TM
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote
SMARTER BETTER FASTER
Contributors: Brian Phillips, Jeremy Zorn, Julie Blattberg
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CONTENTS
CONTEXT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CHARACTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Last to See Them Alive: 1 of 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Last to See Them Alive: 2 of 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The Last to See Them Alive: 3 of 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Persons Unknown: 1 of 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Persons Unknown: 2 of 2 (Perry’s Background) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Answer: 1 of 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The Answer: 2 of 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
The Corner: 1 of 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The Corner: 2 of 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
STUDY QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
REVIEW AND RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Review Quiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
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Context
CONTEXT
Truman Capote (1924-1984) was one of the most notorious writers of his time. Bitter public
feuds with contemporaries such as Jackie Onassis, Norman Mailer, and Gore Vidal made
Capote more than an author. His overt homosexuality, wit, and knockout opinions kept him
on television and in magazines as a major personality.
Capote did not attend college. Instead, he published a few short stories and eventually
a first novel,Other Voices, Other Rooms, in 1948. A succession of books followed, as did
involvement with the stage and film. In 1958 he wroteBreakfast at Tiffany’s. Finally, after
almost ten years living in Europe, he returned to the United States in the late 1950s hoping
to compose what he termed "an epic nonfiction novel."
In Cold Blood was that book. In 1959, Capote noticed a small newspaper item describing
the mysterious murder of a Kansas ranch family of four. He decided that this might be
the perfect story for him to write about. Five years of intense research followed, during
which time Capote became very close to the two murderers, Richard Eugene Hickock and
Perry Edward Smith. He talked to the townspeople of Holcomb, where the murders were
committed, and nearby Garden City. He followed the police investigation and the eventual
appeals process until the execution of Hickock and Smith in 1965. During interviews he
never took notes or used a tape recorder; instead he was able to transcribe the interviews
from memory, a skill he had been practicing for years.
The result, published in January 1966, was a long and highly acclaimed novel, a success
critically and commercially. It is a favorite among schoolchildren and inmates alike. According to Capote, every word ofIn Cold Blood is true. And Capote himself never appears
in the book. He believed that the key to good journalism was making the author invisible.
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Characters
CHARACTERS
Perry Edward Smith—Along with Dick, one of the two murderers of the Clutter family. He
is a short man, with a large torso but small legs. His legs were badly injured in a motorcycle
accident. He wants very much to be educated, and he considers himself quite intelligent
and artistic. His childhood was lonely and disorganized. His criminal record seems to be a
natural extension of the strange environments in which he grew up.
Richard Eugene Hickock—Along with Perry, one of the two murderers of the Clutter
family. Also a small man, Dick grew up in Kansas, was married twice, and is jailed for
passing bad checks. He is a practical man who exudes confidence and cruelty, but in reality
he is not as ruthless or brave as he seems.
Herbert Clutter—The father of the Clutter family. His wife is Bonnie. He has four children:
two older daughters who have moved out, and Nancy and Kenyon. His large property, River
Valley Farm, keeps him moderately wealthy. Starting with little, he has built up a large,
successful farm. He is a community leader, involved with many organizations. He is a
gentle man, a strict Methodist. He served on the Federal Farm Credit Board under President
Eisenhower.
Bonnie Clutter— Herbert’s wife, Bonnie, cannot keep up with his public image as a leader,
and she withdraws into the home. Suffering depressive mental disorders, she spends a great
deal of time in bed.
Nancy Clutter—Along with Kenyon, one of the two youngest Clutter children. They both
still live at home. She is "the darling" of the town, a class president and future prom queen.
Like her father, she is very organized.
Kenyon Clutter—An awkward 15-year-old, Kenyon loves to tinker with carpentry and
machines.
Bobby Rupp— Nancy’s steady boyfriend, Bobby lives nearby.
Alvin Dewey—An investigator for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), Dewey is the
agent responsible for much of western Kansas. He becomes very involved in the case, to
the distress of his wife, Marie, and his two small boys.
Harold Nye—One of Dewey’s principal KBI assistants. Nicknamed "Brother Nye," he is
the youngest of the group. During the capture and interrogation of Smith and Hickock, he
has the flu.
Roy Church—The oldest of the KBI assistants, Church is nicknamed "Curly" and is sup-
posedly the fastest draw in Kansas.
Clarence Duntz—Another of the three KBI assistants, Duntz is a burly man with a broad
face.
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Characters
Tex John Smith— Perry’s father, Tex is a kindly backwoodsman who taught Perry to bake
bread, but who never comes to see his son in jail. Perry’s mother is Flo Buckskin, who Tex
met and married on the rodeo circuit.
Susan Kidwell— Nancy’s best friend, Susan lives in Holcomb.
Willie-Jay—Assistant to the chaplain of Lansing, the Kansas state prison, Willie-Jay be-
comes a kind of mentor to Perry. He tells Perry that he is talented.
Floyd Wells—An inmate at Lansing prison. After Perry leaves on parole, he became Dick’s
cellmate. He is a former employee of Herbert Clutter, and he tells Dick about the ranch and
the layout of the house.
Lowell Lee Andrews—Andrews was a young college student who murdered his family.
He is a schizophrenic. Several of his years on death row overlap with those of Dick and
Perry. Perry resents the fact that Andrews is highly educated.
Mr. Helms—An employee of River Valley Farm.
Alfred Stoecklein—An employee of River Valley Farm. He and his wife live on the property.
Bess Hartman—The proprietor of Hartman’s Cafe. She has a thick skin and scolds her
customers when they gossip too much about the Clutter murders.
Barbara Johnson—Perry’s only living sister. She lives in San Francisco and is married.
Don Cullivan—An old army friend of Perry’s who starts a correspondence with him upon
reading about the case in the newspaper.
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Summary
SUMMARY
Herbert Clutter inspects his ranch on the morning of November 14, 1959. That same
morning, on the other side of Kansas, Perry Smith meets up with Dick Hickock. While
the Clutters go about their daily business, running errands and baking apple pies, Hickock
and Smith are tuning their car. After a long drive, they pull up to the Clutter home with a
shotgun and knife in hand.
That morning, the bodies are discovered by Susan Kidwell and another of Nancy’s
friends. Initially, the police are baffled. Bobby Rupp is a suspect until he passes a lie
detector test. Alvin Dewey, the KBI agent in charge of the investigation, thinks that the
killer must be someone close to the family. Rumor sets the small town of Holcomb on fire.
Hartman’s Cafe is the center of numerous theories.
Meanwhile, Perry and Dick have returned to Dick’s hometown of Olathe. Dick passes
some hot checks, and the two flee to Mexico. Perry has always dreamed of finding sunken
treasure in Mexico. While the investigation in Kansas begins to methodically follow up
dead end leads, Perry and Dick spend some time entertaining a rich German tourist before
they run out of money in Mexico City. While packing to return to the states, Perry goes
through his personal belongings and remembers his childhood. His mother and father rode
the rodeo circuit until they had a falling out. Perry was passed from home to home as a
child. Now, two of his three siblings have killed themselves.
The investigation of the Clutter murders seems to be heading nowhere. However, a man
in the Kansas state prison at Lansing, Floyd Wells, hears of the murder case. Sure that Dick
Hickock is responsible, he begins to think of talking to the authorities. Meanwhile, Dick
and Perry are hitchhiking in the American desert. They try to steal a car, but fail. By this
time, Floyd has confessed, and Dewey and his team are beginning an elaborate manhunt.
Before they are caught, Dick and Perry steal a car, return to Kansas City, pass more
hot checks, and take up residence in Miami. They eventually backtrack to Las Vegas,
where a policewoman recognizes their license plate number. Dick confesses after intense
questioning, and Perry follows suit. The trial goes smoothly, and the two are condemned to
death.
During a five-year appeals process, Dick and Perry languish in Death Row. Perry tries
to starve himself while Dick writes letters to various appeals organization. They are kept
company by various appalling criminals. When death comes, Dick is awkward and Perry
is remorseful.
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Analysis
ANALYSIS
Capote wroteIn Cold Blood as a literary experiment. He wanted to write a "nonfiction
novel." He felt that he was one of the rare creative people who actually took journalism
seriously. The question is whether a book such asIn Cold Blood is actually a novel, a
creative work, or journalism.
We can pinpoint several artistic aspects ofIn Cold Blood. First, Capote has to make
choices about the structure of the book. Capote chose a starting and ending point, and in
between he choose the order and subject matter of the chapters. In the first section, "The Last
to See Them Alive," chapters on the activities of the Clutter family alternate with chapters
on the preparations for murder being made by Hickock and Smith. Reading about Nancy
Clutter baking an apple pie and then reading about the killers’ tattoos creates a montage,
contrasting subsequent images to create a specific impression. No newspaper article would
have such a creative structure.
WhenIn Cold Blood was first published in January 1966, Hickock and Smith had been
dead for less than a year. The murder and trial had garnered big headlines, and many readers
probably knew the details of the novel before they began reading it. Capote had to make
it interesting even to people who knew the outcome–the book had to be good literature as
well as be informative and accurate. The novel is saturated with details that would never
have been included in a newspaper. Moreover, the details are carefully picked. Knowing
that Capote compiled 8,000 pages of research, the book seems to be a very carefully edited
selection of facts and descriptions. For example, very little is said about the two older
Clutter daughters, although Capote doubtless interviewed them. He left them out for artistic
reasons. This shows that the facts of the Clutter case were the building blocks for what was
ultimately a creative work.
In arranging the facts of the Clutter case into a novel, Capote gave them a number of
meanings. Not only are some of Capote’s opinions apparent–as in the case of his opposition
to the death penalty–but the novel itself has several major themes. First, it is a commentary
on the American Dream. Herb Clutter has made a wonderful life for himself–his daughter,
after all, bakes apple pies. But Herb Clutter’s American idyll is abruptly and arbitrarily
shattered by two petty criminals. The American dream is fragile, and it only functions if
marginal people (ex-cons) are not present.
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Summary and Analysis
SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS
The Last to See Them Alive: 1 of 3
Summary
Holcomb is a small town on the high plains of western Kansas. Herbert Clutter owns a farm
in the area, River Valley Farm. On November 14, 1959, he wakes up, eats a light breakfast,
and begins the day’s work. It will be his last.
On the other side of the state, Perry Smith eats a breakfast of aspirin and cigarettes. His
friend Dick Hickock comes to pick him up.
Back at the Clutter household, a phone call wakes Nancy Clutter. A local girl wants to
learn how to make apple pies. Nancy rearranges her schedule to make time. Her friend Susan
also calls. They talk about Nancy’s date with Bobby the previous night and how Herb Clutter
wants Nancy to slow down their relationship. Nancy also mentions that, inexplicably, she
has been smelling cigarette smoke. Also, her father seems to be worried about something.
Dick is driving a black Cadillac. He and Perry take it to the shop where Dick works,
where they tune the car, preparing for a long drive.
Nancy has finished teaching Jolene Katz how to bake apple pies. She leaves, and Bonnie
Clutter talks with the girl. She shows Jolene her collection of miniatures. After Jolene leaves
she goes to bed, very depressed, as usual.
Perry and Dick are getting cleaned up for their drive. Dick is athletic but small; Perry has
a muscular upper body, but his legs were badly damaged in a motorcycle wreck. They are
both tattooed–Dick in many places, Perry only in a few places, but his tattoos are polished
and intricate.
Four hundred miles away, Herb Clutter is driving Mrs. Ashida home from a 4-H meeting.
The meeting was in Garden City, a small city close to Holcomb. Mrs. Ashida and her young
family are new to Holcomb, but they may have to move. Herb hopes that they do not move.
Commentary
The killers approach Holcomb, while the Clutters go about their wholesome, everyday
business. This sequence is crafted so as to heighten the sense of suspense. Capote shifts
quickly from scene to scene. It is like a film in which the scene shifts between simultaneous
events in different places. The reader knows that the Clutters are going to die, but the
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Summary and Analysis
Clutters are blissfully ignorant of this fact. Capote capitalizes on this irony. At the end of
almost each chapter about the Clutters, Capote writes that this will be their last day, their
last apple pie, etc.
It is obvious that Capote is the narrator, because the narrator is obviously more sophisticated than many of the characters in the book. His descriptions sound almost like
anthropological investigations; he is aloof from his subjects. Although Capote had a rural childhood, his cosmopolitan experience comes through clearly as he describes "local
color." In many ways, he is an urban sophisticate giving us a voyeuristic window into the
"heartland" of America.
The Last to See Them Alive: 2 of 3
Summary
Driving across the state, Dick and Perry stop to buy rubber gloves and rope. Perry suggests
buying stockings to wear over their heads, but Dick reminds him that no witnesses will
survive.
Kenyon Clutter is in the basement recreational room, working on a hope chest for one
of his older sisters. Kenyon is fifteen; he is interested in cars and tinkering with inventions,
but not in girls. He and his best friend sometimes go out in his car, the Coyote Wagon,
to round up coyotes. Kenyon goes outside and speaks to Mr. Helms, the husband of the
housekeeper. They note that an insurance salesman is visiting Mr. Clutter.
Dick and Perry have paused once again, this time to try to get black stockings at a
convent. Perry remembers the real reason he came to Kansas, which for him is a parole
violation. He had hoped to meet up with Willie-Jay, who was a kind of religious mentor to
him when he was in prison. Not finding Willie-Jay, he agreed to do a "score" with Dick.
Back at River Valley Farm, Mr. Clutter makes a deal for a large life insurance plan. The
agent leaves with the first payment in his pocket.
Driving down the highway, Perry is playing songs on his guitar and the two are sharing
a bottle of orange drink and vodka.
The next Monday, Bobby Rupp describes his last night with the Clutters to the police.
He went over to the Clutters home and watched TV with the family. At eleven, he left.
Dick and Perry have a steak dinner. They move on to Garden City, where they buy a
tank of gas. Perry’s legs cause him great pain, and he spends a long time in the bathroom,
trying to find the strength to stand up again. Dick thinks that his partner must be having
second thoughts.
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11
Summary and Analysis
Nancy, in her bedroom, makes an entry in her diary.
Dick and Perry pull up to the Clutter home.
Commentary
In Cold Blood is divided into small chapters. In this part of the narrative, Capote uses the
short chapter lengths to their full effect–the chapters come quicker, like brief, alternating
glances as Dick and Perry near the River Valley Farm. This heightens the sense of simultaneity. It is as if the mind’s eye were quickly toggling back and forth between a view of
the Clutter home and one of the approaching black Cadillac, trying not to miss a thing.
Capote makes the most of the fact that he is telling a true story. To describe Billy’s visit
to the Clutter home, he simply uses Billy’s testimony. He is calling attention to the fact that
this is a true story. The factuality of his story becomes something like a gimmick.
As the killers race toward Holcomb, Capote sketches the developing working relationship between Dick and Perry. Perry wants to tell Dick about his dream that a giant parrot
will come and rescue him, but Dick ignores him. Dick is practical; he does not understand
the romantic side of Perry. Also, he underestimates Perry. Dick thinks that Perry may be
having second thoughts when in fact he is trying to overcome excruciating pain so that he
can carry on.
The Last to See Them Alive: 3 of 3
Summary
Nancy Ewalt, a schoolmate of Nancy Clutter, comes to the house the next morning. No one
answers, so she and her father go to ask Susan Kidwell if she knows anything. Together,
they return to the house and find the bodies.
The local mail messenger, Sadie Truitt, sees ambulances approaching the Clutter farm.
Soon, she and her daughter (who is also the postmistress) Myrtle Clare hear news of the
murders over the radio. Myrt is cynical about the news, but they are both shocked.
That morning the news was announced from Sunday morning church pulpits and over
the radio. Many men converged on Hartman’s Cafe, where Bess Hartman realizes that the
killer was probably someone she knows, someone from the town. Susan and Bobby Rupp
are hysterical.
Meanwhile, Perry is sleeping in a hotel, while Dick has sat down to dinner with his
family. He told them that he and Perry were going to visit Perry’s sister in Fort Scott. After
dinner, Dick falls asleep, exhausted.
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12
Summary and Analysis
Commentary
Capote wisely leaves out the murder scene. Later, when the killers finally confess, Capote
simply includes their description of what happened. Of course, he could have included those
descriptions here, but that would detract from the novel. One of the most important plot
elements of the novel is the race to discover who the killers are. And for the reader there is
the mystery of exactly how the murders took place. Capote leaves the details of the murder
out of the book, encouraging the reader to guess exactly what happened, as in a detective
novel. He also chooses not to reveal the motive for the crime until the killers confess.
The final chapters of "The Last to See Them Alive" describe Holcomb’s reaction to
the murders. The main characters of the first chapters of the novel, Dick and Perry and
the Clutters, recede, and various citizens of Holcomb come to the fore. Although Dick
and Perry will remain important throughout the novel, they are not the heroes or even the
anti-heroes of the novel, in the traditional sense of the word. Instead of having heroes, this
"nonfiction novel" focuses on whatever figures are relevant to the murder case at any given
time. For now, the public’s reaction is important. Later, the focus will shift to the police.
Persons Unknown: 1 of 2
Summary
A group of Mr. Clutter’s old hunting buddies goes to clean up the house, considering it their
"Christian duty." Meanwhile, the KBI, begins its investigation. Alvin Dewey is in charge.
Dewey has no clues, save for a footprint and a missing radio. He suspects more than one
murderer was involved. He is unsure of motive, because there was little money in the house
that could be stolen. Also, he guesses that the murderers were close to the family because
they seem to have known the layout of the house. Mr. Clutter was tied down in the furnace
room, his neck was slit, and he was shot in the head. Kenyon was tied down to a couch in
the basement rec room and shot, while Nancy and Mrs. Clutter were tied down and shot in
their respective beds.
Paranoia and mistrust spread through Holcomb. The Clutters were perhaps the most
secure, upstanding family in the community. No one now feels safe.
In the town of Olathe, Perry and Dick are eating in a diner. Dick has a ravenous appetite,
but Perry eats little. He is worried that they will be caught. He gets Dick to admit that he
had some incorrect information.
Susan Kidwell attends the Clutter funeral service. She remembers Nancy and her pet
horse, Babe. She sees Nancy in her coffin, her head surrounded with cotton. A thousand
people attend the funeral.
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13
Summary and Analysis
Dick and Perry move from shop to shop in Olathe, writing hot checks, and sometimes
getting cash back. Soon their car is full of items that they can pawn.
Back in Holcomb, Dewey cannot sleep because his phone is constantly wringing. Everyone has a "tip," and each tip must be thoroughly investigated. His wife, Marie, wonders
if they will ever have a normal life again.
The younger of the two surviving daughters is married on the next weekend. Her
wedding had been planned for the following month, but as the entire family was already
in Holcomb, the wedding date was changed. Also, a letter from Bonnie Clutter’s brother,
Mr. Fox, appears in the local paper, asking the townspeople to forgive whoever killed the
Clutter family.
Perry and Dick are standing on a mountain outside of Mexico. Perry admits to Dick
that he is surprised he was able to go through with the killings. Previously, he had told Dick
that he once killed a black man for no reason, but this was a lie. As they continue on their
drive, Dick continually swerves to kill stray dogs.
Back in Holcomb, the journalists have left, but gossip still thrives in Hartman’s Cafe.
One resident, a Mr. McCoy, has decided to move away, because his wife is so scared she
cannot sleep. The Ashida family is also leaving.
Commentary
This is the beginning of the hunt for the killers. It will occupy most of the book, and seems
the most open-ended section of the novel, even though it is in the middle. The main plot
lines at this point involve Perry and Dick’s ability to get along and remain solvent, and
Dewey’s attempt to solve the mystery.
Perry and Dick have a peculiar relationship. Perry worries about getting caught, and
this upsets Dick, yet in many ways, Perry is the more responsible of the two. Perry and
Dick eventually become very poor because Dick is bad with money–he spends it on drinks
and prostitutes. Dick pretends to be levelheaded, especially when Perry begins to discuss
his dreams of the giant parrot, but Dick is responsible for getting the pair into trouble. After
all, he invented the Clutter scheme.
Dewey becomes a very important character. In many ways, Dewey symbolically represents Capote. Like Capote, Dewey becomes very involved in researching the case. His
desk fills up with notebooks. He loses himself in the case to the point that he cannot sleep.
The same things happened to Capote, who felt psychologically damaged after completing
the book. One is reminded of Dewey’s wife’s question about whether his life will ever be
normal again.
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14
Summary and Analysis
Persons Unknown: 2 of 2 (Perry’s Background)
Summary
Dick and Perry are in a small boat off the Mexican coast. They have befriended a rich
German tourist named Otto, who has taken them out fishing. Perry sings and plays guitar,
while Dick complains of a headache. It is Otto’s last day, and the now-penniless killers will
soon return to Mexico City. Just as the sun begins to set, Perry catches a giant sailfish. He
is photographed with the fish, and he looks like he has arrived in the promised land.
Mr. Helms is still keeping up the grounds of the Clutter farm. One afternoon, he thinks
he sees a face in Bonnie Clutter’s window. He calls the police. They find Jonathan Daniel
Adrian, a vagrant who has been living in the house. He has a shotgun and a hunting knife
in his car, so he is arrested.
Dick and Perry are living in a hotel in Mexico City. They have run entirely out of money
and must leave the hotel by 2 p.m. to avoid another day’s charges. Perry must decide what
to take with him on the bus back to America. Since Olathe, he has been moving around with
two large boxes of personal effects. They hold tacky souvenirs, old letters, and notebooks.
He sorts through them, picking out things to take. He finds a letter from his father, Tex
John Smith, essentially a biography of Perry’s childhood sent to the prison to help him get
an early parole. In it, his father emphasizes that Perry was a "normal" child, and that he is
"goodhearted" if he is treated right. He says that Perry does have a tendency to rebel against
authority.
The letter, especially the way it leaves out certain details and is generally self-righteous,
fills Perry with self-pity, love, and hate. Perry remembers watching his parents, "Tex &
Flo," ride bucking horses at rodeos. He remembers his parents’ divorce, how he went to
stay with his mother and tried to run away to his father but was turned away. He remembers
ending up in a Catholic orphanage, where nurses beat him because he wet the bed. Finally,
his father took him in and he finished the third grade, the last schooling he ever got.
His father built a mobile home and the two traveled the country together. Perry joined
the merchant marine when he was 16 and the army after that. He was on his way to join
his father in Alaska after finishing his service, but a motorcycle wreck delayed him in
Washington State for a year. He helped his father build a roadside lodge, but it never gained
much business. He and his father began to starve, and they have a falling out over the last
biscuit. He headed for Massachusetts, where he planned to meet up with an old army man,
but along the way he fell in with "bad company" and robbed an office supply store in Kansas.
They were arrested, but Perry escaped in a stolen car. He went to Massachusetts, but failed
to find his friend. He moved to New York for a while, but eventually the Federal Bureau
of Investigation caught up with him and brought him back to jail in Kansas–where he met
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15
Summary and Analysis
Dick. By this time, his mother had died, his brother Jimmy had killed himself, and his sister
Fern had "fallen" out of a window. He finds a letter that his remaining sister Barbara wrote
him while he was in jail. It scolds Perry for feeling sorry for himself and for blaming their
father and his childhood for his troubles. Perry loathes his sister.
Perry also finds an interpretation of his sister’s letter, written by his prison friend WillieJay. In quasi-intellectual language, Wille-Jay writes that Barbara is obviously a conformist.
He writes that it shows she is full of human frailings. The interpretation is full of quotations
from Barbara’s letter. Perry also finds some of his own notebooks. One is a "dictionary" of
odd words that Perry has learned, such as "Thanatoid" or "Depridate." Another is a kind of
diary that includes odd facts and quotations. All this time, Dick has been making love on
the other bed to Inez, a prostitute he has promised to marry.
Dewey has been working very hard on the case, almost to the point of exhaustion. He
is on his way to check over River Valley Farm, a habit of his. On the way, he stops at
Hartman’s Cafe, where some citizens harass him, asking him to arrest somebody soon so
their wives will stop being afraid.
Dick and Perry are hitchhiking in the Mojave Desert. They have almost nothing. They
are waiting for a car that they can rob.
Commentary
The huge chapter on Perry’s background is the longest of the book. It reflects the fact that
Perry is the most well-developed character in the novel. Capote reports that of the two
prisoners, each of whom he interviewed countless times, he was closer to Perry. This is
a considerable statement when one takes into account the fact another Capote statement.
Before they were executed, he claimed, he was closer to Perry and Dick than to anyone else
in the world.
We learn much about Perry. In the first place, it is very eccentric to carry around so much
memorabilia, a tendency that seems to indicate a romantic narcissism. His notebooks reveal
that he considers himself an intellectual. The recorded quotes and thoughts are generally
trite, and the words in his "dictionary" are Latinate monsters too cumbersome to ever use.
The language of Willie-Jay is similar. Perry holds Willie-Jay in the highest esteem, but
Willie-Jay’s letter is full of needlessly big words, and the fact that he wrote an interpretation
of Barbara’s letter for Perry exhibits a condescending attitude. One wonders how Capote
felt, giving the reader information that would reveal Perry’s lack of education.
However, Willie-Jay is correct in noting the antagonism in Barbara’s letter. She certainly
does not feel friendly toward Perry. After this chapter, one feels a great deal of sympathy,
even though he is a murderer. He has almost no one left. He has fallen out with his father,
and his sister has probably written him out of her will. The rest of his family is dead.
Furthermore, Perry’s most recent crime seems to flow from previous events. The first time
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16
Summary and Analysis
he committed a felony, it was at someone else’s suggestion, as in this case. Perry has always
been a wanderer, moving from home to home. He has no roots to ground him, and clings
to Dick simply because he is there. Dick, on the other hand, has a family and feels more
independent.
Answer: 1 of 2
Floyd Wells hears news of the Clutter murders over the radio while reclining in his jail
cell. He is shocked. He never thought Dick Hickock, his former roommate, would go
through with his plans. Wells, a former River Valley Farm employee, told Hickock of the
Clutter fortune, and Hickock bragged that he and Perry would steal it. He waits for several
weeks and then, about the time Dick and Perry are hitchhiking, Wells nervously reports this
information to the authorities.
Alvin Dewey enters his home to find his wife preparing dinner. He listens to her for a
while, then breaks the news, showing her mug shots of the two men. He is very excited.
Harold Nye, another KBI agent assigned to the Clutter case, visits the home of Dick
Hickock’s family. He doesn’t mention the Clutter case, and leads Dick’s parents to believe
that he is interested in Dick’s spree of hot checks. He learns that Dick supposedly visited
Fort Scott on the weekend of the murders, and he spots a shotgun leaning against the wall.
Still hitchhiking, Dick and Perry finally get a ride with a lone man who seems fairly
well-to-do. Just as Dick gives Perry the symbol to club the driver’s head with a rock, the
driver sees another hitchhiker and pulls over to pick him up, blissfully ignorant of almost
being killed.
Nye goes to Las Vegas, where he speaks to Perry’s old landlord. She is not much help,
but he does find a box of memorabilia that Perry left behind.
Nye visits Barbara in San Francisco. Her children and husband are playing in the back
yard, and she is expecting guests. She reports that she has not heard from Perry and would
report it if she did. Later that night she settles down with a photo album and remembers
how her love for Perry waned and how he always blamed her for having an education.
Now in Iowa, Dick and Perry take refuge from the rain in a barn by the highway. Dick
wants to return to Kansas City, because he is sure he can pass some checks there. In the
barn, they find a 1956 Chevy with the key in the ignition. They steal it.
Dewey is careful to keep Wells’ confession a secret. There are a few rumors in Garden
City, but none in Holcomb, where the murders have become a forbidden subject in Hartman’s
Cafe.
Perry is nervously sitting in a laundromat in Kansas City. Dick dropped him off and
promised to return. He is late. Perry is haunted by visions of police. Finally, Dick returns,
having switched the license plate on the car and passed several big checks.
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Summary and Analysis
Dewey is having a nightmare. He walks into a cafe and sees the killers. They leap
through the plate glass window and he chases after them. He wakes up in his office. As he
gets ready to leave, he gets a phone call. It is Nye, reporting that Dick Hickock has been
writing checks all over Kansas City.
Commentary
With the introduction of Floyd Wells, the narration shifts back to a week after the murders.
Although Dick and Perry have hinted at the existence of Wells, it was not known that they
would be so likely to confess. This information could have been given a week after the
murders, about the time Dick and Perry entered Mexico. But it has been withheld. This
technique is similar to Capote’s decision not to describe the murders except through the
confessions of Dick and Perry. By withholding this information until the police learn of
it, Capote puts the reader into the mind of the police. The case becomes suspenseful, even
though the reader knows that Dick and Perry are the killers. One wonders whether they will
be caught.
Another contribution to the gripping quality of the narrative is the way in which the reader
is made sympathetic to Dick and Perry. While Perry is waiting in the laundromat, worrying
about being caught by the police, one both looks forward to and dreads his eventual capture.
Now, as what was a mystery becomes a manhunt, the suspense becomes less cerebral and
more physical. Just as Dewey dreams of chasing the killers down the street, so does the
reader imagine what the confrontation between Perry and Dick and the KBI will be like.
The Answer: 2 of 2
Summary
Dick and Perry sit under an umbrella at a beach in Miami. It is Christmastime. Dick goes
for a walk and tries to befriend a young girl. Noticing this is enough to disgust Perry and
interrupt his contemplation of suicide.
On Christmas morning, Bobby Rupp remembers how he would always brave the snows
to walk over to the Clutter house and give Nancy her present. Bobby goes out running
mindlessly and ends up in Mr. Clutter’s prize orchard, where the fruit is rotting in the Indian
summer.
Dick and Perry, having run out of money, are returning to the West, looking for work. In
Texas, they pick up a young boy and his decrepit grandfather. Dick is scared the grandfather
will die in the car, but is mollified by the boy’s ability to spot empty bottles along the
roadside–which they pick up and cash in at a roadside restaurant.
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18
Summary and Analysis
On December 30, Alvin Dewey is called out of the shower to answer a phone call. As
his wife wonders why he is dripping water everywhere, he suddenly hugs her. He has not
taken a minute off from the case since it began in mid-November.
A police officer in Las Vegas spots the killers’ license plate, just after Perry picks up
the memorabilia he mailed from Mexico City to his old hotel.
In the Las Vegas police station, the four KBI agents–Dewey, Nye, Clarence Duntz, and
Roy Church–are preparing to question Dick and Perry. Nye has the flu. The prisoners
believe they are being questioned for passing hot checks.
Nye and Church question Dick, who is cocky and reminds them that he has been questioned before. They lead up to the hot check spree in Olathe, and Dick tells them that they
went to Fort Scott, failed to find Perry’s sister, and spent the night with two prostitutes.
Dick takes pride in recounting the exact addresses of every place the pair stayed in their
cross-country travels. Finally, Nye comes to the point, and accuses Dick of the murders.
He denies them but is visibly shaken.
Meanwhile, Dewey and Duntz question Perry. They repeat the process used with Dick,
with the same result. Perry is very upset, and afterward lies troubled in his cold cell, as does
Dick. The next day, Dick breaks. The two officers show him photographs of the footprints
from the scene of the crime, which match Dick’s boots. Dick blames the actual killing on
Perry.
Back at Hartman’s Cafe, news comes over the radio that two suspects have been arrested.
People are shocked and skeptical.
The suspects are taken in two different cars on the long drive to Garden City, Kansas.
Perry does not confess until Dewey tells him the story about killing a black man–something
that only Dick would know, it proves that Dick has confessed. He gives a full confession.
Dick had thought that Clutter had a large safe. When they didn’t find it, Perry wanted to
leave. But Dick wanted to look around more. They wake and tie up the entire family. The
process takes hours. Perry is frantic. Dick wants to rape Nancy, but Perry threatens to
kill him if he does. Finally, Perry shoots the two downstairs and then Dick shoots the two
upstairs.
When the police cars arrive in Garden City, a large, stunned crowd watches the criminals
walk from the cars to the jail.
Commentary
The chapter in which Perry confesses is very long and detailed. In some ways, it is the
climax of the novel. It is told in the present tense, while the rest of the book is recounted in
the past tense. This temporal shift highlights the significance of the chapter. The beginning
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19
Summary and Analysis
of the next chapter is in the present tense; it simply describes how cats constantly prowl the
main street in Garden City.
The confession is a climax insofar as it represents the end of the mystery and chase that
occupies the police for most of the novel. Throughout, it is clear to the reader that Dick
and Perry killed the Clutter family, but the details are unclear. Now they are revealed. The
motive is also revealed: They were hoping to find a safe full of money. It is a robbery gone
wrong. Later, Perry will change his story somewhat, admitting that it was he who actually
killed each of the Clutters. But, for the most part, all the mysteries are solved, and all that
remains is the slow and inevitable approach of the execution.
The Corner: 1 of 2
Summary
The Garden City jail is on the fourth floor of the county courthouse. That floor is also the
home of Wendle Meier, the assistant sheriff, and his wife, Josephine. The "ladies’ cell" is
part of their apartment, and so Perry becomes a part of it. Josephine finds him gentle, but
her husband, who was at the scene of the crime, corrects her.
Perry keeps a journal in his cell. He corrects his earlier confession, saying that in fact
he personally shot all four victims. He hears on the radio that the district attorney will seek
the death penalty. Neither Perry’s sister nor father come to visit him. He receives a letter
from an old army friend, Don Cullivan, who read about the case in the papers. Don wants
to be Perry’s friend and tell him about Catholicism. Perry crafts an enthusiastic response,
explaining how he doesn’t believe in religion but would love to be Don’s friend.
Meanwhile, Dick seems very relaxed, smoking and reading, but he is working on an
icepick-like "shiv" crafted from a brush he stole, and planning escape.
Perry’s diary continues. He notes that the sheriff searched the rooms and found Dick’s
"shiv." He fantasizes that some men he sees outside plan to rescue him, but nothing comes
of it. He dreams of the big, yellow parrot that will rescue him.
The trial begins. The state-appointed counsel suggests a change of venue, but it is
denied. A psychologist is called in. There is a request to delay the trial, because the Clutter
estate sale will take place the day before the trial, but it is denied.
On the first day of the trial, the jury is selected. Perry pays little attention, focusing on
the "autobiography" that the psychologist asked him to write. He writes disjointedly, but
intensely, mentioning some of the more traumatic events of his life. Dick does the same,
but is more casual, and pays some attention to the jury selection.
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20
Summary and Analysis
The next day, the state begins to present its case. Routine witnesses are called, such as
those who were at the scene of the crime. Floyd Wells testifies. The trial progresses through
the week; Dewey is the last to testify. His testimony is very important, because it is the
first time the public has heard a description of what actually took place on the night of the
murders. The fact that Dick wanted to rape Nancy Clutter shocks the courtroom.
Don Cullivan visits Perry in his jail cell. Attempts to convert Perry fail, but the two
share a dinner Mrs. Meier has prepared.
On Monday, the defense makes its case. The only witness of substance is the psychologist. According to Kansas’ M’Naghten Rule all a psychologist can do is testify whether
or not a defendant could tell right from wrong at the time of the crime. In regards to Perry,
the psychologist says that he is not sure, but the judge does not let him say anything further.
Capote includes what the psychologist would have said, carefully diagnosing Perry as a
potential paranoid schizophrenic.
Commentary
In these and the concluding chapters, Capote’s opinion on the death penalty comes to the fore.
It is obvious that Capote wants to make a political statement. First, he clearly opposes the
M’Naghten Rule, or he would not have transcribed the psychologist’s would-be statement.
He wants to tell the reader what the court did not allow. Also, after this section, he quotes
at length from a study done regarding insanity and the death penalty.
Much has been written about the way society regards insanity and punishes or addresses
insanity, but here it is enough to say that Capote feels as much information should be made
available to the jury as possible before the accused are condemned to death.
It is important to remember that the psychologist is not sure whether Perry is a paranoid
schizophrenic or not. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges the reader faces is deciding for
him- or herself whether Perry is crazy and whether his actions merit death.
As issues of insanity and sympathy circle Perry, Dick remains a simple character. He
is the straight man; Perry is the complex figure. Dick tries to escape but fails; he curses at
Floyd Wells as the snitch leaves the witness stand. Dick is the classic criminal. It is in Perry
that Capote makes his case against the death penalty, and gives the novel a general sense of
ambiguity.
The Corner: 2 of 2
Summary
The high society of Garden City comes to the courtroom to hear the summations of the case.
Judge Tate is famous for his addresses to the jury. He calls for the death penalty, and they
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21
Summary and Analysis
return it. He had asked the jury not to be "chicken-hearted," and as the two prisoners leave
the courtroom, Perry says to Dick, "No chicken-hearted jurors, they," and they both laugh
out loud.
In the corner of Lansing Penitentiary is a small enclosure, Death Row. It is known as "the
Corner." Along with Dick and Perry, there are three prisoners. One is the famous Lowell
Lee Andrews, a young biology student who slaughtered his family and then confessed. He
is certifiably schizophrenic, and a book arguing against the M’Naghten Rule was based on
him.
Dick passes the time smoking and reading erotic novels and law books. He constantly
writes to various organizations requesting help with appeals. Meanwhile Perry tries to starve
himself to death. Then–upon receiving a letter from his father–decides he wants to live.
Two years of postponed execution dates fly by.
The prisoners are eventually joined by George York and James Latham, two AWOL
(absent without leave) soldiers–teenagers who went on a killing spree across the country
having decided that they hated life.
One of Dick’s letters works. A representative of the Kansas bar association, a man
named Shultz, takes up the case. A hearing is held, claiming that the jury was prejudiced,
that the state-appointed defense did not try hard enough, and that Judge Tate was biased.
But Tate, the lawyers, and the jury quickly and fiercely dispel any doubt that Dick and Perry
had a fair trial.
Talking to a journalist who is periodically allowed to visit, Dick describes the night
Andrews is executed. Dick liked Andrews, but Andrews annoyed Perry because he was
very educated and was constantly correcting Perry’s speech, as Perry once corrected Dick’s.
Dick speaks about how he likes the other prisoners and about how he has tried to get along
with Perry, whom he thinks is always jealous and two-faced. Dick says that he is not against
the death penalty, for he understands the impulse for revenge.
After a total of five years–the case has been to the Supreme Court twice–Perry and Dick
are hanged on April 15, 1965. Dewey attends the execution. He is surprised by how casual
everyone is. Dick enters, says that he holds no hard feelings against the state, shakes hands
with the four KBI officers, and is hanged. Perry enters and winks "mischievously" at Dewey.
When asked for his last words, he sobers up. He says that he is against the death penalty
and that he is sorry, and he is hanged. As he exits, Dewey does not feel relief; instead,
he remembers a recent trip to the graveyard. There, he ran into Susan Kidwell, who was
visiting the grave of Nancy Clutter. Susan told him about how well she was doing and how
Bobby Rupp had just been married. The wind blows over the grass.
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22
Summary and Analysis
Commentary
As the novel labors to its close, Capote again plays with narrative time at the execution.
First, it is reported in the papers, then Dewey’s experience at the execution is described.
This removes the reader from the criminals. Dick was speaking intimately to a journalist,
and then suddenly the reader learns about the macroscopic details of the court case and of
the executions. Then the reader actually sees the executions, through Dewey’s eyes.
Among other techniques employed to bring to the novel a tone of closure, Capote
increasingly refers to Perry and Dick as Smith and Hickock. Using last names is a mannerism
native to official uses–Capote is symbolically representing the distancing effect the trial has
on the characters. The trial refers to them by their last names, and the "Dick and Perry" of the
rest of the novel fade into courtroom entities. In many ways, this difference in name usage
represents the fact that the trial and the book are otherwise similar. Although the trial is
official, Capote’s book is in many way a second trial, an attempt to make the average reader
sympathize with Dick and Perry, or at least to make the reader understand the "tragedy" of
their deaths.
If anything aboutIn Cold Blood is more significant than the extent to which it "retries"
Dick and Perry, it is its experimental nature. Is the "nonfiction novel" successful? Capote
himself brings up this question as he begins to introduce himself as a character. Throughout
the novel, he has painted detailed emotional portraits of many of his characters, making it
obvious that he has interviewed them at length. But when, in the last section before the
execution, Dick talks with "a journalist who was allowed to visit," that journalist’s identity
is as clear as daylight. Capote in a sense acknowledges the fact that he was a part of the
events of the novel, too, because he was in communication with all the characters. Earlier,
he writes that Perry’s only friend was Don Cullivan, and one thinks that surely Capote was
also becoming a friend. Throughout the novel, one is curious about the questions Capote
asked. Now, finally, he makes a concession and admits that Dick was talking to a journalist
who is surely Capote. It is a gracious gesture.
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23
Study Questions
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. Analyze the relationship between Dick and Perry.
Dick controls Perry. Perry, on the other hand, is much braver. The best example of this
is the night of the murders. Dick masterminded the crime, and even when Perry wanted
to leave, he insisted that they stay and look again for the safe. Of course, it is Perry who
prevents Dick from raping Nancy, but the fact remains that Perry was reacting emotionally,
on a case by case basis, to Dick’s actions. Dick, on the other hand, was operating according
to a plan, convincing Perry to go along with him. While Dick is more controlling, he grows
attached to Perry and never manages to get rid of him, whatever he may say to himself.
While Dick may have usually been in control, Perry did most of the work. He was
able to murder, and during interrogations, Dick cracked first. In many ways, Perry is the
more romantic of the two; he is more interesting as a literary character. Dr. Jones, the
psychologist brought in by the defense, calls Perry a paranoid schizophrenic. He is crazy;
Dick is sane. Perry dreams of a giant parrot; when he tells Dick about the dream, Dick
does not listen. Perry catches a huge blue fin fish, but Dick does not fish because he has a
headache. While Perry worries about getting caught and wants to talk about it, Dick tells
him to shut up. While Dick may be the controlling mastermind, he is a shallow character
beside Perry.
2. How does Capote color the opening section with a sense of impending murder
and doom?
First and most obviously, he titles the opening section "The Last to See Them Alive."
Additionally, he describes the last day of Clutter family in great detail, always mentioning
that it is their last. For example, he writes that Clutter "headed for home and the day’s work,
unaware that it would be his last." This counterbalances the fact that the reader knows the
outcome of the story from the beginning. Because the Clutter murder and the subsequent
trial actually happened, they were public knowledge, and so his contemporary readers knew
the details of the case before they started the novel. Therefore, Capote emphasizes the
coming deaths instead of making them surprises.
3. Does Capote take a stand on the death penalty?
Not explicitly. However, he does select details and construct his narrative in a way that let
the reader become frustrated with the legal system. For example, although he makes sure
the reader knows that Dewey believes Dick is ultimately responsible for the crime, this is
not backed up by the rest of the book. The rest of the book is ultimately irresolute about
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24
Study Questions
whether or not Dick is responsible. So, when Dick complains that he shouldn’t be executed
because he hasn’t killed anyone, Capote has invited us to sympathize with him. Capote also
makes the reader sympathetic to Perry’s case. Because Kansas law takes a very strict view
of pleading insanity, the jury never learns that Dr. Jones has diagnosed Perry as a paranoid
schizophrenic. Yet Capote writes a verbatim account of what the psychologist would have
said had he been able to speak openly. Thus, Kansas and Judge Tate are implicitly blamed
for not letting the jury know the truth about Perry’s mental instability.
By poking holes in the condemnation of Dick and Perry, Capote implicitly argues that
the death penalty is being used inappropriately, as a means to quell the fears and anger of
Kansas citizens. After all, he includes the detail that the Kansas governor does not pardon
them because he doesn’t feel it would be "in the interest" of Kansas citizens.
4. What does the crime reveal about the town of Holcomb? How does the gossip
surrounding the murders reflect underlying truths about the town?
5. Does In Cold Blood have a protagonist? Is it Herb Clutter? Dewey? Perry?
Explain.
6. Why did Capote leave out descriptions of the two older Clutter sisters? Did the
narrative benefit from this exlusion?
7. What role does "dreaming" play in the novel, both figuratively and literally?
Think of Perry’s dream of the parrot and of finding gold in Mexico, and of Dewey’s
nightmares. How reliable is what Capote tells us about these dreams?
8. How is montage used in In Cold Blood? In other words, how does the back- andforth description of events in Holcomb and events surrounding Dick and Perry make
the novel more vivid?
9. In what ways does Capote reveal the nature of his research through the construction of the book? Is it important that Capote himself is never named? Does
his absence endanger the credibility of the narrative? Think of the Heisenberg
Principle.
10. Is In Cold Blood a creative work? Is it more than journalism? Why or why not?
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25
Review and Resources
REVIEW AND RESOURCES
Review Quiz
1. Other than the missing radio, what clue is left at the scene of the crime?
A. Some of the suspect’s hair
B. Fingerprints
C. Footprints
D. Bloody snowshoes
2. Which of the following statements about Holcomb is not true?
A. Its streets are unpaved.
B. The place where teachers live is called "the teacherage."
C. Promising students leave and finish high school in Garden City.
D. It does not have its own police force.
3. How are Dick and Perry executed?
A. Electrocution
B. Gas chamber
C. Hanging
D. Firing squad
4. Who is Nancy Clutter’s boyfriend?
A. Kidwell
B. Alvin Dewey, Jr.
C. Duane
D. Rupp
5. How did Perry’s parents meet?
A. Flo Buckskin met Tex John Smith in the rodeo circuit.
B. Flo Buckskin rescued Tex John Smith from drowning in the Arkansas River.
C. Flo Buckskin convinced Tex John Smith to join her motorcycle gang.
D. Flo Buckskin joined Tex John Smith’s construction company.
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26
Review and Resources
6. In Mexico, Perry is photographed with
A. a giant sail fish.
B. a new German wife.
C. Inez, the glowering prostitute.
D. his new car.
7. Why does Perry resent Lowell Lee Andrews?
A. He killed his own parents.
B. He becomes Dick’s good friend.
C. He corrects Perry’s grammar.
D. He smokes too much.
8. Other than money, what do Perry and Dick take from the Clutter home?
A. An old mule and one day’s provisions
B. Binoculars and a radio
C. Soup and a power drill
D. Jewelry and the television
9. What does Perry depict in pastels?
A. The great parrot
B. Willie-Jay
C. Nancy Clutter
D. Jesus Christ
10. In addition to murder and theft, what crime does Dick hope to commit in the
Clutter household?
A. He hopes to demolish the house.
B. He hopes to rape Nancy Clutter.
C. He hopes to steal the plans for a big grain shipment.
D. He hopes to find a giant drug stash.
11. What event coincides with the start of the trial?
A. The marriage of Herbert’s youngest surviving daughter.
B. Bobby Rupp’s marriage.
C. The Clutter estate sale.
D. The death of Flo Buckskin.
Copyright 2002 by SparkNotes LLC.
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12. Where is the trial held?
A. Garden City
B. Holcomb
C. Washington
D. Las Vegas
13. Where are Perry and Dick arrested?
A. Holcomb
B. Garden City
C. Chicago
D. Las Vegas
14. The Clutter’s farm was near what town?
A. Holcomb
B. Garden City
C. Chicago
D. Las Vegas
15. While in Mexico, Perry and Dick spent time with a tourist of what nationality?
A. Spanish
B. American
C. Russian
D. German
16. As a child, where was Perry physically abused because he was a bed wetter?
A. A convent
B. A zoo
C. A boardwalk
D. A hotel
17. Who was murdered in the basement den?
A. Nancy
B. Bobby
C. Kenyon
D. Nye
Copyright 2002 by SparkNotes LLC.
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or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, any file sharing system, or
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18. How long do Dick and Perry spend on death row?
A. Two months
B. Two years
C. Five years
D. Seven Years
19. Dick learned of the Clutter family from whom?
A. Floyd Wells
B. Willie-Jay
C. Duane Reds
D. Frank Kermode
20. What is the name of the KBI agent in charge of the investigation?
A. Harold Nye
B. Wild Bill Hickock
C. Clarence Duntz
D. Alvin Dewey
21. How many Clutter children are there?
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four
22. Which of the following ailments applies to Bonnie Clutter?
A. Cancer
B. Sclerosis
C. Chronic depression
D. Drug addiction
23. Where do Dick and Perry spend Christmas?
A. Las Vegas
B. Mexico City
C. Paradise City
D. Miami
Copyright 2002 by SparkNotes LLC.
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or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, any file sharing system, or
any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of SparkNotes LLC.
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24. Which crime does Dick regularly commit?
A. Breaking and entering
B. Passing hot checks
C. Killing lawyers
D. Money laundering
25. What is Perry’s primary reason for returning to Kansas?
A. To break his parole
B. To meet up with Dick
C. To meet up with Willie-Jay
D. To kill the Clutters
Copyright 2002 by SparkNotes LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or distributed in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, any file sharing system, or
any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of SparkNotes LLC.
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Answer Key:
1: C
8: B
15: D
22: C
2: D
9: D
16: A
23: D
3: C
10: B
17: C
24: B
4: D
11: C
18: C
25: C
5: A
12: A
19: A
6: A
13: D
20: D
7: C
14: A
21: D
Copyright 2002 by SparkNotes LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or distributed in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, any file sharing system, or
any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of SparkNotes LLC.
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Further Reading
Capote, Truman.In Cold Blood. New York: Random House, 1966.
Garson, Helen S.Truman Capote. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1980.
Grobel, Lawrence.Conversations with Capote. New York: New American Library, 1985.
Reed, Kenneth T., inTruman Capote. Warren French, ed. Boston: Twaye Publishers, 1981.
Copyright 2002 by SparkNotes LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or distributed in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, any file sharing system, or
any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of SparkNotes LLC.