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### Dick Hickock 74 75- murders Clutters with Perry Smith 76- "Dick, the practical Dick" 77- appears confident 78- married twice, had three sons 79- calls Perry "honey" 80- impulsive - if he had enough money, he "would spend it on vodka and women" 81 82### Perry Smith 83 84- murders Clutters with Dick Hickock 85- injured in motorcycle accident 86- breakfast - "three aspirin, cold root beer and a chain of Paul Mall cigarettes" 87- self-centred/egotistical - “Every time you see a mirror you go into a trance” 88- more open/prominent in text than Dick 89- messy/materialistic - “Christ, Perry. You carry that junk everywhere?” 90- "know the ins and outs of hunting gold" 91- has trouble meeting deadlines - "if Dick had not hammered home the every-minute importance of the next twenty-four hours" 92- criminal past 93- "never drank coffeemy name sluger lolol" 94- personal account of boyhood while in Mexico 95- parents were rodeo riders 96- two siblings and one inlaw committed suicide 97 98### Willie-Jay 99- assistant to prison chaplain 100- respects and mentors Perry 101 102### Minor characters 103 104- Myrtle Clare - postmistress 105- Mrs Hideo Ashida - family moved due to crime 106- Floyd Wells - worked on Clutter farm, imprisoned with Dick, snitched Dick & Perry 107 108### Suspects 109- Bobby Rupp - lie detector test 110- John Jnr/Snr 111- Mr. Smith 112- robbery? 113- Mabel - cafe worker 114- Jonathan Daniel Adrian 115 116**Manhunt** - Floyd Wells alerts authorities and Alvin Dewey starts manhunt. Dick and Perry steal car then return to Kansas to produce more cheques. They then move to Miami, then Las Vegas. Policewoman in Vegas recognises car. Dick confesses first, then Perry. Both undergo trial and are condemned to death. Five year appeal process - Perry starves himself, Dick writes letters to organisations. Dick accepts death sentence politely, Perry regretful/apologetic.