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.