Essay 2

In Cold Blood Question: To what effect does Capote use narrative viewpoint in the novel?

Intro:

Narrators often prioritise the use of certain narrative perspectives in order to manipulate how
the readers perceive the story. Crafting two narratives into a story adds complexity into the
events presented by characters, which may be told objectively or subjectively. This
conjunction of two perspectives is seen in Capote’s non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood. The
story recounts the murder of the Clutter family within Holcomb, Kansas, and the subsequent
effect it had on the community. The lives of the two murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry
Smith, are recounted in an equally detailed way to factually present both the stories of the
victims and the killers. Capote interchangeably utilises two narrative viewpoints to a great
effect, in order to separate the pieces of text that require the most emotional immediacy,
whilst structuring his narrative in the form of a factual, yet dramatic novel. This is evident by
the use of third person perspective during the summarised description of how the deaths of
the Clutter family affected the community, and the use of first person during Perry’s recount
of his life from childhood to present. 

1st body para:

When hinting at the suspicion that arose in the Holcomb community after the murder, Capote
positions the audience as outsiders through a third person perspective, which is used to
emphasise the emotional impact it had on the characters. Although the Holcomb community
was indirectly affected by the murder, they were ironically united by their shared fear, and
separated by mistrust. Using a third person narrative is effective to reveal the actions that
the community took to stay safe in Holcomb, as they hurriedly ‘locked their doors’ after the
murders.  The audience learns of the fragile loyalty and friendship between neighbours, as
Holcomb neighbours began to exchange ‘stimulated fires of mistrust’ at each other. This
dramatisation exhibits how quickly the community members had turned their backs towards
one another, as they all assumed that the murderer was a Holcomb resident. Being placed in
a spectator’s perspective helped the readers realise that the Holcomb community do not
know each other as well as they thought, which is why they viewed each other ‘strangely,
and as strangers’. Hence, a summarised viewpoint of how the community reacted to the
Clutter murder as a sign of caution was more effectively portrayed through a third person
perspective.

2nd body para:

 
By detailing Perry’s life through a first-person perspective, readers garner sympathy to the
extensive emotional and physical abuse from his childhood, which also reveals the origins of
his violent tendencies. In doing so, Capote blames Perry’s immoral actions on the external
influences in his life. His earliest forms of childhood trauma is revealed to have started in a
children’s shelter, in which he was physically abused by a nurse. Perry’s unapologetic rage
from this experience is depicted by his remarks that she is ‘an Evil Bastard!’, and an
‘Incarnate’. Through this, readers empathise with how Perry was a victim of discrimination
and racially motivated abuse. Furthermore, Perry also suffered emotional neglect for his
natural talent towards the arts, as he ‘never got any encouragement -- from him [Dad] or
anybody else’. His lack of a supportive role model causes readers to pity the little emotional
support he received over the years. This contributed to his development of psychopathic
behaviours, such as when he aggressively confessed to picking up a man next to a bridge,
and ‘threw him in the river’. Whilst Capote negatively characterises him as dangerous and
impulsive, readers are now aware of the intimate backstory of Perry through the lens of his
perspective, leading them to shift the blame of his actions onto his tragic upbringing. As
such, it can be argued that a first person perspective invites readers into the character’s
mindset, so that they share the impact of the character’s emotionally scarring experiences to
the fullest extent. Ultimately, using a first person narrative to a great effect incited an
emotional connection between the readers and Perry, leading them to easily justify his
immoral actions.

Conclusion:

Throughout the novel, Capote alternates between a first and third person narrative
viewpoint, in order to integrate both fact and fiction to craft a nonfiction novel. His omniscient
access to both wide-scale and personal perspectives can respectively inform the readers,
and lead them to sympathise with characters, further creating an immersive reading
experience. 

p. 135/207 in cold blood PDF  quote evidence

Word count: 750~

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