Chapter one

The figure of a murderer became culturally prominent ‘a flashpoint in contemporary

society depicted across a profusion of films, television programmes and novels. Narratives

based on crimes bloomed into a genre of their own. The news media enthusiastically seized

on such cases, projecting various narrations through which they articulated stories of good

battling evil and cautionary tales about the nature of human beings with their hidden

monstrosity enfolded in the modern society.

murderers became celebrities at the centre of an interactive industry, exemplified by the

market for ‘murderabilia’ — artefacts that belonged to famous serial killers and murderers

such as bricks from Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment and locks of Charles Manson’s hair

.According to Seltzer (1998), this fascination is an indicative of changing relations between

self and society in the mid to late twentieth century. He argues the spectacular public

representation of violated bodies, across a wide range of official, academic, and media

accounts, in fiction and in film, has come to function as a way of imagining the relations of

private bodies and private persons to public spaces’ (Seltzer, 1998, p. 21).

Hence it was of no surprise the amount of success Truman capotes in cold blood achieved

after its release. Masterfully combining fiction and journalism, Truman capote delivers an

astonishing account of the Senseless mass murder that occurred on November 15, 1959 in

the quite rural town of Holcomb Kansas, that was soon surrounded with the terrifying

hollow of death, that stole the town’s serenity, For a life time , refusing to accept the

inherent lack of suspense in his work, as all the circumstances Of the case were of public

knowledge before the release of the book , Capote builds the tension with the brilliant use of

imagery And detailed exploration of the characters. It’s the story of two lone drifters (Perry

Smith,Dick Hickok)slaughtering a farmer And his family,

 it was first published as a series in the New Yorker in 1965 The beginning of the following

year it was published in a book capotes accounts of the murder of Herbert clutter Family,

the investigation that followed, the arrest, trial, conviction, finally the execution of The ex-

convicts, for the killing has been the focus of much critical examination capote blending of

journalistic and novelistic writing styles in his book ,along with the claim that he created a

new Genre the non-fictional novel .Capote intention to write a true story in every aspect, not

simply based on a true story, he did not intend to invent scenes dialogues and details, as is

often done in other novels based on true events, instead capote wanted to write a true story,

in a sense that every detail in the book should be a fact.

he spent up to 6 years in Kansas searching Every aspect of his book, interviewing people to

get every detail possible, he highlights the factual Content in his acknowledgment and

declared, he had used official records from people who are Closely involved, also spending

much of his stay with Perry smith and dick Hickok, his involvement with the murderers was

the center of major criticism.

the first chapter will be divided into two sections ,the first will be a conceptual framework

where I will be discussing two prominent representations of murderers and serial killers in

literature fictional and non-fictional analyzing the different contributors and aims behind

each portrayal then linking it to the romanticizing allegation of in cold blood while setting

their premise the second section will be solely devoted to the notion of romanticizing not

limited to the research scope through more of an inclusive perception illustrating the

notions’ most prominent outcome that has a great impact on the stream of thought and the

society the romanticizing of mental health and romanticizing abusive relationship

demonstrating the cultural impact of the notion as I believe a firm grasp on this latter will

aid at bettering the receiving of the research

The representation of murderers and serial killers in literature.

The subject of serial killers and murderers makes for a huge business in amusement media

with more than 1,000 movies including the theme of sequential executioners and frightful

violations that manages to mortify appal, interest, the audience also it engages the majority

by going after the darker parts of the human mind. Imprint Seltzer (1998), an educator of

writing at the University of California – Los Angeles, whose work centres around murder ,

alludes to a "wound culture" that translates as the public fascination with torn and open

bodies and torn and opened persons, a collective gathering around shock, trauma, and the

wound” (p. 1). For the public, that morbid curiosity causes people to watch scary movies

and television shows and read mystery thrillers about murder and death (Hickey, 2010).

People are drawn to, and fascinated by, television shows like Criminal Minds, cases like the

zodiac killer, Hannibal, and Bates Motel. By obsessively reporting on murders, media turn

murderers into megaspectacles through overly dramatized and sensationalistic reports to

draw mass audiences to their publications or television programming (Kellner, 2003). This

representation shaped the masses view towards murderers and set a stereotypical approaches

to their overall receiving

John Williams the Radcliffe highway murders

Thomas De Quincey's papers, composed somewhere in the range of 1827 and 1854. These

articles are identified with the killings of the Radcliffe Parkway that occurred close

Wapping in London in December 1811 over a time of twelve days that left seven

individuals dead. On December 7, the principal ambush. The casualties were a material

draper of twenty-four years, Timothy Marr, his better half Celia, their three-month - old

child and their shop collaborator

The subsequent assault happened at the Lord's Arms in New Rock Path on 19 December.

The casualties were John Williamson, Elizabeth his better half and Bridget Harrington a

hireling. Their granddaughter Catherine had been oblivious and had not been found. These

killings were ascribed to John Williams who was later captured and ended it all in Coldbath

Fields prison. His body was later hauled into the street then he was covered, with a stake

through his heart De Quincey's aestheticized proposition of homicide is entrenched his work

depicted john Williams as the reprobate himself showing up just to introduce incredible

loathsomeness in the temperate roads of London butchering honest families while his deeds

are without a doubt reprehensible

Demanding dispensing with the human part of William made this contemporary

arrangement of profound quality, in spite of the fact that asserting a cutting edge logical

methodology, it was still to a great extent affected by the fantasies of the past depicting

William as this approaching abhorrence coercively feeds into the old harmony of our way of

life, which demands review such horrendous activities as ownership by underhanded spirits

which demands that such awful acts be deciphered as far as ownership by malicious spirits,

in a tasteful of separation; murder has a place not with the regular, not to the human yet has

a place with a beast this platform of brutality that killers are put upon additionally serves the

ethical prevalence the crowd guarantee , strengthening their need to rest easy thinking about

themselves because of their inadequacy of carrying out such violations.

Gothicizing and monsterizing techniques help to classify readers and viewers by appealing

to a specific category of audience members who, in response, are permitted to define

themselves negatively toward the monster or Gothic form  created: an audience is to be

convinced by the monster's unlikeness-to-ourselves of monsters , exemplified by an account

in the ultimate (we like to assume) Not-Us. (Seltzer’s mass in person). ‘In current practice

the term “monster” still registers an uneasy alliance between the abnormal as spectacle and

the abnormal as marked out as moral failure ’ (Ingebretson 2001: 27)

Thomas Harris Hannibal Lecter

Hannibal Lecter, had an immense success since the time creator Thomas Harris initially made

him, maybe no other murder has caught the public mind as Harris' Hannibal Lecter did. The

books became global successes, converted into many languages, the dazzling story of a villain

turned into an anti-hero turned beast. A man of perfect taste, his tremendous keenness,

dominance over human expressions, and ability in the kitchen are irreproachable. He is as

exact with the surgical blade as he is with his knowledge into the human brain. An

executioner having a remarkable narcissistic, exact and efficient, style

Lecter meets F.B.I. student Clarice who aspire to progress in her career, after graduation, she

attempts to work in the association's Behavioural Science Unit under officer Jack Crawford.

She was assigned to the inquiry of the infamous Dr.Hannibal Lecter who was kept under

intense security as he had the reputation of a dangerous man Clarice is asked out to

cooperate with Lester’s to help them in the profiling of another murderer, "Wild bull Bill",

five similarly mainstream films have been produced using Lecter character Manhunter (1986),

The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Hannibal (2001), Red Dragon (2002) and Hannibal Rising

(2007),throughout these various mediums which Lecter character is spoken to, recognizing an

alternate methodology towards the violations and the killer is offered, Harris plans to
guarantee a degree of distinguishing proof between the reader and Hannibal Lecter by having

him slaughter authority figures, or others who show not exactly healthy attributes. Harris is

complicit in making a justificatory story for Lecter, having him slaughter, or being

instrumental in the death of rapists, corrupt police officers, ‘deviant’ serial killers, the rich and

the rude, all of which play to popular middle-class narratives of resentment against the

authoritarian elite and the pursuit of social justice.

Paving the way to the allegiance with or the romanticizing of a monstrous character can be a

matter of moral revaluation a term created by Friedrich Nietzsche to allude to the

"hypermoral" reconfiguration of that which is consensually viewed as "great." at the end of

the day, revaluation infers a total improving of an expectedly good system by a person who

rises above those constrained moral injuries, a commitment that suggests an assessment, even

re-examination, of our disguise of predominant good moral code.

this allegiance is the acknowledgment of the villian on his own terms. It is the insistence of

Milton's Lucifer: in making malicious one's acceptable, one discovers satisfaction in the

lowlife due to, and not regardless of, his impropriety. It is fundamental to take note of that

such revaluation is not attempted so as to limit villainy's inexcusable quality or clarify it away

or give pardons. By that method of reasoning, it turned into an instance of "the additionally

convincing the thought process in detestable conduct, the less insidious the act,the convincing

the explanations for the wrongdoing the more probable it turned into a 'vital underhandedness'

— something accomplished for bigger purposes. A reprobate's brutality isn't generally a

demonstration of vital underhandedness, yet it at times can be perceived as a significant

disregarded part of a general origination of benevolence or a more noteworthy great

The conditioning and softening of the character's unforgivable characteristics show the

fierceness to be a type of dull fitting retribution by recommending that Lecter’s "corrupted"

victims are much of the time meriting their destiny this discrete case colossally serves the

crowd as their partnership with Lecter can be advocated so no good standing up to will be to

happen inside them safeguarding their ethical predominance and moral superiority

Between John Williams the Radcliffe highway killer and Thomas Harris Hannibal Lecter two

unique approaches were followed towards the portrayal of killers , on one hand unadulterated

malevolence is depicted with no implying or respect to the humain perspective ,then again lies

the despicable killer with a the fundamental abhorrence trouble the notoriety of these sorts of

portrayal are broadly acknowledged and even celebrated by the crowds as they despite

everything put the reader first safeguarding his boss profound quality by introducing clear

judgment examples

,these type of representations made Truman capotes in cold blood one of the most

controversial books of his time where he presented a terrible hideous crime of an innocent

family Truman was brave enough to give the murderers their humanity back, he presented the

human nature not in binary manner but more on a spectrum integrating monstrosity and

humanity challenging the audience moral compass along the way

Perry and Dick

Truman an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several

of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classic, his most notable

achievement is his infamous true crime novel in cold blood ,which he called the first

nonfictional novel, it earned him a place amongst the most read writers in American literature

.In cold blood steered a lot of controversy, regarding murderers representation, which were

compromised, due to Truman’s involvement and investment, that was the subject of the two

featured films infamous (Douglas McGrath 2006), Capote (Bennet miller 2005) ,although

Capote has in short achieved a work of art, he told exceedingly well a tale of high terror, in

his own way but despite his brilliance, he has made both a tactical and a moral error, by

insisting that every word of his book is true, Capote has made himself vulnerable, to those

readers who are prepared to examine seriously such a sweeping claim. Eric Hyene, Trenton

Hickman, and Craig Goad, believe that because Capote spent six years researching,

interviewing, and writing the text. Capote unwittingly and unavoidably entered himself into

the events of the novel, by developing a personal relationship with the killers, to eventually

romanticizing them, and ultimately he reshaped the representation of truth. While scholars

like Chris Anderson, jack Debellis, Alan collet and others argue that, Capote remains an

outside observer ,he repeatedly removes all remarks, which might draw attention to himself

,in order to provide a more objective reporting of the events and especially the killers. Harper

lee, author of to kill a mocking bird ,a dearest friend of Capote, and his companion

throughout his Kansas journey, states that after Capote had witnessed the execution of dick
Hickok , Perry smith, the loss of them especially the latter had broken something within his

soul he was never the same again . Capote emotional investment in the killers, cannot be

ignored or denied, as in cold blood became what harper describes as a deliberate attempt to

shift the readers response to the murderers. The narration and narrative arrangement of the

novel, were even accused of being orchestrated, to influence the readers experiences as well

as, their emotional path .Scholars john Hellman, Mariam Halfman and George Creeger

identify the way capotes choose to tell his story as a third person heterodiegetic narrator,

Hellman writes in Death and Design in in cold blood that, capotes narrates from the

perspective of a self-effacing omniscience, refusing to admit his presence in the story, but

repeatedly gains access inside the murderers thoughts , a technique which enabled him to

retain an objective overview, while simultaneously providing what appears to be a subjective

view from the characters. This style of narration became one of the major arguments in favor

of the accusation of romanticizing that capote received ,Creege writs in animals in exile

imagery and theme in capotes in cold blood, that the way the story is told, creates an immense

space of a much needed empathy that translates further in the story as a sympathy for dick

and Perry, while Capotes tone imposes a sense of authenticity and credibility .Truman Capote

portrayal of dick and Perry, has been, and still the subject of a lot of criticism Capote is

accused of romanticizing, a notion with extreme negative connotations, as every single

instance of previous romanticizing was highly toxic. The recent release of conversation with

akiller the Ted Bundy tapes on Netflix and the upcoming movie, Extremely wicked

shockingly evil and vile, starring Zac Efron have sparked debate on the romanticizing of mass

murderers ,even after coming to know the details of Ted gruesome crimes (one of the most

well-known rapists and serial killers from the late 20th century widely known for his attractive

looks intelligence and charm) Bryanna Fox, professor at the university of south Florida for

criminology and faculty affiliate at the Florida mental health institute, states that Murderers
became culture figures romanticized as they are separated from their acts, therefore they

became separated from their actions when they are sensationalized by the attention given to

them, she said while Bundy was executed 30 years ago he has been given a second life, with

his continued attention that he has gained , it made him a twisted celebrity of some sorts,

while the names of his many victims had faded from memory, however his will always

remain, she draw the comparison and linked it to capote , claiming that it is exactly what

Truman did with his novel in cold blood , she argues that he altered the lenses of reality.
 The notion of romanticizing

On a general note romanticizing is idealizing in an unrealistic manner while making

something seem better or more appealing, more heroic then its truthful condition on more of a

specific note Romanticizing is rendering what is conventionally perceived negative, positive,

reflecting a completely altered image of what is factually experienced. a relatively new

concept, described as, a side effect of a self- centered, self-absorbed generation that, glorifies

every major and, minor Possible aspect of being .the nuances of romanticizing slightly differ

from a topic to another while preserving an overall tone of creating a false image

Romanticizing failed to accomplish its initial set of aims, for no optimistic perception towards

the depiction of human experiences was compelled, on the contrary, it became the reference

point to every condescending, non-appreciative, notion towards realistic human struggle, for

all it represented is, interpreted as an effort to lessen the gruesome impact of, certain human

experiences that, already suffer from a negative stigma, which requires the rise of public

awareness, It is thought to further the ignorance, through its misleading portrayals. It had

impacted many areas of the human experience .probably the most famous type of

romanticizing is of mental illness where the efforts spared at DE stigmatizing ultimately led to

sensationalizing.
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