Quotes, Part Three

“‘One thing more. Have you any idea, any at all, where your son might have gone?’ ‘Open a map,’ said Mr. Hickock. ‘Point your finger – maybe that’s it.’” (Capote, Page 172)

In this section, we finally get to hear about Dick’s story and childhood. Throughout the novel, we’ve heard Perry talk about his past, and because of this, we sympathize with him. Now we hear about Dick. But not from him: from his parents. I think it says a lot that Dick didn’t tell us this information himself. Whenever we’ve read from Dick’s point of view, he was criticizing Perry, so we get the idea that that’s all there is to him: a selfish criminal that lies, cheats, and takes others down with him. But according to his parents, his childhood wasn’t so bad. He was a star athlete in basketball, baseball, and football. He wasn’t a bad student, either. So why did he turn out to be a murderer?

I picked this quote because it shows the Hickocks’ complete lack of knowledge towards their son. They have no idea where he is, or why he turned out the way he did. I just think it’s sad that these people end up with a son who lies, cheats and eventually murders innocent people. They seem like a perfectly normal couple who just want the best for their children. They didn’t have a lot of money, but it’s clear that they cared about Dick. It’s also sad to see them so hopeful for Dick and his future. They know what he’s done in the past, and yet they still defend him or his intentions on several occasions. You can tell that they have pride for their son, no matter what they hear about him. They’ll never give up hope that he’ll change his ways and become a law-abiding citizen. Of course, no matter how much they hope and pray, it doesn’t change the fact that they have no idea where their son is, and this quote stood out to me for precisely that reason.

“…in a sense, she was the only survivor; and what tormented her was the thought that in time she, too, would be overwhelmed: go mad, or contract an incurable illness, or in a fire lose all she valued–home, husband, children.” (Capote, Page 183)

“Mrs. Johnson” is Perry’s sister. She is the same one who wrote him the letter when he was in jail. She is the same one that Perry resents, and is slightly jealous of. She has a nice house, a nice husband, and some very nice young children. But after Agent Nye comes to ask her about Perry, she gets worried, and thinks about all of the other Smith children. Her oldest two siblings had committed suicide, and now Perry was being chased by a police officer. She seems to be the only one who lives a normal, happy life, but she wonders if there is some curse over the children of Florence Buckskin and Tex John Smith.

This is ridiculous, obviously. Her older brother and sister decided to kill themselves, and Perry chose his own path toward thievery and murder. It’s just such a coincidence that she’s the only seemingly “normal” one. Capote does a great job of putting the audience in each character’s shoes. As we used to feel resentful toward this woman who has the “perfect life”, now we feel sorrow and grief for those she’s loved and lost.

The fact that we are getting to see the story unfold from so many different viewpoints is what makes it so captivating. He introduces her as a frantic housewife, eager to impress her arriving house guests. But when we leave her, she is thinking about her family, and how depressing it is to have lost them all.

This quote foreshadows Perry’s death, as she is already grouping him with their dead siblings. To her, a criminal is as good as lost or dead, which says something about her. She could be trying to find her brother and help him, but instead she marks him as gone, and grieves him, along with her brother and sister.

Summary, Part Three

This section begins by introducing Floyd Wells, a former roommate of Dick Hickock. We discover that he was the one who gave Dick the idea to murder the Clutter family. Wells used to work on the Clutter farm, and at one point he told Dick of the job. Dick had become obsessed with finding out every detail about the house and the people in it. He often told Wells of his plans to murder the whole family, but Floyd “thought it was just talk” so he didn’t think about it after Dick left. But now, as Wells is listening to the radio, he hears about the murders, just as Dick had said they’d be.

Dewey gets the news of the two suspects, and takes a manila folder home with their information. Now the main goal is to track them down, and they do that by contacting anyone who was connected in some way to Dick or Perry.

Agent Nye’s first stop is Dick’s parents’ house. We learn more about his background, and why he turned to crime in the first place.

Now, we transition over to Dick and Perry. They’ve been hitchhiking since they got out of Mexico, and are now about to be picked up by a traveling salesman called “Mr. Bell.” Dick and his partner plan to kill Bell and steal his car, but their plan is foiled when the generous man picks up another hitchhiker.

Back to Agent Nye. He first goes to a former cathouse where Perry sent a large box containing his belongings. Nye then appears at Perry’s sister’s door, asking if she had any information regarding his whereabouts.

Smith is getting worried. When Dick stays out too long, Perry fears that he’s been arrested, and that now they’re coming for him. When Dick finally returns, he tells Perry that he has since replaced their license plate with a new one, and stolen fifty dollars from an old friend.

We then move back to Agent Dewey. And he is having a nightmare. He sees the two killers in a café and though he chases them, he wakes up in his office. He then gets a call that Dick had written bad checks throughout Kansas City.

After we check in with Bobby, we find Dick and Perry on the road again, deciding whether or not to pick up a young boy and his grandfather. Perry convinces Dick to do it, and the boy tells them of a way to get some money. They all search for bottles thrown about and turn them in for refund money.

Alvin Dewey has just been given word that Perry and Dick had been arrested in Las Vegas. He gets there as soon as he can and he and the rest of the agents on the case begin to interrogate the two suspects.

After several hours of interrogation, Perry tells the police officers exactly what happened the night of the murders. All the questions have been answered, and now, the killers wait for their inevitable execution.

Personal Response, Part Two

The second section was where I couldn’t wait to see how the murderers were caught. It’s set up like a race against time, for both parties. The fact that the author constantly switches back and forth between characters means that we can see both of the groups’ progress. In my opinion, this makes the story more effective than a regular one-sided mystery, because we can see the strategies behind the actions of both the killers and the investigators of the Clutter case. We can also see that the killings didn’t just affect the lives of the townspeople. Now that Dick and Perry have killed the Clutters, they feel much more tolerant of crime than before, which makes them seem more dangerous. After Dick cons the salespeople, Perry respects him more for it. The fact that Dick has turned Perry into a killer means that they might murder anyone they need to in order to escape the police. Also, they can’t split, because, they don’t really trust each other. Dick is afraid that Perry will say something to the cops, and vice versa. They’re glued together because of this one mistake.

At this point, Perry and Dick know they’re doomed. They can’t make a future for themselves and are just trying to avoid the police for as long as possible. They don’t have a long-term plan, which means that deep down, they know they’re already caught. And the pathetic part is, they ruined their lives for no reason. They got nothing out of the experience, except police officers chasing them for the rest of their lives (and infamy, I guess). If they had done some solid research beforehand, they would have known that Mr. Clutter didn’t have any money hidden in the house. But they decided to go in and kill all the witnesses, without any confirmation that there was any money in the house at all. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that maybe, they subconsciously wanted to be caught.

Theme, Part Two

Family

In this section, we get a closer look at the backgrounds of our killers. Especially with Perry. Perry had a fine early childhood. He travelled with his brothers and sisters to be with their parents, both of whom were rodeo performers. They eventually moved to Alaska, where Perry’s father dreamed of finding gold, and being set for life. His mother took the children to San Francisco, turning the children against their father, “all but Perry.” After their mother died, Perry and his siblings were put into various homes, including a Catholic orphanage, where the nuns used to physically and emotionally abuse Perry, and a Salvation Army orphanage, where one a caretaker tried to drown him.

The point is, neither one of the murderers had stable or happy childhoods. The Clutters were a close-knit family unit. Nancy and Kenyon both had a safe life and they never had to worry about not having enough food or an education. I think the reason we hear so much about Perry’s family life is so that the readers can see the stark contrast between them. It’s just another layer to the story, and it forces the audience to wonder if any of this would have happened if Perry and Dick had had normal, happy childhoods.

Style and Rhetorical Elements, Part Two

“…his confidence was like a kite that needed reeling in.” (Capote, Page 91)

Perry’s comment is referring to Dick. Perry had just pointed out that Floyd, Dick’s former prison friend, could lead the police right to them, because he knew of their plans to rob and kill the Clutter family. Perry thinks that Dick is getting too careless, and that his arrogance is going to get them caught. Perry, as opposed to his partner, doesn’t believe in a “no-clue” crime. Meaning, he’s sure that if they aren’t careful, they’ll make a mistake that will send the investigators right to them. This simile shows that Perry thinks Dick is getting out of control. It’s also an interesting use of imagery, as the kite is representative of Dick’s rash behavior. One mistake, and the kite might come crashing down if it isn’t lowered in time. This quote foreshadows problems between these two partners in crime.

They obviously have very different ideas about how they should be acting. Perry wants to get as far away from Kansas as possible, and start over in another country, while Dick doesn’t see the reason to. He thinks that there’s no way the murders can possibly be linked to them. Their personalities are sure to clash later in the book, and I think that’s what will be their downfall.

“Gosh, what will become of her? ... I suppose they’ll sell her. Wouldn’t Nancy hate that? Wouldn’t she be furious?” (Capote, Pages 94-95)

To be perfectly honest, I had trouble finding rhetorical devices in the second section that weren’t similes and metaphors. But then I remembered old Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, the three ways to convince an audience of something. And I had remembered this specific quote. I remembered feeling a new wage of anger come over me as I was forced to hear Nancy’s best friend talk about her death. It was heartbreaking to hear her reminisce about the things they used to do together.  I hated hearing about how one family’s death had impacted so many lives, from the people of the town, to Nancy’s old horse, Babe, who this quote is referring to. This quote is a fantastic use of Pathos. Pathos is the power to make the audience feel a certain way about the topic, like determination, sadness, or, in this case, anger. It reminds the audience of the impact the killings had on the people of the town, and makes the readers want justice for the Clutters. Capote is great at being able to switch the audience’s loyalty between the Clutters, Perry, and eventually Dewey and the other investigators. This quote shows us that no matter how much we may sympathize with Perry, what he did was wrong, and he and Dick hurt countless lives by ending four.

“Impressions I Garnered from this Letter” (Capote, Pages 143-145)

One of the most interesting parts of the second section for me was Barbara’s letter to Perry, and Willie-Jay’s evaluation of it. I think it’s a great way of showing Perry’s admiration of Willie-Jay, and his hatred of his sister. Keep in mind that we’re reading this through Perry’s perspective, and right now, Perry is in jail. He wrote a letter to his sister, trying to repair his relationship with her, and what he gets back is a letter, “written in between motherly duties,” outlining how structured and happy her life is. She tells him that any and all bad things he’s done in his life are his own fault, and that he shouldn’t blame anyone but himself, all in a polite, “pleasingly legible script.” I was mad for Perry, until I read Willie-Jay’s annotation of the letter. His criticism of her letter looks between the lines, expressing her real emotions and reasons for writing him a letter. He outlines times when her temper rises and we see her resentment, and even jealousy. I love the fact that Capote included these letters in the book. They give us insight into Perry’s respect for Willy-Jay, and his loathing of his sister. Willie-Jay’s analysis, or annotation, of her letter has been one of the best moments in the book so far, in my opinion, and I’m glad we got to see first-hand why Perry looked up to Willie-Jay so much.