In part I of In Cold
Blood the reader is introduced to Holcomb, Kansas and its residents.
Specifically, the reader learns more about the Clutter family. Essentially, this is the novel's exposition- it shares the background
information necessary to understand the impact this tragedy has on the
community. Why is it so important for the reader to know about the town,
its inhabitants, and, of course, the Clutters before any action takes place?
How, rhetorically, does Capote go about relaying this information to the
reader? Please discuss specific rhetorical strategies that Capote uses
and analyze what effect each has on the reader's understanding of and
engagement in the novel. For your response, mentioning one specific
strategy and providing textual evidence and explanation is adequate. Remember
to use in text citations and to lead into quotations.
In the first few sentences of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood the rhetorical strategy of listing to build an image for the community in which these tragic murders take place. For example in the beginning Capote describes the town of Holcomb, Kansas as, " The land is flat, and the views are awesomely extensive; horses, a herd of cattle, a white cluster of grain elevators rising as gracefully as Greek temples..." (1). Truman uses this listing to show emphasis on what the community is based off of and how it looks, this in turn creates a picture in the readers mind of the setting at hand.
ReplyDeleteYou are quick, Stacee! : )
ReplyDeleteTruman Capote uses a simile to describe Holcomb on page five, "Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shape of exceptional happenings, had never stopped there" (5). Capote creates a better picture in the reader's mind by saying drama like the water in the river, cars on the highway, and trains, never stopped in Holcomb. People driving through did not stop in Holcomb and Holcomb never had exceptional drama. Learning more about Holcomb is important because it will help the reader understand the people of Holcomb's response to the future tragedy.
ReplyDeleteIn the first chapter involving the murderers, Capote explains why Dick and Perry are in Kansas. He does not come out directly and say that they are going to rob someone, instead he refers to it as a "score" (14). When someone gets a score, he/she typically does so illegally. Describing their future crime as a score, paints Dick and Perry as typical criminals. This followed up by saying they will head to Mexico after the crime, only furthers the depiction since people commonly joke about running away to Mexico to escape the law.
ReplyDeleteIn part one of In Cold Blood, Truman Capote uses listing as a rhetorical strategy. While describing the general makeup of Holcomb, Kansas, Capote writes, "Farm ranchers, most of them, they are outdoor folk of very varied stock- German, Irish, Norwegian, Mexican, Japanese" (4). Because Capote lists all of the different ethnic groups rather than simply stating that there are several of them present in Holcomb, the reader gains a better understanding of how diverse the town truly is are and a clearer idea of how many different cultures are represented in a town of only 400.
ReplyDeleteLike previously stated before, Truman Capote uses various rhetorical strategies including similes and listing in part one of the novel. However, a strong use of foreshadowing was also used. On page 13, when Mr. Clutter was walking through his property on the way back to his home, it is stated, "Then touching the brim of his cap, he headed for home and the day's work, unaware that it would be his last" (13). This gives the audience a hint about what is going to be the main conflict in the novel. It also provides a small amount of suspense, which makes the reader want to keep reading.
ReplyDeleteAmong the many rhetorical strategies used by Truman Capote, understatement is one of them. Capote begins the book by describing the grain elevators as Greek Temples and the view awesomely extensive. Capote switches his method of description when he states," Not that there is much to see- simply an aimless congregation of buildings...".(1) Notice Capotes use of the word "simply", he goes from using awesomely extensive to simply yet the description is just as powerful. Capotes point of switching from overstating to understating is to show that although Holcomb is this magnificent place it is also just a normal town. This foreshadows for the reader why Capote became so interested in this story; an awful thing happened in a simple place.
ReplyDeleteLike Abby stated, Truman Capote's use of foreshadowing is very strong in part one of the novel. While Perry and Dick were arguing over whether or not they should purchase black stockings, Capote foreshadows, "But Dick had made up his mind: stockings of any shade were unnecessary, an encumbrance, a useless expense, and, after all, anyone they encountered would not live to bear witness" (37). This foreshadows the fate of the Clutter's and anyone who might be around to witness the crime. It also keeps the reader intrigued and wanting to read more.
ReplyDeleteAlong with making the reader familiar with the town, Capote uses characterization to show what type of people the Clutters were. Capote describes Nancy by listing the actives she was involved in, "Where she found the time, and still managed to "practically run that big house" and be a straight-A student, the president of her class, a leader in the 4-H program and the young Methodist League, a skilled rider an excellent musician (piano, clarinet), an annual winner at the county fair (pastry, preserves, needlework, flower arrangement)....."(18). Just like it is important to know the town of Holcomb, it is equally important to understand the Clutter family and their position in the community. By understanding both the town and the family it is easier to sympathize with the close-kit town when it loses such a significant family as the Clutters.
ReplyDeleteNear the end of part one of In Cold Blood, Truman Capote uses imagery, with a small amount of words, to describe Nancy Clutter's body. Larry Hendricks, one of the first people on the scene, recalls Nancy's bloody corpse, "That wonderful girl–but you would never have known her" (62). Hendricks words of "you would never have known her" give a gory image of Nancy's face being unrecognizable after the blast along with how brutal the murder was.
ReplyDeleteNear the beginning of the book, Capote starts to describe the Clutter family starting with the head of the family, Mr. Clutter. He talks of his build when saying, "His shoulders were broad, his hair had held its dark color, his square-jawed, confident face retained a healthy-hued youthfulness, and his teeth, unstained and strong enough to shatter walnuts, were still intact" (6). Capote uses the rhetorical device of listing to help us appreciate that Mr. Clutter was a healthy and well-built man. He is described as it seems to be the exact opposite of death. We can also relate to this description of a healthy, hardworking farmer so we can create a connection in our mind to the character. This descriptive listing helps us to be engaged in the account and to visualize Mr. Clutter.
ReplyDeleteAs stated above, Truman Capote uses the rhetorical strategy of foreshadowing. Within the first 13 pages, Capote states, "Mr. Clutter seldom encountered trespassers on his property; a mile and a half from the highway, and arrived by obscure roads, it was not a place that strangers came upon by chance"(13). By saying this, Capote hints that if a stranger came to their house, it wasn't by accident. This helps the reader because it foreshadows the tragedy that will take place but also makes it aware that it wasn't a coincidence. If a stranger was coming to the Clutters farm, it was for a planned reason. It is important for the author to give background details because if we had none the story would be dull and confusing.
ReplyDeleteTowards the beginning of the book, Truman Capote foreshadows the future events. He states, " those somber explosions that stimulated fires of mistrust in the glare of which many old neighbors viewed each other strangely, and as strangers" (5). This not only foreshadows how the killers got into the Clutter house, but also sets a new tone for Holcomb, Kansas. Capote says that before the shooting, the town was sleepy and friendly to all. After the killing, people of the town became more alert.
ReplyDeleteAs Kayla stated above, Capote successfully uses characterization when creating exposition for the main events later to come in the story. Capote creates pathos by describing the Clutters as an almost perfect family. For example after describing the countless activities that Nancy Clutter is involved in it is expressed, "She's got character. Gets it from her old man" (18). These details about the characters help create a connection between the characters and the reader. This makes it more impactful and horrifying when the later events of the story occur.
ReplyDeleteCapote writes about the Clutter family in a positive way - they are kind, religious, upstanding people in the town, and everyone likes them. Likewise, on page 10 Capote describes the morning the day before they are killed as "ideal apple-eating weather; the whitest sunlight descended from the purest sky" (10). The reader already knows that the next night the Clutters will be shot so the positive description of the weather seems to foreshadow the upcoming events because everything is so perfect. In other words, everything was too good to be true.
ReplyDeleteGoing along with Empson's strategy of imagery, Truman Capote uses this in an eerie way on page 52. "It was as clear as day - the moon was so bright - and cold and kind of windy; a lot of tumbleweed blowing about. But that's all I saw. Only now when I think back, I think somebody must have been hiding there. Maybe down among the trees. Somebody just waiting for me to leave" (51). Looking back, Bobby can now picture somebody waiting for him to take off so they can make their attack on the Clutter family. This is a very effective strategy because it makes us, the readers, really wonder if that's how it played out. After this quote, there is also a break in the text, leaving readers filled with suspense, as well as foreshadowing that the answer may be known later on in the book.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the first chapter, Capote uses a few metaphors to describe the tragedy's impact on the Holcomb community. After the astonishing event occurred, "the townspeople, theretofore sufficiently unfearful of each other to seldom trouble to lock their doors, found fantasy re-creating them over and again - those somber explosions that stimulated fires of mistrust in the glare of which many old neighbors viewed each other strangely, and as strangers" (5). These metaphors create a mental image for the reader to know that the neighbors once had trusted each other. The word "explosion" implies the spontaneity of the ensuing "mistrust." Subsequently, the "mistrust" spreads like "fire," consuming the entire town. These eye-catching metaphors give the reader a better understanding of the complete social transformation of Holcomb's citizens.
ReplyDeleteCapote's purpose in writing part one is to not only allow the reader to learn more about the Clutter family and Holcomb, but to also foreshadow the horrofic event through out the section with eerie imagery. like Jack and Chris mentions above. He successfully adds a dreadful, and ominous feeling to the approaching night, on page 40, but also foreshadows the crime when he says, "The chill of oncoming dusk shivered through the air, and though the sky was still deep blue, lengthening shadows emanated from the garden's tall chrysanthemum stalks..."(40). The reader gets a sense of danger coming from the description of the ending day, and can guess the sense foreshadows the terrible actions of Dick and Perry, that ends the lives for the Clutter family.
ReplyDeleteIn Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, the use of different rhetorical strategies are obviously prevelant. For example, Capote compares the town of Holcomb to several different ideas as he says, "Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the place of exceptional happenings, had never stopped there." (5). Capite utilizes this simile to provide the reader with a better understanding of the setting. Holcomb Kansas is not a tourist destination or even a place people stop to get gas, instead Holcomb is a quiet town that both people and drama overlook. This simile does in fact achieve it's purpose.
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DeleteTruman Capote uses many rhetorical strategies, one that I noticed was towards the end of page 41, ""And that," he was to testify the next day, "was the last I seen them. Nancy leading old Babe off to the barn. Like I said, nothing out of the ordinary" (41). This was the last time Mr. Helm saw Nancy, Kenyon and Mr. Clutter. Capote describes the day as "ordinary" and that foreshadows the future events. Everybody has had a great day and then feels like something bad is going to happen to ruin it. This quote gives the reader the same feeling, that since the day was so normal and "ordinary" that something bad was going to be coming soon.
ReplyDeleteTruman Capote, as many people have stated, uses the rhetorical strategy foreshadowing in the exposition of "In cold blood". Capote states, "Though he was a good sentry, alert, ever ready to raise Cain, his valor had one flaw: let him glimpse a gun, as he did now - for the intruders were armed - and his head dropped, his tail turned in"(13). The information that Capote gives the readers in this quote shows the reader just how helpless the Clutter family was due to the family dogs fear of guns. When reading this quote the reader can imagine the Clutter family acting much like the family dog, "with [their] heads down, [their] tails turned in."
ReplyDeleteAs previously stated above, Truman Capote uses a simile early in the book, “Like the water of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellows trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shape for exceptional happenings, had never stopped there” (5). Here Capote uses the simile to show how the "waters" and "trains" never came to the town and didn't bring the change and problems with it. This is setting up how the citizens will react because it tells how they have never been around this type of situation.
ReplyDeleteAs said before, Capote uses several similes in his book. This is an effective rhetorical strategy to use, especially when describing all of the different things around Holcomb. For example, when he describes the odd moods of Mrs. Clutter, "the pattern of postnatal depression repeated itself, and fallowing the birth of her son, the mood of misery that descended never altogether lifted; it lingered like a cloud that might rain or might not" (27). Capote is showing us that not everything was perfect in Holcomb. It is almost like Mrs. Clutter's cloud of misery will rain on the rest of the town and never leave.
ReplyDeleteTruman Capote used many rhetorical strategies to express the village of Holcomb. One he frequently uses is foreshadowing. On page 20, Nancy is talking to her friend, Susan, when Susan says, "Everything will change, whether you want it to or not" (20). Capote uses that line specifically to use a play on words and tell the reader that something will change in Holcomb even if the townspeople did not want it. He is basically foreshadowing what is to come later on in the book which is a major change for Holcomb and no one could ever imagine something so terrible happening to this little town in Kansas.
ReplyDeleteCapote uses many rhetoric strategies throughout In Cold Blood. One of the devices he uses is foreshadowing. For example, in part one Capote uses the letter Willie-Jay writes to Perry saying, "Mercifully, a bullet kills its victim" (44). This is a very discrete way of hinting at what is to come next for the Clutter family. Although Willie-Jay was talking about Perry's frustration and resentment as bullets metaphorically, Capote uses it more than that. It is known that the Clutters were murdered at gunpoint; this being known this line makes for great foreshadowing for the Clutters demise.
ReplyDeleteTruman Capote in the first part of his novel has set the tone, but in many cases it changes throughout. One way he does this is by using the letter that Willie-Jay wrote to Perry. Wille-Jay writes, "But these are dreadful enemies you carry within yourself-- in time destructive as bullets. Mercifully, a bullet kills a victim. This other bacteria, permitted to age, does not kill a man but leaves in its wake the hulk of a creature torn and twisted.." (44). The mood from before this statement was striking, and once he states this it turns to a more unpleasant mood. This letter reveals more about Perry, and his feelings. Throughout the rest of the letter, Wille-Jay describes Perry through metaphors. The tone of each reading depends on the word choice that Capote decides upon, and the description of the scenes and people.
ReplyDeleteAs many people said earlier, foreshadowing is a big part in Truman Capote's writing. An example of foreshadowing is on page 30, “Now, on this final day of her life, Mrs. Clutter hung in the closet the calico house dress she had been wearing, and put in one of her trailing nightgowns ad a fresh set of white socks” (30). The quote says "on this final day of her life" and that foreshadows that Mrs. Clutter is going to die. It is hinting at the future events coming to the Clutter family later that day.
ReplyDeleteMany different rhetorical strategies are used in the beginning of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. One of the strategies he uses is foreshadowing on page thirty, “A bookmark lay between its pages, a stiff piece of watered silk upon which an admonition had been embroidered: ‘Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is’” (30). This quote is foreshadowing that the Clutter family is going to die. The phrase that is embroidered onto Mrs. Clutters bookmark says that we never know when we are going to die. It is also ironic that this is probably the last thing Mrs. Clutter read. Capote pays attention to detail which in this case creates foreshadowing. He includes this quote to keep the reader interested as well as build suspense.
ReplyDeleteTruman Capote uses several rhetorical strategies to engage his audience throughout his book, In Cold Blood. An example being foreshadowing. On page 47, Capote describes Mr. Clutter experiencing a "solemn moment" as he purchases a life insurance policy. Capote writes, "The mood of a man insuring his life is not unlike that of a man signing his will; thoughts of mortality must occur" (47). Not only does this detail foreshadow the murder of Mr. Clutter (and his family), but it is also ironic that he is considering death as his fate approaches. The use of these and other rhetorical strategies keep the reader interested.
ReplyDeleteIn Part 1 of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood," readers see a very extended and detailed exposition of the Clutters and their murderers. This part of the story is very important because it, of course, introduces the characters but, more importantly, it adds an impression on readers that has been used countless times in notable thriller movies and books: suspense. This is the sole element that keeps readers engrossed in the novel. If not for it, many people would abandon the book for lack of interest. Going right along with suspense is the primary rhetorical strategy used in Part 1, which is foreshadowing. It is used abundantly to develop the suspense. A sole example of this can be found early on in this quote for the text, “Then, touching the brim of his cap, he headed home and the day’s work, unaware that it would be his last.” (13). This quote, referring to Mr. Herb Clutter, foreshadows the man’s eventual death that is to later come. These subtle premonitions entice readers and keep them interested in what will happen next.
ReplyDeleteIt is important for the reader to know about the town and it's inhabitants before anything happens so that when it does happen, the reader can better understand how it effects the town and its' people. Like many people before have said, Truman Capote uses a lot of forshadowing in part one. At the beginning of "In Cold Blood," Capote uses diction to forshadow, "But then, in the earliest hours of that morning in November, a Sunday morning, certain foreign sounds impinged on the normal nightly Holcomb noises--on the keening hysteria of coyotes, the dry scrap ofscuttling tumbleweed, the racing, receding wail of locomotice whistles," (5). Capote cleverly uses words like "keening," "wail," and "hysteria" because they are all words that have a bad conotation, and is asociated with something when it goes wrong. Even the word "keening" means a wail for the dead. These words help forshadow that someone (or multiple people as we know) are going to die and it is going to have an effect on the town and people in it. This quote also helps to set a mysterious, erie tone to the story and add suspense, like Kara said, to the beginning of the book to keep the reader wanting to read more and find out what happens.
ReplyDeleteIn the book, "In Cold Blood," Truman Capote uses many rhetorical strategies to describe the Clutter family and how people saw them. One of the strategies he used was dramatic irony. The audience knows the Clutters will be murdered, but none of the characters know. One of the last people to see Mr. Clutter alive, Mr. Johnson, says to Mr. Clutter, "And from the looks of you, from what the medical reports tell us, we're likely to have you around a couple of weeks more," (47). Obviously, that wasn't the case. Capote uses this line to make the reader see how others thought Mr. Clutter was in really good health and was expected to live for a while. This also makes the reader want to find out how Mr. Clutter met his untimely demise.
ReplyDeleteTruman Capote uses many rhetorical strategies in "In Cold Blood". I noticed this especially at the beginning when we was describing the town. The way he describes it invokes powerful imagery. "Not that there is much to see-simply an aimless congregation of buildings divided in the center by the main-line tracks of the Santa Fe Railroad, a haphazard bounded on the south by a brown stretch of the Arkansas River..." (3). He paints a perfect picture of this small town so that his audience can see it in their minds, and it reinforces the fact that this small town is very ordinary. No one would expect anything like the tragedy that will happen to happen in this boring little town.
ReplyDeleteIn Truman Capote's novel, "In Cold Blood," he effectively uses many rhetorical strategies to describe the Clutter family and Holcomb, Kansas. One strategy he uses well is irony. Irony is used when Mrs. Ashida tells Herb Clutter, "I can't imagine you afraid. No matter what happened, you'd talk your way out of it"(36). This is ironic because we, as the reader, know the outcome of the story. Herb Clutter gets into a situation in which he is very afraid and tries to talk his way out of but fails in the end. Capote includes this to show how good of a person Mr. Clutter was and how other people in the community viewed him.
ReplyDeleteAs stated above Capote writes about how well everything was going for the Clutter's right before the time of the murder. Therefore he is foreshadowing the horrible event that will soon take place. He also talks about the the beautiful Autumn they are having and then goes on to explain the "evils that the remaining seasons bring"(10). Capote could also be using this to foreshadow and give the reader a hint about the terrible evil that will soon occur.
ReplyDeleteTruman Capote uses many rhetorical devices that effectively describes the Clutter family and their hometown. Getting to know the Clutters and their background adds a lot of emotion prior to the murder. Previously mentioned before, foreshadowing is used to help relay details in a more dramatic way. Capote foreshadowed,"...,she set out the clothes she intended to wear to church the next morning:nylons, black pumps, a red velveteen dress-her prettiest, which she herself had made. It was the dress in which she was to be buried"(56). This foreshadows the tragic death of Nancy Clutter the next day. It has a lasting effect on the audience because Capote connects one of Nancy's prettiest creations to her death.
ReplyDeleteIn Part 1 of Truman Capote's novel, "In Cold Blood," Capote uses a multitude of rhetorical strategies. A strategy that stuck out while reading was Capote's use of repetition. When Dick and Perry finally arrive in Holcomb, Capote uses repetition in the phrase, "This is it, this is it, this has to be it, there's the garage, now we turn south... This is it, this has to be it," (57). The phrase is simple yet has a tremendous effect upon the reader. "This is it" is repeated five times within a couple of sentences. The reader already knows the fate of the Clutter family and as Dick and Perry continue to close in on Holcomb, the suspense rises as the reader waits for what is known to come. Capote's use of repetition tells the reader that it is time; the robbery and murder of the Clutter family is about to happen. The suspense has peaked and the reader continues to read to find out how the bloodshed commences. Truman Capote's use of repetition works beautifully as it begins to peak the suspense and grasps the reader's attention to keep the reader reading.
ReplyDeleteTruman Capote often uses similes to compare and contrast scenes and characters in the introduction to Holcomb, Kansas but one comparison stands out in particular. The description of Perry Smith is strange in that he had a wight lifter's torso but delicate woman-like feet. Capote uses a simile when describing him stating "...[Perry] suddenly looked, strutting on stunted legs that seemed grotesquely inadequate to the grown-up bulk they supported, not like a well-built truck driver but like a retired jockey, overblown and muscle-bound" (15). This characterizes Perry as a man who stands out in town and is awkward. The image of what Perry looks like sticks to the readers' minds and they are not soon to forget him.
ReplyDeleteIn Truman Capote's, "In Cold Blood," Capote introduces Holcomb in Part 1. Capot introduces all about Holcomb's lifestyle and the people who live there because he wants the readers to truly understand the life of these people from this small town. On page 1, Capote states, " ...a white cluster of grain elevators rising as gracefully as Greek temples," (1). When Capote says this he is really wanting the reader to connect and understand the beauty of these elevators. He understands, for he lived in a big city, that not all people may know what grain elevators. So, Capote using a simile, compares the grain elevators to something that most if not all people could connect with. Capote really wants the readers to be able to visualize this small town.
ReplyDeleteIn his book, In Cold Blood, Capote uses many rhetorical strategies to describe the background of the characters and the setting of Holcomb. One of the strategies he uses is foreshadowing when he is describing how Perry, one of the murderers, can change his expression. Capote states, "a tilt of the head, a twist of the lips, and the corrupt gypsy became the gentle romantic"(16). This is used as a way to foreshadow Perry trying to deceive the cops into believing that he did not commit the murders.
ReplyDeleteWriting and reading are studied in depth and enjoyed by many people because they can convey emotions and reactions to events to other people. By changing one's perception to a desired view (putting yourself in someone else's "shoes"), one can fully understand a situation, and learn from it. The beginning of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood is all exposition for this exact reason. By providing the reader with an abundance of context, he or she will be able to interpret situations from all character's points of view, and also see the happenings as an outsider looking in. Capote wants the reader to become a part of the story and develope their own feelings based on (what are hopefully unbiased) facts. Capote uses many comparisons, such as similes, to help the reader understand the town of Holcomb, its residents, and what the residents' lives were like prior to and leading up to the murder of the Clutter family. One thing Capote must show the reader is what the Clutter family was like so the reader can understand the shock of the murder and how their absence affected the town. He effectively displays the characterization of one of the Clutter family members, Nancy, using a simile. On page 19, he describes the girl's eyes as, "darkly translucent, like ale held to the light, that made her immediately likable, that at once announced her lack of suspicion, her considered and yet so easily triggered kindliness" (19). Through the rhetorical strategy used to describe a physical trait, Capote also brilliantly shows that Nancy had a uniqueness in her emotional and spiritual side as well. Her eyes were dark but deep and loving. Capote shows that Nancy was the purest form of kind, so pure that one could physically see it in her by only looking into her eyes. This gives the reader the sense of understanding for Nancy as a person, creates a small bond, and shows the devastation behind her death.
ReplyDeleteTruman Capote uses many rhetorical strategies to enhance his novel, "In Cold Blood". When he describes what Holcomb, Kansas is not, Capote says "the water of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shape for exceptional happenings, had never stopped there"(5). Capote is trying to recognize that the drama never actually reaches Holcomb. The repetition "of the" describes the events that happen around Holcomb, but never in the town itself. This use of repetition creates multiple images for the reader throughout the novel.
ReplyDelete"In Cold Blood", by Truman Capote, depicts the brutal murder of four innocent family members and the consequences that not only the murderers faced but the townspeople as well. As a true-crime novel, Capote sought to build suspense (as I believe Levi wrote about) by building this foundation of who the Clutters truly were. This foundation is important as, like any well-structured building, if there is no base in place the building, as a whole will not be able to stand. Capote chose to use a repetitive rhetorical strategy in pointing out an important habit in Herb Clutter, one that would prove to be the downfall of Hickock and Smith's plan: Mr. Clutter never carried cash.
ReplyDeleteThis is repeated several times, and Capote stresses this much during the scene where Mr. Clutter is buying life insurance and the Garden City Representative says, "'Know what they say about you, Herb? Say, 'Since haircuts went to a dollar-fifty, Herb writes the barber a check"(46). This idea is again pointed out when a few sentences later, Capote states, "Like royalty, he (Clutter) was famous for never carrying cash"(46). After this, Mr. Clutter then takes a while to actually sign the check, making the insurance representative tense and the reader more aware of the check, as it is the object of attention for both the reluctant Clutter and the impatient representative. By stating this, Capote uses this repetition not only to stress a major point, but to foreshadow a coming major flaw. Indeed, this scene was extremely well thought out by Capote.
The purpose of part one is not only to provide context, but also to set the tone and create suspense for the upcoming events. For example, little details were added just to create an eerie suspenseful tone. "A bookmark lay between its pages, a stiff piece of watered silk upon which admonition had been embroidered: Take ye heed, and pray for ye know not when the time is."(30) This is a deliberate use of foreshadowing. It is making the reader think about the victims lives and minds. Part one sets up the story and explains what was happening in the clutters lives before the tragedy rather than the aftermath.
ReplyDeleteIn Truman Capote's In Cold Blood the use of rhetorical strategies help the reader understand what is going on at a greater level. Capote uses many different types of figurative language and language devices to describe the simple town of Holcomb, Kansas. But the unfortunate events that occured there were not so simple. Holcomb was the site of a home robbery gone violent when a family of four was brutally murdered by two armed thieves. Capote, in part one, very much sets out to describe the town as well as he can after blatantly saying that the family was to be murdered (Although most people already knew). One of the devices he uses is foreshadowing. Even though the foreshadowing does not directry describe the town itself it gives Holcomb and air of suspense indirectly. An example of this is when Capote is describing an avarage day of work for Mr. Clutter (the father of the family). Capote says, "Then, touching the brim of his cap, he headed for home and the days work, unaware the it would be his last." (13) Sadly, the following day is the day of the murders. Capote does a good job of giving the reader an unsettling feeling about the town after he says this. Holcomb was living it's final day as an innocent little town and Capote really made that aware to us with the rhetorical strategy he chooses to display.
ReplyDeleteCapote's work in, In Cold Blood, consist of many eerie and mysterious events that tend to leave the reader dangling from a hook. For instance, Part I is titled, The Last to See Them Alive, which immediately fills us with suspense. We wonder who was the last? This question is easily answered by Capote's use of symbolism. For example, Capote explains, "I saw Kenyon's old collie, and that dog was scared. Stood there with its tail between its legs, didn't bark or move. And seeing the dog- somehow that made me feel again. I'd been too dazed, too numb, to feel the full viciousness of it"(66). The dog symbolizes the Clutters' untold and mysterious deaths. Besides the killers, the collie was the only one to hear and possibly see the murders in action. The dog's state clearly symbolizes that the Clutters were brutally murdered and the killers were uncivilized and merciless. The dog also signifies the way the town responded to the murders, it made them scared and paranoid.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely very important that Capote explains Holcomb, Kansas to the reader. Part of what made this story so popular is the shock-factor of something so terrible happening in such a meager and friendly town. Capote begins explaining exactly how tranquil the town is on even the first page. He writes, "...horses, herds of cattle, a white cluster of grain elevators rising as gracefully as Greek temples are visible long before a traveler reaches them"(3). Capote skillfully uses this simile to compare Holcomb to a peaceful temple. Places of worship have always been thought of as nonviolent and placid, which makes what happened in Holcomb almost sacrilegious.
ReplyDeleteTruman Capote tells the reader about the town and its inhabitants to give them an inside look at what goes on in the town and between the people. Also, without this information, the reader would not understand the significance of this murder as an extraordinarily odd occurrence. Capote uses the rhetorical strategy of listing in describing the town at night. '...the keening hysteria of coyotes, the dry scrape of scuttling tumbleweed, the racing, receding wail of locomotive whistles"(5), this gives the reader an idea of Holcomb at night and the normal sounds of the night. This description provides the reader with an image of what a night in the city of Holcomb would be like and how shocking this murder must have been to the people of this quite and peaceful little town.
ReplyDeleteCapote uses many rhetoric strategies throughout In Cold Blood to help draw the reader in. Foreshadowing is one very effective strategy used to give the reader an impression of what is to come. In the letter Willie-Jay writes to Perry, Capote uses foreshadowing to reference the coming murders when Willie-Jay says, "Mercifully, a bullet kills its victim" (44). Willie-Jay was metaphorically referencing Perry's frustration, but Capote decided to use it to vaguely relate to the murders of the Clutters at gunpoint.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that in Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood", he uses listing as a rhetorical strategy quite frequently. Within the first part of the novel, he writes, "A flashlight, a fishing knife, a pair of leather gloves, and a hunting vest fully packed with shell contributed further atmosphere to this curious still life," (22). During this particular quote, Capote is describing the alibi that Dick plans to use if someone questions them. The listing draws specific attention to the details of the garments of a hunter. The use of a rhetorical strategy also keeps this alibi more prominent in the reader's mind and easier to recall.
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ReplyDeleteCapote uses rhetorical strategies in In Cold Blood to give rhythm to what would be a funeral march of a retelling of the murder of the Clutter family. One way he does this is hinting at details not yet made clear, giving the story suspense and the reader a reason to keep reading. Capote writes, "...the purpose of their [Dick and Perry] meeting was Dick's idea, his 'score.'" (14) This could be a hint as to why Dick and Perry did what they did as Dick's "score" could be referencing a robbery, as in "to score something", or a murder of revenge, as in "to settle a score".
ReplyDeleteIn Truman Capote's In Cold Blood he begins the book with paragraphs describing the town of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote uses the strategy of listing and imagery to capture the small town and hospitality Holcomb provides it's residents. Capote also uses several similes to shed light on the unusual murder that occurred. It is evident that the murder came unexpected. Specifically, Capote writes, "Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shape of exceptional happenings, had never stopped there," (5). The similes he uses explains how no people or things intentionally visits Holcomb, alike to drama. This quote tells the obvious: there tends to be no drama in Holcomb. Capote uses the strategy of similes to point out how unusual the murders of the Clutter family are and how unexpected they were. In the small town, the residents all know each other. No one locks their doors. They are friends that make up a small community and Capote foreshadows the breaking of the friendship and community.
ReplyDeleteAs stated previously, Truman Capote uses similes to set the scene. In this case, Capote had to emphasize how small and unknown this town was. By using a simile he is able to make this clear, "Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shaped of exceptional happenings, had never stopped there"(5).Using everyday scenery, Capote compares the zen attitudes of a river, highway, train, to the calm town of Holcomb. Alongside, Capote uses these three ideas to get to the main point: Holcomb was drama free. He illustrates how unexplored Holcomb was before the Clutter murder. This way readers have a better understanding of what place Holcomb was, peaceful.
ReplyDeleteAs many people have mentioned before, Truman Capote uses imagery as one of his main tools when drawing the reader in when he begins In Cold Blood. He also uses this imagery to help back up his other tools, like foreshadowing and the way he shows the tone of the text. For example, Capote writes, "Blue-furred, orange-eyes,red-fanged, a tiger snarled upon his left biceps; a spitting snake, coiled around a dagger, slithered down his arm; and elsewhere skulls gleamed, a tombstone loomed, a chrysanthemum flourished" (32). This passage alone uses listing, extremely vivid imagery and diction, and it also creates an uncomfortable tone that makes the reader feel very eerie about the situation.
ReplyDeleteIn Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, he uses many rhetorical strategies to provide the reader a sense of suspense and mystery. The strategy that stood out the most was irony. On the last day of Mr. Clutter's life he signs and makes a first payment to a new life insurance plan. Capote explains the plan as a "policy that in the event of death by accidental means paid double indemnity" (48). Of course, the reader knows that the insurance plan is pointless because Mr. Clutter's death will tragically occur the next day, and it will not be by accident.
ReplyDeleteCapote uses imagery to draw the reader in from the very start. He wanted us to see everything that he had witnessed in Holcomb, Kansas. Here is an example in where Capote uses his imagery skills to fully describe what were things like, "His mother had been a full-blooded Cherokee; it was from her that he had inherited his coloring-the iodine skin, the dark, moist eyes, the black hair, which he kept brilliantined and was plentiful enough to provide him with sideburns and a slippery spray of bangs"(16). What Capote does for his readers is he literally paints this big picture of what the base of this story is like ( Holcomb, KS) and its characters within it. This is a very brilliant way of having a reader draw themselves into this story.
ReplyDeleteThe explanation of the Clutter family really created the essence of your everyday family. The stereotypical American lifestyle people were accustomed to at the time. Also the explanation of the townsfolk made them seem tight nit, much like that of St. Jacob. This really hits home with the reader, because if this could happen in a place like Holcomb, it could happen anywhere. The quote ,""a white cluster of grain elevators rising as gracefully as Greek temples" (3) effectively shows the collection of nothing Capote is trying to describe. The place was boring, with towering grain elevators. Kansas really had nothing of major interest accept for the terrible crime looming outside its town square.
ReplyDeleteIn Truman Capote’s novel In Cold Blood, metaphor is one of Capote’s most powerful rhetorical weapons in his seemingly limitless arsenal because he wields it with great skill and expertise. One example of such weaponry is seen when he writes, “It was a changeling’s face, and mirror-guided experiments had taught him how to ring the changes, how to look now ominous, now impish, now soulful; a tilt of the head, a twist of the lips, and the corrupt gypsy became the gentle romantic,” (16). Here Capote compares Perry’s face to that of a changeling, a mystical creature that can change its appearance at will. It helps develop Perry for the reader by characterizing his self-admiring personality and appearance-altering capabilities. By characterizing Perry’s self-admiring personality and appearance-altering capabilities, Capote provides the reader with details on a character with future importance, a killer of the Clutters.
ReplyDeleteTruman Capote's In Cold Blood includes the use of many well thought out rhetorical strategies. Towards the beginning of the book, Capote writes, "Like the waters of the river, like the motorists of the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shape of exceptional happenings, have never stopped here"(5). Capote is using similes to give background information from the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. Here, he is successfully comparing the life of the people of Holcomb to water, motorists, and trains to give readers an idea on their peaceful and uninterrupted life.
ReplyDeleteThe exposition, filled with background information, is important because it explains to the reader that Holcomb was just an ordinary, small town in order for the reader to understand why so much shock came from the very unexpected murder of a family. The exposition is also important not only because it tells the reader about why the town reacted in such shock, but it also explains why the murders happened in the first place and presents the events leading up to murder from both sides of the story. To keep the reader interested in the exposition Capote creates, as mentioned before, an eerie suspenseful tone and he does this by telling the story of the victims and the murderers. In addition, he also creates this tone by using many different rhetorical strategies to capture the readers attention while setting up the scene and events of what is to come. Some of the rhetorical strategies Capote uses include similes, characterization, diction, listing, foreshadowing, imagery, personification, and many more. One example of characterization is used on page 44 when Capote states "... who in memory had grown ten feet tall, a gray-haired wise man haunting the hallways of his mind"(44). In this quote Willie-jay is characterized as being a tall, wise man in Perry's memory even though he is not. However Perry sees him this way because he idolizes Willie-Jay as a "gifted man" and he often crosses Perry's mind because he was planning to meet Willie-Jay again. In the book, around the same time Dick sent a letter to him about an opportunity but because Perry and Willie-Jay never had a reunion, Perry took Dicks offer of the "Perfect score". This then leads the reader to think if only Perry would've showed up 5 hours earlier, maybe the Clutter family wouldn't have been murdered.
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