1# *In Cold Blood* - Truman Capote 2 3## Setting 4 5**What does the setting of the text include?** 6 7- Holcomb, Kansas, America, 1959 8- cultural information - America, small isolated community, agricultural economy, 1959 9- explicit mention of dates to set period (Nov 14, 1959) 10- Holcomb, Kansas - small town, "not a place that strangers come upon by chance" 11- introduction to characters - family interactions/relationships 12- integration of events & people to describe culture/period/location 13- "hip-high, sheep-slaughtering snows" - harsh weather 14- description of clothing - "narrow frontier trousers, Stevensons, and high heeled boots" 15- description of accent - "the local accent is barbed with a prairie twang" 16- landscape - dusty, dry flat, vast 17- low population 18- "few Americans [..] had ever heard of Holcomb" 19- dilapidated buildings, uniform through town 20 21**How do the setting and events work together?** 22 23**Foreshadowing** 24 25p 25, 41, 52, 63, 67 26 27- chapter titles - "the last to see them alive" etc 28- not going to church 29- ambiguous implications 30- “Chinese elms had turned into a tunnel of darkening green” (leading up to Clutters' house) 31- “until one morning in mid-November of 1959, few Americans [..] had ever heard of Holcomb” 32- Herbert “headed for home and the day’s work, unaware that it would be his last” 33- “if Dick had not hammered home the every-minute importance of the next twenty-four hours” - Dick and Perry planning 34- “the only sure thing is every one of them has got to go” - Dick 35- “four shotgun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives” 36- “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” 37- dual narrative in chronological order approaching murder 38- - create a sense that the narrative will "collide" 39- - different settings, same time 40 41 42## Characters 43 44### Herbert Clutter 45 46- owns River Valley Farm 47- four children - two daughters (Eveanna + Beverly) + Nancy + Kenyon 48- successful - owns large property 49- "I'm not as poor as I look" 50- devout Methodist 51- approves of Bobby but wary of their relationship 52 53### Bonnie Clutter 54 55- wife of Herbert Clutter 56- mentally unstable (anxiety/BPD) 57 58### Kenyon Clutter 59-15 60- builds stuff 61 62### Nancy Clutter 63- boyfriend Bobby Rupp 64- best friend Susan Kidwell 65 66### Bobby Rupp 67- Nancy's boyfriend 68 69## Alvin Dewey 70- Investigator for Kansas Bureau of Investigation 71- wife Marie (stenographer), two sons 72 73 74 75### Dick Hickock 76 77- murders Clutters with Perry Smith 78- "Dick, the practical Dick" 79- appears confident 80- married twice, had three sons 81- calls Perry "honey" 82- impulsive - if he had enough money, he "would spend it on vodka and women" 83 84### Perry Smith 85 86- murders Clutters with Dick Hickock 87- injured in motorcycle accident 88- breakfast - "three aspirin, cold root beer and a chain of Paul Mall cigarettes" 89- self-centred/egotistical - “Every time you see a mirror you go into a trance” 90- more open/prominent in text than Dick 91- messy/materialistic - “Christ, Perry. You carry that junk everywhere?” 92- "know the ins and outs of hunting gold" 93- has trouble meeting deadlines - "if Dick had not hammered home the every-minute importance of the next twenty-four hours" 94- criminal past 95- "never drank coffeemy name sluger lolol" 96 97### Willie-Jay 98- assistant to prison chaplain 99- respects and mentors Perry 100 101### Minor characters 102 103- Myrtle Clare - postmistress 104- Mrs Hideo Ashida - family moved due to crime 105- Floyd Wells - worked on Clutter farm, imprisoned with Dick, snitched Dick & Perry 106 107### Suspects 108- John Jnr/Snr 109- Mr. Smith 110- robbery? 111- Mabel - cafe worker 112- Jonathan Daniel Adrian