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.