There are so many different way you
can go about writing a novel, or really any piece of work, but with a murder
that list is even greater because the content is already so rich, you really
can't go wrong. However, I especially love the way that Capote has chosen
depict the Clutter murder.
He begins simply by describing the
morning of Herbert Clutter, innocently eating his breakfast and going work like
any normal day. Then, he shifts to the two murders, and describes their day
eating breakfast as well and acting perfectly normal. Capote continues to do
this, quickly shifting between each side, slowly giving us a recap of the day’s
events.
What makes
it interesting though is the fact that we as a reader know what’s going to
happy, Perry and Dick are going to kill the entire Clutter family, and yet we’re
reading about them drinking coffee and making cherry pie with their neighbors.
He gives no indication of anything about to happen, and in fact makes it rather
boring to read. He does this though to put the reader in the family’s
situation. They have no idea of what’s to happen, so that’s how Capote wants
the reader to feel. He makes it as innocent as possible to show the irony of
the situation that we all know, yet no one else does. He makes it so that we’re
just going through the day with the Clutter family, or with the murderers, yet
we already know what’s going to happen and it’s a frustrating thing, especially
with the mindless mundane tasks that each are performing. You want to be able
to tell them what’s going to happen and to either get out or do something
important, yet all we can do is read the descriptions. Capote wants the reader
to feel helpless, just as the Clutter’s did on that fateful night.
So, when reading this post, all I could think about was a technique that they use in different types of movies. In a lot of horror movie, you know what's going to happen, or you know something bad is going to happen, and yet for the most part, everything seems normal. Everyone is acting normal because they, unlike you, have no idea something terrible is going to happen. A perfect example of this (even though it isn't a horror movie) is Titanic. You obviously know the ship is going to sink, and yet before hand, everyone is acting perfectly calm, complaining about how the decks are too cluttered. This post just really caught my eye. I mean, look at how it made me ramble on about different types of movies. I've been reading this blog occasionally, and I'm really excited to see where it goes.
ReplyDeleteYou say it's written almost dull and mundane, the way it goes through the things they're doing before the moment of their deaths. I find that tactic on Capote's behalf very interesting. It almost lulls the reader into a false sense of normalcy. You're reading it wondering why these things are important. Who cares why they're making pie or whatever else their doing? Considering I haven't read the book myself I don't know what happens next in the narration. I assume the murders closely follow. It's just fascinating how Capote used this way of writing to furthermore shock the readers.
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