A Character Analysis of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock From In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Essay

Character Analysis for In Cold BloodIn Cold Blood is a novel based on true accounts of a murder written by Truman Capote. This novel involves two men who murdered an innocent family in cold blood. Instead of the novel being purely focused on the story, Capote is more focused on the murderers in this novel. Upon reading the synopsis of the story, it is hard to not reach a harsh conclusion. Any logical person would consider Perry Smith and Dick Hickock to be evil psychopaths. Because of their crime, it is hard to have sympathy for either individual. However, Truman Capote leads his audience towards a different conclusion. After reading Capotes portrayal of the events, many readers came to the conclusion that the murderers are not inherently evil. According to Psychology Today, evil people are those who are unable to empathize with others their own needs and desires are of paramount importance they are selfish, self-absorbed and narcissistic (Taylor 1). Based on the novel, it is much more reasonable to take a qualified position in this situation. Capote uses literary and figurative language to characterize the murderers in the book. The author uses stoic diction, simple syntax, and harsh hyperboles to characterize Hickock, but expressive diction and discrete anecdotes are used to characterize Smith. Due to these literary choices, there is sufficient evidence to assert that Dick Hickock is evil and Perry Smith is not. Based on Capotes literary devices used in this novel, it is safe to conclude that Dick Hickock is evil. The majority of Dicks syntax is comprised of simple sentences that lack punctuation. When reading his dialogue, it sounds very quick and emotionless. One of the first things Dick says in this novel is, well blast hair all over them walls (Capote 22). Immediately, the audiences impression of Dick is that he is ruthless and cynical. We get this impression as his stoic diction juxtaposes the situation that he describes. This...

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