Where?

I just bought this book and it might be hard to write a whole blog post about where it took place, but I'll try my best.


Truman Capote wrote the novel In Cold Blood about a murder in 1959. The murder he wrote about took place in a small town called Holcomb, Kansas,which is located on the country-side, a place where people felt safe and could sleep sound at night. In the very first paragraph Capote says, "The land is flat, and the views are awesomely extensive;horses, herds of cattle, a white cluster of grain elevators rising as gracefully as Greek temples are visible long before a traveler reaches them."

Capote includes where the victims spent their time at places like school and work, like any good writer would. By doing this, the author creates a vivid picture in our minds of what life was like in the small town of Holcomb before the tragic murder that no one could predict took place.

Capote takes the readers on the journey of the victims, the Clutter family. He takes us to Mrs. Clutter's doctors appointments and to school with their children. He shows the aspects of life that the killers had no way of knowing, making people wonder how anyone could commit those gruesome crimes to anyone, especially to a family they did not even know. The novel also describes the house before, when everything was normal, their everyday lives and how it was just ripped out from underneath of them in a place that was supposed to be comforting and safe. Capote captures the essence with vivid description of where the family was and how everything changed in their "safe haven."

The Why Factor: Inspirations and Impact

Truman Capote spent his whole life writing; from the time he was eleven until his death.  He has written elitist novels before like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and wanted to write something different, something meaningful. As Abby mentioned below, his next dream was to write “an epic nonfiction novel.” What first sent him in the direction of the novel was a 300-word article in the New York Times about the murders of the Clutter family in Kansas. He knew just from reading these words that there was a deeper story behind this and he was going to be the one to reveal it, resulting in one of the most popular novels of all time.

                Capote spent the next six years interviewing the residents of the town, including the two murderers, taking over 8,000 pages of notes, resulting in his novel In Cold Blood. He discovered why the murderers chose this family. Apparently a fellow inmate told them that the Clutter family had valuables stored away at the house, which turned out to be false.

                That covers the why he wrote it and why the crime was committed, but there’s also the bigger question of why this novel still has such an impact on the world when it was written, and why is still does today. At the time of the murders in 1959, America was in a time of economic boom still reminiscent of the end of the Second World War, and it was full of close-knit families like the Clutters.  Never was a murder like this more unexpected, especially to such an upstanding family. This ensued paranoia and discomfort to people all over the world, making many aware of the horror that could happen to anyone for no reason at all. Capote gripped onto this idea in the writing of his novel, publishing it and creating what is now known as crime genre, inspiring many other authors to do the same.

There has also been speculation that Capote had an intimate relationship with one of the murderers, Perry Smith. He has been depicted as the more guilt-ridden and sensitive of the two, which may also have motivated Capote in writing the novel; he may have tried to redeem Smith in a way, if they were in fact involved. Nothing has been proven of course, but the rumors do exist.

                There is no doubt, however, that no matter the reason for why Capote wrote the novel, it sparked a reaction from people. Whether it be fear and awareness in people, or inspiration for writers everywhere, Capote managed to successfully write and epic novel, one that will be talked about for many years to come. 

The Whatsies: Part 2 of 5

So, as Kelly already stated, we're going to tackle this first time blog post as a way to let everybody else know what this book is all about through the basic five questions: Who, what, where when, and why?

Considering I have yet to buy the book, nor do I know too much about it, I'm taking this blog post as an opportunity to not only inform others, but myself. My knowledge of this book simply extends to discussions we have in class within our groups, so bear with me. 

The history of "In Cold Blood" essentially starts in Europe, before the tragic events this book is actually based on, even happen. Our author, Truman Capote, skipped college and moved across seas. He began writing short stories and novels, and made himself an important figure in film and stage. After writing "Breakfast at Tiffany's" he decidedly got bored with his work and moved back to the States. It was at this time he had hoped to write, and I quote, "An epic nonfiction novel."

That "epic" novel is "In Cold Blood." His idea behind the story came from a small newspaper article detailing the gruesome murders of a wealthy farmer and his family in 1959. Capote and his BFF Nelle Harper Lee (which is pretty cool) traveled to Kansas soon after looking to research further into the crimes. After almost six years of interviewing residents, investigators, and of course, the two murderers, "In Cold Blood' was released.

So what happened? Herbert Clutter was a devout Methodist, and wealthy farmer, widely respected throughout the community. Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Edward Smith were two ex-convicts informed by a fellow prisoner (claiming to be a former Clutter farmhand) that the Clutters secretly kept cash and other valuables stashed away on their property. From here, Hickock and Smith hatched a plan to commit a robbery and leave no witnesses. In November of 1959, the two convicts entered the Clutter home while the family slept, and to no avail, found nothing. Turns out that guy back in prison had lied...jerk. With that, Hickock and Smith murdered Herb Clutter, his wife, and two of his children. Brutal.

This book was the first of its kind during that time period. It has been regarded as the pioneering work of the true crime genre and some critics consider Copote's work to be the original non-fiction novel. In Cold Blood  is said to be paced at a slower rate, allowing Copote to detail each person related to the crime, supposedly, to build suspense. He wanted his novel to fell so much like a fiction novel, people forgot it wasn't. 

Should provide for an interesting read...

~Abby Barufaldi

When? pt. 1 of 5

There are five of us in this group - so we employed the tactic of assigning ourselves the five simple questions of who, what, when, where, and why/how. We figured this would even out the workload and allow for an in-depth analysis of at least the initial context of the novel.

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"Holcomb, Kan., Nov 15 1959 -- A wealthy wheat farmer, his wife and their two young children were found shot to death today in their home. They had been killed by shotgun blasts at close range after being bound and gagged...There were no signs of a struggle, and nothing had been stolen. The telephone lines had been cut." - The New York Times

On November 15th, 1959, two ex-cons, Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, on Parole from the Kansas State Penitentiary, broke into the home of Herbert Clutter and his family, attempting to rob him of a small fortune one of their fellow prisoners had revealed to them. Simply looking at the decade in which this tragedy took place is enough of an indicator to contextualize the impact of that horrific night. This is the golden era of "Leave it to Beaver" - in other words, the ideal nuclear family. Not to mention, Kansas is directly in the middle of the Bible belt - this is a community grounded in spirituality. This is the stereotypical neighborhood that leaves its doors unlocked at night. These details, though cliche and as a result sometimes overlooked, are two of the main contributing factors that made this crime especially heinous - this is a random murder with next to no motive. The break-in does not justify the butchery that took place that night.

Immediately following the release of the New York Times' article, which was roughly 300 words, Capote set off to the town of Holcomb with lifelong friend and colleague Harper Lee (author of Pulitzer Prize winning To Kill a Mockingbird). He conducted interviews with the towns folk, those close to the victim, taking thousands of pages of notes, and finally, arranged to meet and interview the killers themselves, developing a relationship with them and gaining their trust in order to get the story.

Capote's book was released in 1966. A detailed account of the alleged events that transpired that night was immediately hailed as a literary innovation. It pioneered the crime genre, telling the gruesome details that transpired from a first person perspective - it was the first look within the mind of a cold blooded killer. It portrays the innermost psychological workings - during a naive generation, the homicide itself and the repercussions from this book spring boarded the public into an age of paranoia.

Even today, this work is still celebrated as a masterpiece of creative non-fiction. This is one aspect where time is irrelevant, for its sharp depictions and near tangible descriptions engulf the reader and thrust them into the experience alongside author and homicidal maniac, even though the parties are separated by half a century.