr. Jones, the reader comes to respect and care for Mr. and Mrs. Hitchcock. Dick says of his father, “My dad was a hard worker and did his best to provide for us” (277). He describes his mother as always working hard to take care of her family. Even though they did not have much money, Dick’s parents made sure that he had plenty of toys to play with. It is apparent from Dick’s statement that his parents provided him with a stable, loving home. At the time of the trial, Mr. Hitchcock is dying of cancer, yet this does not deter him from supporting his son. He visits him in jail and attends the trial faithfully. A few months later, Mr. Hitchcock succumbs to cancer. Sadly, perhaps the stress of the trial, and the heartbreak of having a son who is a murderer, hastened Mr. Hitchcock’s death. Following Dick’s conviction, Mrs. Hitchcock continues to be the devoted mother. Every month she takes a bus to see Dick on death row. This must be an extremely painful experience for her, yet she does her best to bring comfort to Dick. Dick describes his mother during these visits as “Smiling, trying to find something to say, make me feel good” (334). Dick also expresses how difficult these times are for her, saying, “The poor lady. I don’t know how she stands it. I wonder she isn’t crazy” (334). Seeing the love that Dick’s parents have for him, makes the reader all the more appalled at Dick’s role in the murder of the Clutters. Unlike Perry who had a tragic home life, which elicits some sympathy from the reader, Dick comes from a close, loving family. This makes his involvement in the murders of the Clutter family all the more deplorable.

In this last and final section of In Cold Blood, seasons are used to describe the changing in the story line. As I mentioned in my previous blog, Capote uses different objects that show an indirect deeper meaning to the story. This particular instance is the use of weather. It is used in relation to before and after Perry and Hickock were caught. During the time that Perry and Dick were free, Kansas was going through a type of weather know as an Indian summer. By definition, an Indian summer means: a period of mild, dry weather, usually accompanied by a hazy atmosphere, occurring usually in late October or early November. This type of weather is the complete opposite of the type that was occurring during the time of their capture. When Perry was in his cell in the beginning of the section, Josie said, “It was snowing, and I remember saying how it was the first snow of the year, and how we’d had such a beautiful long autumn until then” (253). This quote shows the seasons changing with the advancement of the story. One can derive from the changing of the seasons that the story is coming to an end. Also, the season of winter occurs towards the end of the calendar year. In relation to the story, one can say that because the story is coming to an end, so is the year; thus, winter.

In part four of In Cold Blood, one finds doctors evaluating both Perry and Dick to see if they are "messed up in the head." Reading through the evidenc prooving with what signs a personal that was messed up in the head had I agree with Perry having a mental problem. A doctor describing how people with problems feel when commiting an act of murder said, " During moments of actual violence, they often felt seperated or isolated from themselves, as if they were watching someone else.."(300). This can apply to Perry because he didn't actually know what he was doing until he heard the sounds of what he described as someone drownding, but in fact it was MRr. Clutter with a cut across his throat. The Doctor also says, "Another of the men had many violent beatings in order to 'break' him of his stammering and 'fits,' as well as to correct him for his allegedly 'bad' behavior"(300). Perry as a child went to live in different homes and was beaten, yelled at and made fun of for wetting the bed even though he couldn't control it due to weak kidneys. The doctor also goes on to say, "The murderous potential can become activated, especially if some disequilibrium is already present, when the victim-to-be is unconsciously percieved as a key figure in some past traumatic configuration. The behavior, or even the mere presence, of this figure adds a stress to the unstable balance of forces that results in a sudden estreme discharge of violence, similar to the explosion that takes place when a percussion cap ignites a charge of dynamite..."(301). This can pertain to Perry becuase one could say he was jelous or envious of Mr. Clutters situation and having a nice family, money, etc. This triggered him to make a sudden act of violence upon him.

comment on jacob and johns post

I also agree with jacob and John. Throughout the story, Perry has been seen both as a coldblooded, physcopathic killer and a misjudged and innocent, good person. It seems that when describing Perry, especially when he describes himself, from an inspector's point of view or from another character's point of view, he is portrayed as a coldblooded killer. We see this from the quote provided by jacob where Perry says while talking to Don Cullivan "I don't feel anything about it. I wish I did". He describes it himself how he doesn't feel anything from the killing because he is an emotionless physcopath. This point of view seems to run constant with many of the characters in this book that are strongly opposed to Dick and Perry, and even the newspaper assumes this in the original article about the killing a few days after it happened. However, his gentleness and innocence is also brought out often in the calm parts of the story. You see it when Mrs. Meier describes how she thinks he is just a gentle man and he doesn't seem as bad as everyone thinks. This innocence is especially shown when Capote himself describes him. Both in the movie and in the book you see his own feelings about Perry in the book. In the movie you can see that he has began to love Perry and just wants to help him and even cries when Perry is facing execution. For a person like a Capote to have such strong, good emotion about a Perry shows that Perry must have something good about him. In the book you do not see Capote's direct emotion but he indirectly shows it by showing Perry's private moments of sorrow and fright. He may not understand the feelings he is having about the killing and his current situation but he certainly seems to at least have them which shows some innocence and sensitivity.

The trial of Richard Hickock and Perry Smith was, just as Capote made it, a long and drawn-out process. Through their journey, Dick and Perry have been disliked by nearly everyone in the courtroom. This has led many to argue that their trial was unfair. there is some truth in this statement, as I believe that the jury was very biased. As the grand decision makers of the trial, their prejudice is obviously more impactful than any other factor. However, I do not believe that had they been unbiased, they would have voted otherwise.
The jurors of the trial were undoubtedly prejudiced. Capote writes "They were all family men" (273). This immediately suggests that they sympathize greatly with the Clutters. The fact that all of the jurors shared such a similarity with the murder victims is completely ridiculous. In addition to this, one of the jurors said "Ordinarily I'm against it, but in this case, no" (273) when referring to the death penalty. He has already made his decision prior to the trial itself, which is clearly prejudice. A trial is designed to let both sides of the argument present their cases. If one juror has already cast his vote (in a way), there is no point in holding a trial.
What makes this irrelevant, however, is the fact that none of these prejudices would have mattered anyway. The firebrand speech by the prosecution attorney combined with the bloodthirsty mentality of the courtroom would have forced any juror to cave into their demands. A contemporary of Truman Capote was Harper Lee, whose "To Kill A Mockingbird" showed a skilled defense lawyer, an innocent defendant, and an unbiased judge. Dick and Perry had reluctant lawyers, solid evidence that proves them guilty, and virtually no effective witnesses to testify for them. Consider the ending of "To Kill A Mockingbird": Mob mentality forced the jury to vote "guilty" because they were too scared of facing the dominantly racist society. Now consider the Clutter trial: Did Dick and Perry even have a chance to sway the jury?

"Seated at opposite ends of their counsels' table, Hickock worked with a pen and Smith with a pencil" (273).

When I read this line from In Cold Blood, it really got me to think about two questions.

(1) Why the difference in writing utensils and why did Capote feel the need to include this minute detail in the book?

(2) How does their choice of writing utensil reflect on their personalities as a whole?

Addressing the first question first, was this just a quick pick grab what you can find to write statements? Or did the pen and pencil have some underlying meaning behind them? Why does Perry pick the pencil? These questions lead me into the second question to which I will return later. A pen is not erasable so when Dick wrote with pen he was very sure of himself in what he was saying. A pencil that comes equipped with an eraser makes it easy to fix mistakes, Perry must have been somewhat unsure of his statement. This is my belief as to why Perry used a pencil and Dick, a pen. But as for the second part of the first question, I believe that Capote knew something important was lying underneath the intent of Dick and Perry and hence included it in his book to show their difference in personalities, even reflected in what they choose to write with. This inevitably leads me to the second question about how their personalities are reflected in Dick and Perry's choice in style of writing and writing utensils. To begin, it shows how their relationship is when they're together. Dick definitely 'wore the pants' in their relationship. He was way more headstrong than Perry was, and he always had the plan while Perry would just go along with it. Perry was very hesitant on many occasions and the pencil seems the perfect personality fit because whenever someone is hesitant about their writing or work they use pencil so they can erase if a mistake is made. This brings me to reflect on the Clutter murders as well. Dick began with the plan and he had it thought out how he wanted to go in and grab the money and leave, basically. Perry, though, with his schizophrenic reactions proceeded to kill the Clutters. This is another reason why I believe the pencil is used. Perry couldn't 'erase' what he had done to the Clutters so whatever ability he has to fix his mistakes, he takes advantage of each and every opportunity. Reflecting on this post, many questions (and answers) can come out of a sentence as meaningless as one about writing utensil choice.

I am in agreement with Jmekie that by including Perry’s conversation with Donald Cullivan in the novel, it paints Perry as a coldblooded killer. This differs from the effect of sympathy that Capote normally tries to create. In their dinner conversation, Perry casually describes killing the Clutters as just another day in the sun. Perry states, “ But the way it was, it was like picking off targets in a shooting gallery.” (291) Previously, Perry expressed some remorse in his actions, but this statement clearly shows that Perry thought of killing the Clutters as a game. His real regret is that he was caught. I think that part of the title of the novel is associated with the cold-bloodedness of Perry. In the same conversation, Don asks Perry if he feels bad about the crime. Perry replies, “ I don’t feel anything about it. I wish I did”. Even though Perry is one messed up person, I disagree with his statement about him not feeling remorse. I believe that the opposite is true, Perry does feel remorse, but wishes he didn’t. Like Macbeth Perry doesn’t want to admit he is disturbed by the murders he committed, but really he is. Just as Macbeth is haunted by the ghost of Banquo, I think Perry is haunted by his own ghosts, which cause suicidal thoughts.

Is The Trial Fair?

Even though the reader knows Dick and Perry are guilty, and there is sufficient evidence that the K.B.I. detectives gathered, Dick and rights are violated throughout their trial. The Six Amendment states “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State.” While Dick and Perry’s trial is speedy the jury is by no means impartial. The men selected to decide the fates of Dick and Perry were described by Capote as “family men” (273). To add to the prejudice of the jury, four of the jurors knew Mr. Clutter. The Most startling evidence of bias Capote presents is the opinion of one of the jurors on capital punishment, “Ordinarily I’m against it. But in this case, no”(273). This juror has obviously already formed an opinion and what the outcome of the case should be before any evidence has been presented. Another questionable area of the trial was Judge Tate. Tate’s constant dismiss of the defense’s requests at first appear within reason, but at the trial went on, I got the feeling that the judge was manipulating the trial. When Perry’s lawyer asked for a free state psych evaluation of Perry from a psychologist, as opposed to having doctors, untrained in Psychology from Garden City examine Perry, his motion is denied. This denial of the motion is balderdash. When real psychologists, who’s careers are all about psychology, are available, why would the judge have doctors who no little about psychology and have a close connection to the Garden City and the trial evaluate Perry? The answer that Capote is leading the reader to is that the Judge also believes that Dick and Perry are guilty. A critic of the case expressed,” If I were innocent, he’s the first man I would want on the bench; if I was guilty the last.” (268) If this statement is an accurate description of Judge Tate, then the judge obviously believes that Dick and Perry are guilty. Considering the judge’s bias and manipulation of the case, and also the jury’s prejudice to the defendants, it is appropriate to think of the trial as a façade. The verdict was long decided before the trial even began.

In “The Corner” Capote’s qualms about capital punishment are readily apparent. Although the court does not allow the reports of the psychologist who examines Dick and Perry to be admitted as evidence, Capote makes sure the reader is privy to it. Dr. Jones’ report on Perry reveals that he exhibits signs of mental illness and is close to being a paranoid schizophrenic. The jury, however, never hears this as the only thing that they are told is that Dr. Jones has no opinion as to whether Perry knew right from wrong when he murdered the Clutters. This is in accordance to the M’Naghten Rule which holds that a psychologist can only testify as to whether the defendant knew right from wrong at the time he committed the crime. It is obvious that Capote feels that to condemn Perry to death without the jury ever hearing the findings of the psychologist is morally wrong. The conditions that the condemned men live in prior to their execution are also presented as inhumane by Capote. They are housed in a century old building where the heat is almost unbearable, frequently rising above 100 degrees and causing the prisoners’ skin to sting (321). There is no ventilation, numerous insects, and the light bulb in each cell is on twenty-four hours a day. Capote describes the executions in detail, making the reader feel as if he is witnessing these gruesome scenes himself. The reader can almost hear necks snapping and the futile gasping for breath. The fact that the some of the executed men hang for close to twenty excruciating minutes until they die is quite unsettling to the reader. I feel that Capote is trying to make the reader feel uncomfortable with the executions so that he will question the morality of capital punishment.

Although Capote continues in many ways to create sympathy for Perry in “The Corner” as he has done in much of the book, I find certain revelations about Perry in this section expose what a cold-blooded killer he actually is. In Perry’s discussions with Don Cullivan, an old friend from the military, Perry is seen as a callous human being who kills an innocent family with no more thought than stepping on an ant. Perry tells Don that he has absolutely no remorse for killing the Clutters, saying, “Nothing about it bothers me a bit” (291). Just half an hour after the murders, Perry discloses to Don that he was laughing at Dick’s jokes. The ease with which Perry kills the Clutters is shown by Perry’s statement, “It’s easy to kill- a lot easier than passing a bad check” (291). Perry, in a chillingly cold statement, tells Don that “it (the murders) was like picking off targets in a shooting gallery” (290). All of these comments by Perry paint a picture of a person who is coldhearted killer, who can kill without a second thought about his victims. Perry’s violent and criminal nature is also seen in his autobiographical statement that he writes for Dr. Jones, the psychiatrist who examines him. He divulges several criminal acts that he did while he was in the army stationed in Japan including throwing a policeman off a bridge into the water and demolishing a cafe (276). These violent actions took place before Perry ever met Dick, making the excuse that Dick influenced Perry to perform violent acts somewhat irrelevant.

Among other techniques employed to bring to the novel a tone of closure, Capote increasingly refers to Perry and Dick as Smith and Hickock. Using last names is a mannerism native to official uses, Capote is symbolically representing the distancing effect the trial has on the characters. The trial refers to them by their last names, and the "Dick and Perry" of the rest of the novel fade into courtroom entities. In many ways, this difference in name usage represents the fact that the trial and the book are otherwise similar. Although the trial is official, Capote's book is in many way a second trial, like the movie of In Cold Blood there is an attempt to make the average reader sympathize with Dick and Perry, or at least to make the reader understand the "tragedy" of their deaths. I thought it was interesting that the reader learned about the executions through what Dewey saw. First, it is reported in the papers, then Dewey's experience at the execution is described. This removes the reader from the criminals. Dick was speaking intimately to a journalist, and then suddenly the reader learns about the macroscopic details of the court case and of the executions.

In section 4 of In Cold Blood, I want to compare both Perry and Dicks autobiography. Perry described a more tragic childhood and explains Perry's impulse. For example "I asked him to let me shoot the B.B gun. He pushed me away, telling me I was to small. It made me so mad I started crying. After I finished crying, my anger mounted again, and during the evening when the B.B gun was behind the chair my brother was sitting in, I grabbed it and held it to my brothers ear and hollered BANG!" It is important to remember that the psychologist is not sure whether Perry is a paranoid schizophrenic or not. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges the reader faces is deciding for him- or herself whether Perry is crazy and whether his actions merit death. In Dicks autobiography, the foundation of his family was very wholesome, "My dad was a hard worker and did his best to provide for us. My mother also was always a hard worker." It wasn't until his wife's divorce did things started to go down hill for him

As issues of insanity and sympathy circle Perry, Dick remains a simple character. He is the straight man; Perry is the complex figure. Dick tries to escape but fails; he curses at Floyd Wells as he leaves the witness stand. Dick is the classic criminal.

Psychological Aspects of the Murder

In this section, the reader is given an analysis of Perry's mental state, as well as Dicks. Done by a Doctor trained in the subject, he testifies for both murderers. Regarding Dick, he answers the question "Based on your examination, do you have an opinion as to whether or not Eugene Hickock knew right from wrong at the time of the commission of the crime?" (293). He replies, "Yes...Mr. Hickock did know right from wrong" (294). The doctor did not get a chance to supply support for this statement, since it was suppressed. However, Capote includes what he would have testified. Dr. Jones says, "His thinking is well organized and logical and he seems to be in good contact with reality", however, he goes on to say that he is also, "...impulsive in action, likely to do things without thought of consequences or future discomfort to himself or to others...In summary, he shows fairly typical characteristics of what would psychiatrically be called a severe character disorder" (295). Although Dick might have known exactly what he was doing, he did not think out the consequences. Perhaps if he would have known the punishments, he would not have followed through with the plot. However, I felt Perry's analysis was much more shocking than Dick's. The doctor answered the same question with, "No", as in having no opinion. When asked to elaborate, he says, "Perry Smith shows definite signs of severe mental illness...His ability to separate the real situation from his own mental projections is very poor...poorly controlled rage...his present personality structure is very nearl that of a paranoid schizophrenic reaction" (298). Although Dick is also somewhat mentally impaired, he had control over what happened. It seems as if Perry was more caught up in the moment, and couldn't control his reaction. Nevertheless, the murders will still committed.

Throughout the book the reader is continuously dissappointed and frusturated with Dick because of his buisness-like attitude towards all aspects of life and his inability to feel or at least show emotional attachment. Perry has been Dick's accomplice since before the Clutter murder, and Dick is thinking about escaping from jail and leaving Perry. The book alludes to this decision to leave Perry behind by stating, "If the escape succeeded, that was the course Dick had determined upon-to head for the Colorado mountains, and find there a cabin where he could hide until spring (alone, of course; Perry's future did not concern him)" (263). Not only does this quote itself represent Dick's inability or lack of desire to be emotionally attached to anyone, but the wording makes such a large impression. The quote uses the phrase "of course" as if there was never a doubt that Dick would leave Perry behind. Capote uses this phrase to show that Dick's focus was to escape the death sentence, but he did not feel any responsibility or want to help Perry to escape this same fate. As Dick cannot seem to committ to any person, he also seems unwilling to commit to a way of living. Dick is always on the move, traveling, looking for the next "destination". But there is a noticeable pattern; Dick never stays for very long in one place. An example of this is when Dick talks about escaping from jail, he talks about going to Colorado for a while and supposedly figuring out what to do next. Dick has this preconcieved notion that he will stop in Colorado as almost a retreat, to get away and think what to do next. Every place he goes turns out not to be a destination (with a hope of staying or starting a new life there), but instead just a stopping point on his endless journey to find a worthy home. The interesting thing is that Dick does not seem to mind the constant shift in land or idea that he will not feel the security of a home or a designated lifestyle in one place. Because of Dick's inability to show an emotional attachment to any person, lifestyle, or place, I have become very interested in him but at the same time I resent him much more.

Capote on the Death Penalty

In the fourth and final section of In Cold Blood, Capote expresses his feelings and personal opinions about the death penalty, indirectly of course. First off, Capote shows his negative feelings for the capital punishment when he opposes the M’Naghten rule. This rule, defined by Findlaw.com as, “Every man is to be presumed to be sane, and ... that to establish a defense on the ground of insanity, it must be clearly proved that, at the time of the committing of the act, the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of mind, and not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong” ("The "M'Naghten Rule"). This rule, upheld by the judges in In Cold Blood says that Perry and Dick are sane until proven insane. The thing is, Perry and Dick aren’t allowed to be examined by a professional psychiatrist, and instead they are given general doctors. Without the proper medical personal to examine those accused, Perry and Dick could have been misdiagnosed. If misdiagnosed, and called sane, then by the M’Naghten rule, Perry and Dick would be found guilty, “Short, pugnacious, a Kentuckian by birth, Green began by pointing out to the court that Kansas’ law, in regard to sanity, adheres to the M’Naghten Rule, the ancient British importation which contends that if the accused knew the nature of his act, and knew it was wrong, then he is mentally competent and responsible for his actions” (267). Capote clearly opposes the M’Naghten Rule, he talks in the book about what the psychiatrist would have said, knowing that had there been a true psychiatrist, then Perry and Dick could have survived the execution. He also uses quotes later in the section regarding the death penalty and Insanity in those accused.

As the story progresses into the last section Capote turns to more of a storytellers tone rather than the reporter tone as he had in the earlier parts of the book. He sort of uses the reporter voice to add on to the story and the storyteller tone of voice in this last section. For example at the beginning of the section when he writes what Mrs. Meier has said about Perry and the ladies cell. He uses a report on her words, almost like an interview, to add on to the emotion of the story in order to provide a real in depth detail to the story in a different form than directly describing it in his own words. Both of the voices seem to create a realism and at the same time tell a story. These tones, I believe, make up the new proposed non-fiction novel genre that Capote is attempting to create. When the story is more realistic the reader can further connect with it and dig deeper into the story because it is somewhat true. This turns a normal novel into a true story, making it non-fiction. I also believe that this almost revolutionizes writing because this new genre, to me, seems even more effective than any other type of story by combining to main general types.

In section 4, Capote talked about some convicts who met their end at the gallows. But more importantly, he talked about those who were on death row with Perry and Dick. One in particular was Lowell Lee Andrews, a.k.a. Andy. Andy was a well read and schooled person. He was very smart, and loved to read books. In fact, Capote recorded that he read, at least, 15-20 books per week while on death row, and, for the most part, read the entirety of the prison library. The reason why this well mannered fellow was on death row; a completely different story. His dad owned a farm valued around $200,000. Andy dreamed of a future full of girls and sportscars. So, he made a plan to kill his parents. He was, "in his bedroom reading the last chapter of The Brothers Karamazov. The task completed, he shaved, changed into his best suit, and proceeded to load both a semi-automatic .22-caliber rifle and a Ruger .22-caliber revolver. He shot his sister in between the eyes, killing her instantly. He shot his mother 6 times total. His father absorbed a total of 17 bullets"(313). He tried to establisha n alibi for when he was queationed, but it didn't hold through. He was arrested, found guilty, and charged the death penalty. He went to the Corner before Perry and Dick. Itw as recorded that his heart kept beating 19 minutes after the trap door let way.

Dick's Nature vs. Perry's Nature

When reading the final part of In Cold Blood, Capote included quotes which characterized the two murderers: Dick and Perry. Throughout the book so far, their personalities have been revealed as well as their tendencies. Essentially committing the same crime, they are two very different people with very different morals. In "Corner", both plot some sort of escape plan. Perry schemes one up that has to do with two men he sees frequently outside his cell window. He drafts a note to them, which he plans to throw out the window. The note includes..."...It could mean a long stretch in prison. Or you might be killed. All for someone you don't know. YOU BETTER THINK IT OVER!! Seriously! How do I know it isn't a trick to get me out there and gun me down? What about Hickock? All preparations must include him" (265). Several traits of Perry are exemplified through that quote. First, his inability to trust and his constant doubt in others. In the back of his mind, there is always someone betraying him. Secondly, he warns the men. He doesn't want them to take part in something that they will regret. And thirdly, this shows his dedication to his partner in crime, and someone who he regards as a friend. He will not betray Dick. Unfortunately, the men do not return and he never gets the chance to pass on the note. Dick's plan to escape was much different than Perry's, which was potentially nonviolent. Dick plotted to kill the prison guard with a weapon, a shiv, he was working on in his cell. This is described, "Dick had determined upon--to head for the Colorado mountains, and find there a cabin where he could hide until spring (alone, of course; Perry's future did not concern him)" (263). Again, the personality of Dick is broken down. He is not afraid to take someone's life for his own benefit (and he plans to do so/knows what he is doing), he also does not have any concern for Perry and will betray him. Perry would not even consider doing this to Dick.

In Section 4 of In Cold Blood, I noticed that there were a lot of different names used to describe the gallows. When Don Cullivan began to visit Perry, they ha discussions about life, and about the murder. Perry knew he was guilty, and would be found guilty, and have to "climb those thirteen steps"(265). Another nickname, a more formal name, is the gallows. The prison where Dick and Perry stayed on Death Row at had its own little place for the gallows. Many of the prisoners that resided inside those prison walls had to popular names for it: "paying a visit to the warehouse", and "Gone to The Corner"(310), the latter being the name of the fourth and final section. To me, I didn't know what to make of the title of the 4th section when I first saw it, but it is all clear to me now. I can see why Capote chose that name, because the entire fourth section is basically leading up to the Corner. Capote even rights about the history of the death penalty, how it was abolished then re-instated. Perry even had a dream where he was his more famous alter-ego Perry O'Parsons, the one man band. His audience was the many convicts who had died at the gallows, or the chair. As part of his performance he walked up 13 steps, only to realize he was at the gallows. BY that time the floor beneath him parted, and "Perry O'Parsons entered eternity"(319).

In part 4 of In Cold Blood Perry had become famililar with the habits and trends of Courthouse Square. On page 64 it reads, " As the weeks went by he had become familiar with the life on Courthouse Square, its habitues and their habits. The cats, for example: the two thin gray toms who appeared with every twilight and prowled teh Square, stopping to examine the cars parked around its periphery--behavior puzzling to him until Mrs. Meier explained that the cats were hunting for dead birds caught in the vehicles' engine grilles. Thereafter it pained him to watch their maneuvers: "Becuase most of my life I've done what they're doing. The equivalent." In relation to the cats I think Perry is correct in saying that he's done exactly what the cats are doing. I think the cats are in need of food and are desperate to get it, so desperate that they will eat dead birds found in engine grilles. Like the cats Perry was in need of something-- money. He did whatever it took to get money. He tried to robb the Clutter family only to find little money. He did things that if given the opportunity to not have to do these things, he would take it. Perry is not all that bad becuase he realizes his mistakes and knows they were werong. Perry wrote in a letter to Don Cullivan ," his crime was 'unforgiveable,' and he fully expected to 'climb those thriteen steps" (265).

When analyzing Dick and Perry's actions to figure out what kind of person they are, part four of In Cold Blood helps. Afraid of the final outcome of their trial--being hung-- both Dick and Perry began devising plans to escape. Dicks plan was more thought out and violent to others, where as Perry's plan was more violent to himself. I think this shows the effect of the murder on the ones that committed them. I think that Capote wanted us to see that Perry did in fact have emotion toward what he did to the Clutters whereas Dick was selfish and only cared about himself not caring what happens to other people. One can see this is to be true on page 263. Dick was thinking about his plans to escape. Capote wrote, "If the escape succeeded, that was the course DIck had determined upon-- to head for the Colorado mountians, and find there a cabin where he could hide until spring (alone, of course; Perry's future did not concern him)." This quote is quite upsetting because one wants to believe that maybe Dick is not 100% bad but maybe 98% but this quote says it all. Dick was willing to save his butt but not try and save Perry's even though Dick dragged Perry into this murder in the first place. Perry however is different than Dick, clearly. When Perry was writing a note to men he thought he saw outside his window the last lines read, "What about Hickock? All preparations must include him" (265). Perry no matter what happened was going to include Dick, if only he knew that Dick wasn't planning on including him. Unfortunetly for both of them, there plans were not going to work.

The final section in In Cold Blood, The Corner. The definition of a “corner” has a few different meanings. According to Dictionary.com, the most popular meaning of the word is, “The place at which two converging lines or surfaces meet.” To relate this to the story is quite simple. If you imagine a 90 degree angle, the vertex shares two different paths. As you move away from the vertex, the space between the two lines increases. This signifies the investigation, how at the beginning they had no leads. Eventually as they began to slowly piece the story together they lines got closer and closer together. Then, when the investigators caught the two in Las Vegas, the line was extremely close to the corner. The reason it was not the end was because the story was not over. When the two men are hanged, is when the corner finally meets. When the two of them are hanged, it signifies the official end of the long struggle of the case. Also, the corner signifies where the two men were hanged. The gallows located in that solitary warehouse are tucked far into the corner. By definition, a corner means the end; the end of their lives.

In the final section of the book, as I have said before, Capote continues to shift all of the story's attention to Dick and Perry. He most of all continues to sympathize with Dick and Perry. He still shows how Perry may not be a completely bad person after all and does not deserve what is coming for him in the execution. In one instance another person even notices the good in Perry. When he is moved into the jail cell in the Meier's apartment, Josephine does not mind him and believes that he is gentle. After talking to Perry and bringing him food she saw the gentle side of him and said "...I decided- well, he wasn't the worst young man I ever saw" (253). Capote shows Perry with a lot of fear which shows his weakened state. This fear and weakness shows that he isn't entirely ruthless and has some deep feelings which makes you feel scared and for him and feel sympathy for him. He says in his journal how he wishes that someone would come save him from his jail cell and dreams that a big parrot will come rescue him. He does not want to be in his current situation and his in some state of misery that you as a reader feel uncomfortable with.

The Real Dick and Perry

While finishing ‘In Cold Blood’, by Truman Capote, we, as the readers, try to figure out what kind of people the characters are, especially Dick and Perry.  This is because, these characters, introduced to us in the beginning of the book, are presented in such a way that we sympathize them and view their situation through their eyes.  Because of this, we undoubtedly want to find out the truth about their character.  In Part 4, The Corner, we can do this by analyzing their own actions, here what professionals have to say about their mental states, and also are able to compare them to other killers.  We see on page 255 that Perry felt it important to correct his statement or account of the murder by telling the truth, that he killed all four of the Clutter family members, and it was not in fact Dick.  In response to why he fixed the statement he said, “[Mrs. Hickock is] a real sweet person. It might be some comfort to her to know Dick never pulled the trigger… it was mostly his fault, but the fact remains I’m the one who killed them”  This quote makes us respect him for taking responsibility for his actions, and for feeling it important to give a lady, whom he thought of as a good person, comfort and peace.  On the contrary, four pages later, on 259, we see a side of Perry that is unsettling when after hearing that his sister refused to show up at the trial because she was afraid of Perry he says, “I wish she’d been in that house that night..” After hearing this it is easy to see him as a monster.  Concerning Dick, we learn on pages 293-295, during his trial from Dr. Jones that after evaluating Eugene Hickock mentally he found that Dick, “did know right from wrong,”, “knew what he was doing and still went ahead with it,”, and “Is impulsive in action”.  This analysis of Dick is chilling, and with this knowledge, it is hard for readers to sympathize with someone who did something he knew was terrible.  Much later in Part 4, on page 325, we are introduced to soldiers George York and James Latham, who are awaiting their execution with Dick and Perry at this point, and who also, “claimed seven victims in the course of a cross-country spree.”  When York was asked why they did it he replied, “with a self-congratulatory grin… ‘We hate the world.”  Capote includes this to expose us to two beasts more evil than Dick and Perry, and to make their crime less horrible in the readers’ eyes. At the very end of the book, before Perry is about to face the gallows, he is asked if there is anything he would like to say.  He says, “It’s a helluva thing to take a life in this manner… Maybe I had something to contribute, something… It would be meaningless to apologize for what I did.  Even inappropriate.  But I do. I apologize”(340).  In the end, I see Dick as a monster who knowingly befriended a ‘ticking time bomb’, with the expectation that he was crazy enough to assist him in a horrible robbery-murder, and Perry as a lost, confused, and abused person, who wanted nothing but to be a good person, but due to his impulsive actions, cannot continue to strive for such as he had to deal with the consequence.

I would like to discuss the debate between Dick and Perry about which one of them actually committed the murders. I find it weird that there is not a communal answer or even clear, but different alibis from both sides. Dick claims that Perry killed all of the Clutters, and Perry states that Dick killed the mother and daughter. It is not that neither of these alibies is believable, because generally speaking both of them are, what interests me is the way in which they both "leak" this important aspect of the story. First off, Dick completely accusing Perry makes sense considering the fact that Perry was the one to phisically kill all of the Clutters, but at the same time he is rating out his accomplice. That may seem naive to say, but both Perry and Dick have stated throughout the book that whatever happens, they will face it together. This is proven when the book states (as Perry's thoughts), "Dick would never do that-"spill his guts." Think of how often he had heard him say, "They can be me blind, I'll never tell them anything"" (193). While both Perry and Dick have strayed from this promise on smaller accounts, they have always ended up together until this point. The moment of truth comes and Dick breaks the trust, so Perry feels inclined to do the same. Although Dick admitting that Perry was the only person who actually murdered any of the Clutters would lessen his charge and ultimately his punishment, Dick was still guilty of many crimes on many levels of severity. Turning in Perry was not an escape, but a cushion to his own punishment. Now we begin to look at Perry's statements about the murder, which are notable because of his dishonesty and lack of committment to his statement. At first, Perry puts part of the blame on Dick. Perry states that he killed Mr. Clutter and Kenyon and that Dick killed Mrs. Clutter and Nancy. Overtime, Perry admits that this was a lie and that it was really him who killed all four of the Clutters. The immediate reaction of Perry to rebuke the claim that he killed the whole family seems wrong, but fairly normal as an act of self defense. But it is strange how and especially why Perry lies in the first place and ultimately tells the truth. Perry states that he lied because, "'I wanted to fix Dick for being such a coward. Dropping his guts all over the goddam floor'" (255). The importance of this quote is that maybe Perry was not lying to become "less guilty", but instead to punish Dick for acting as a coward and shying away from things that he boasted he could do when they went to the Clutter's house. Dick was a "coward" and Perry gets in all the trouble, so Perry uses this lie as a way to punish Dick. Perry is able to change his mind, and decide that finally admitting to his full crime is the best idea. The reason why he does this though is surprising. The book states about Perry, "And the reason he'd decided to set the record straight wasn't that he suddenly felt any kinder toward Hickock. According to him he was doing it out of consideration for Hickock's parents-said he was sorry for Dick's mother" (255). This quote I believe is memorable because Perry does not change his alibi specifically for any benefit to himself, but to either punish or help other people.