Quotes, Part Four

“the yellow bird, huge and parrot-faced, had soared across Perry’s dreams, an avenging angel who savaged his enemies or, as now, rescued him in moments of mortal danger.” (Capote, Page 266)

Throughout the novel, Perry speaks of this yellow bird. The bird appears especially when he is in a dangerous or uncomfortable situation, such as his father beating his mother, or a nun beating him for wetting the bed. The bird is his symbol for hope or justice.

But unlike the other times, in this quote, he is dreaming. In his dream, he breaks a light bulb in his cell and cuts his wrists and ankles with it. Then he sees the mighty yellow bird swoop down and carry him up, up. It’s interesting that now his symbol for hope shows up after he commits suicide. His life has gotten so bad that the only hope he has is for the sweet release of death. Pretty depressing.

It’s also interesting that the yellow bird would seem to be taking him to heaven. He even describes it as an “avenging angel.” However, he has shown that he doesn’t trust in the Christian religion or anything associated with it. Perhaps he wants to be wrong, and he wants to believe that there is a place, after death, where his sins will be forgiven, and he can exist peacefully for eternity.

This yellow bird is a recurring theme in the novel, and since Perry tends to relive his worst experiences with us frequently, the bird shows up quite a bit. And sometimes, the bird doesn’t just protect him. It attacks his attackers, which is when it is a sign for justice.

This quote emphasizes how much Perry relies on hope and karma, as opposed to fighting back himself. This bird, though beautiful, shows Perry’s cowardice toward his fellow man. Everything he couldn’t stand up to or confront, he ran away from. This bird is just another way for him to run (or fly, I suppose) away from his problems with people, instead of being brave enough to handle them.

“I think we both felt very high… Couldn’t stop laughing, neither one of us; suddenly it all seemed very funny—I don’t know why, it just did.” (Capote, Page 256)

Another thing that is discussed a lot in this section is the question of Dick and Perry’s mental state. They are assessed thoroughly because “killing without a proper motive” is a very insane action to take. The psychiatrist uses this quote in his evaluation of Perry to prove that he isn’t necessarily sane. Dick is declared sane, however (or at least he was able to distinguish between right and wrong at the time of the incident). I think it’s odd that Dick is said to be more mentally stable than Perry because, well, this was all Dick’s idea, and he was pretty much the one that got them caught. Like I said in a previous post, I think they would have actually been able to get away with it if Perry had been the one calling the shots.

But I’ll be the first to admit that Perry has certain qualities that are downright insane. Like his rages, his Aspirin addiction, his lack of remorse, or hey, how about the fact that he constantly hallucinates a yellow bird flying in to save him.

And yet Dick was the one to initiate the job. He’s just as guilty as Perry, and much more bloodthirsty. We find out later that he just wanted to rape the girl, and had been bragging about blasting hair all over the walls. I can’t see Perry doing anything like that for fun or pleasure, like Dick. Neither one felt remorse for their victims, but Perry’s last words were an apology, which means he understands the destruction he had caused, and he understood the consequences.

This quote stood out to me because it shows that neither one is totally sane. It’s scary how they can laugh after what they did. It’s scary how they can’t feel remorse for the destruction and sadness they’ve caused so many to have.

Summary, Part Four

The section begins with the description of the Finney County Courthouse where, on the fourth floor, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock are being kept. Smith is held in the “ladies’ cell” which is part of the apartment where the assistant sheriff and his wife, Josephine, live. Perry quickly befriends Josephine, though her husband is quick to warn her of the dangerous Perry Smith. Perry spends his days painting, writing in a journal, sleeping, and training a squirrel who he keeps as a pet and names Red. He also starts to reconnect with an old army friend, Don Cullivan. Dick is less content to remain in his cell. He builds a “shiv” with the intention to escape, though it is quickly confiscated.

Finally, the trial begins, and a psychologist is brought in to evaluate Dick and Perry’s mental state. As the trial continues, several witnesses are called to the stand, including Floyd Wells, Nancy Ewalt and Susan Kidwell, and the Chief Investigator of the Garden City Police Department. However, “The prosecution’s most damaging witness proved to be Alvin Dewey.”  He describes what actually happened the night of November 15, 1959, including Dick’s intention to rape Nancy Clutter, which shocks the crowd, and especially Mr. and Mrs. Hickock.

There is an auction, for all of the Clutters’ belongings. The turnout is huge, as some come merely out of curiosity. No one has been able to see the murder house until now, and the auction is compared to as “a second funeral.”

Dick’s mother doesn’t deal with the trial well. At one point, she is asked to leave the room, and goes to the restroom to cry and confide in a female reporter.

Don Cullivan comes to visit Perry, and had a grand feast with his friend in the prison cell. When the trial resumes, we hear from the psychologist.  Dick is said to be sane for the most part, and in control of his actions. The psychologist isn’t as sure about Perry, though. He says he might be a paranoid schizophrenic.

The trial continues, and after more witnesses and statements, the jury decides that the two killers should suffer the death penalty. They are brought to Death Row, much to the dismay of Josephine, who misses Perry, and Red, who will not permit being fed by her, and instead sits there, waiting for Perry.

Dick and Perry have to wait five years before their sentence is carried out. In that time, they meet many men and learn what they did to end up there. Dick also tries to declare an unfair trial, but on April 14^th, 1965, Death takes the final two victims of the Clutter massacre.

The novel ends with Alvin Dewey recalling a meeting with Susan Kidwell, now a junior at the University of Kansas. She tells him that Bobby is now married, and he thinks of Nancy and the rest of the Clutters. He then turns and walks away, turning his back on the town where the Clutters lived.

Personal Response, Part Three

The main focus of this section is the manhunt for Perry and Dick. We follow the two killers all across the country, but we also follow every step of the agents who are trying to track them down. Throughout the majority of this section, I felt anxious and worried that they might actually get away with it. With every near miss by the agents working on the case, I felt less and less sure of the outcome of the manhunt. But the section ends with both parties converging to one point. When we hear Perry walk through the murders step by step, we feel relief knowing that they will be put to justice, and that they won’t be able to perform such a terrible act ever again.

That’s mainly how I felt reading this section. This is kind of the “climax” section of the book, and now, we just have to hear the court case and oversee the completion of the judge’s sentence. The whole novel was leading up to the capture of the murderers, and now that they’re caught, I don’t feel much investment in the rest of the story. The “resolution” to a book like this is where the perpetrators are in jail, and in this case, hanged. I just don’t see how a quarter of the book could be designated to just that, and honestly, I’m not looking forward to reading a blow-by-blow description of a court proceedings and a hanging.

But back to section three. I thought it was full of suspense, and for a while, I couldn’t put the book down. Once again, I love that the author decided to tell the story through the perspectives of the killers and the people chasing them. The constant shifts in viewpoints make the book so much more interesting, in my opinion, because you can see several characters reacting to the same thing in completely different ways.

Theme, Part Three

Normal vs. Abnormal

Something I’ve noticed about this book is that every character seems to have both normal and abnormal qualities. But of course the most obvious example of this is with Dick. Throughout the novel, we’ve heard him refer to himself as a “normal.” In the third section, however, he admits that he has some qualities that he’s not proud of, such as his attraction to pubescent girls. This was really shocking to me, because all we had heard him say prior to that was how everything he did was absolutely justified. After hearing the way he had been talking about his attraction before, you would think that he was proud of it, and not at all embarrassed. As I said earlier, this section has given us some insight into Dick’s past, and now we’re hearing things from his viewpoint as well. And that adds a new layer to this character. He actually has reservations and fears, which makes him seem more human. I mean, he’s still not a good human, but at least we know he’s not just a bloodthirsty, narcissistic maniac. This section brought more light to this character and showed us that no matter how many horrible things he’s done, he’s still a person with feelings and insecurities like anyone else.

Style and Rhetorical Elements, Part Three

“The light was dimming, the road was straight, with neither house nor human being in view–nothing but land winter-stripped and as somber as a sheet iron.” (Capote, Page 174)

I love this quote. Just read it, and how do you feel? You feel the tension in the air and you know that something ominous is coming. I see a grey, gloomy road in the middle of nowhere, and I get the overall feeling that everyone’s just waiting for something to happen. It makes me feel nervous, anxious, fearful, and sad.

The author put this sentence in to show the mood he’s trying to create. Perry’s thinking this in the backseat of Mr. Bell’s car, right before he’s supposed to hit him over the head with a rock. You can tell that he doesn’t want to do it, and since this is from his perspective, he sees the waiting as an empty road, halfway between two places. He can’t stand just sitting there, waiting to kill Mr. Bell, so he looks around and throws his feelings of sorrow and fear onto the world around him.

Rhetorical devises like this are a great way to show what characters are feeling. After all, I’m sure if this was from Dick’s viewpoint, it would be more of a triumphant, boastful mood than a solemn, gloomy one. The use of mood or tone in a novel can make the readers see things from the characters’ perspective, getting us more invested and interested in them.

 “Perry said, ‘You could be wrong. And if you are, it means The Corner,’ … Dick said, ‘The comedian. You kill me.’” (Capote, Page 188)

Well if this isn’t foreshadowing, I don’t know what is. Perry tells Dick what awaits them if they don’t lay low and be careful. These two characters have always had contradicting traits, which is why I didn’t think a successful partnership between them could last very long. Perry is smart and cautions, and he doesn’t underestimate the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Dick, on the other hand, thinks he’s so clever and skilled that there’s no way that the police could possibly tie them to the murder. Perry’s cautions, wary personality comes off as nagging to Dick, and Dick’s carefree attitude brushes Perry as reckless and unwise. Perry said early on that they should distance themselves as far from Kansas as possible, and Dick is sure that they’re safe, and keeps wanting to go back. But Dick is the one who tends to make the decisions for them. He has a way of manipulating Perry into doing what he thinks they should. Dick makes the decisions, and look what happens: they get caught.

This use of foreshadowing makes us wonder what might have happened if Perry made the pair’s decisions. They might have evaded the police for a longer time, or even escaped them completely. They would have fled the country at the first opportunity, and it would have been much harder for the police to track them down. For that matter, they would have worn disguises, and probably wouldn’t have harmed the Clutter family.

This rhetorical devise stood out to me because it enforces our liking for Perry, because we see that, compared to Dick, he’s a smarter criminal. We also feel bad for him, because it was the relaxed nature of his partner that got them both caught.

“Dick was sick of him… Suspicious, self-righteous, spiteful, he was like a wife that must be got rid of.” (Capote, Pages 214-215)

This is a great use of alliteration. This form of rhetorical devise makes the audience pay closer attention to the writing and to the characters. It’s so easy to hear Dick saying this, based on the character. But the constant use of esses makes him sound like a snake, devising a plan to quickly and quietly dispose of this “suspicious, self-righteous, spiteful” man.

There’s also a simile in there. I love the way Capote compares Perry to a nagging wife, because it shows what I was talking about earlier, how their unique personalities tend to clash. Perry is the more cautious of the two, so it would make sense that Dick, the more carefree, laid back one, would see his warnings as annoying and unnecessary. Likewise, we hear Perry say that he should leave Dick several times.

This conflict of opinions keeps the audience engaged in Dick and Perry’s relationship. Because despite their different ideas and personalities, they stay together. They need each other. Perry and Dick’s unique relationship is what allows a story about two vicious murderers on the run to be interesting and full of layers. And rhetorical devises like these are used to (among other things) show their truly unique relationship.