Plot Summary
On November 14, 1959, the Clutter family is going about their daily business in Holcomb, Kansas. Meanwhile, Dick and Perry are meeting on the opposite side of Kansas, tuning up a car that will be the vehicle which will transport them to the crime scene. As the Clutters settle in to sleep, Dick and Perry pull up to the Clutter home, with a shotgun and knife. The following morning, the bodies of the Clutter family are discovered by Susan Kidwell and another friend of Nancy Clutter's. When the police first arrive, they are confused as to the motive of the killers because "'Of all the people in the world, the Clutters were the least likely to be murdered'" (Capote 85). The primary suspect is Bobby Rupp, Nancy's boyfriend, because on the night of the murder, he was the last person to the Clutters alive. He soon is freed of suspicion after passing a lie detector test. The KBI agent in charge of investigating the case, Alvin Dewey, believes that killer or killers, must have been close to the Clutters. Because of this, the neighbors of Holcomb begin to mistrust each other and for the the first time ever, people begin to lock their doors. Meanwhile, Dick and Perry return to Olathe, Dick's hometown. Dick writes false checks and buys many items that he plans to sell later. Once they have enough money, the pair flees to Mexico, on Perry's insistence of finding sunken treasure. Once Dick and Perry have wasted all of their money in Mexico City, they begin to pack to return to the United States. While packing, Perry finds some personal belongings that remind him of his childhood. Here, it is revealed that Perry's parents had a falling out when he was a child and he moved from home to home as a child. He especially looked up to his father, and would run away from his mother to go find him. Perry disliked his mother because of her drunken nature and later on admits that she sexually harassed him. Two of Perry's three siblings have ended their lives. The investigation of the murders is at a dead end and it appears that Dewey and his team will have to drop the case. Meanwhile, Floyd Wells, a man in the Kansas State Prison in Lansing, hears of the case. He had been cell mates with Dick and remembers having shared information with him about the Clutter family, since he had previously worked on Herb Clutter's farm. He thinks of telling the authorities of his suspicion, but is afraid of the retribution from his fellow prisoners.
It is here that the motive of Dick and Perry is revealed. Wells had told Dick that he believed that Herb Clutter kept a safe in his home office, filled with at least $10,000. This was enough reason for Perry to plan an elaborate scheme to go and rob the Clutter family and leave "no witnesses". However the information was wrong, since everyone in Holcomb knew that Herb Clutter never carried cash and preferred to do all transactions with checks. When Dick and Perry had arrived and discovered that there was no safe, they proceeded to kill the Clutter family out of anger and embarrassment, taking about $40 with them once they were done.
Once Dick and Perry return to the States, they begin to look for a car to steal, posing as hitchhikers. At this time, Floyd has confessed, and Dewey and his team are actively searching for the pair. Dick and Perry manage to steal a car and drive to Kansas City. Here they write more false checks to be able to earn enough money to go to Miami. The pair eventually arrives in Las Vegas, where a policewoman notices their license plate. They are caught and placed in custody. The detectives also find the only hard evidence, two pairs of shoes with unique soles that were found at the crime scene. After intense questioning, Dick admits to the murders, but says he was only an accomplice. He blames the actual murders on Perry. After hearing of Dick's betrayal, Perry confesses and tells his side of the story. After a tedious trial, the two are sentence to death. Whilst on a five-year appeals process, the pair meet various killers on the Death Row floor on the prison. Perry at one point tries to take his life into his own hands and tries to starve himself unsuccessfully. Meanwhile, Perry writes letters to various organizations in hopes that one will try to take his case back to court, on grounds that his defense was not truly trying to defend him. After numerous other re-trials, all with the same outcome, Dick and Perry receive their final date. Before being hanged, Dick is awkward and Perry appears remorseful.
Genre: In Cold Blood is a non-fiction novel. It is the first of its kind and is based on the Clutter family murder that occurred in 1959. Capote utilized literary techniques found in fictional writing, in order to make his novel more appealing to the public.
Importance of Title: "In cold blood" is an idiom defined as "without feeling; with cruel intent". This shows how twisted and cruel the killers were as they felt nothing when killing the Clutter family. Perry even admits to Detective Dewey that he felt no emotion when killing the Clutters. Also when Perry and Dick were being interviewed by Truman Capote, they hoped that his novel would help them get off of death row. But the title of his novel made the crime seem premeditated, which did not help their case.
It is here that the motive of Dick and Perry is revealed. Wells had told Dick that he believed that Herb Clutter kept a safe in his home office, filled with at least $10,000. This was enough reason for Perry to plan an elaborate scheme to go and rob the Clutter family and leave "no witnesses". However the information was wrong, since everyone in Holcomb knew that Herb Clutter never carried cash and preferred to do all transactions with checks. When Dick and Perry had arrived and discovered that there was no safe, they proceeded to kill the Clutter family out of anger and embarrassment, taking about $40 with them once they were done.
Once Dick and Perry return to the States, they begin to look for a car to steal, posing as hitchhikers. At this time, Floyd has confessed, and Dewey and his team are actively searching for the pair. Dick and Perry manage to steal a car and drive to Kansas City. Here they write more false checks to be able to earn enough money to go to Miami. The pair eventually arrives in Las Vegas, where a policewoman notices their license plate. They are caught and placed in custody. The detectives also find the only hard evidence, two pairs of shoes with unique soles that were found at the crime scene. After intense questioning, Dick admits to the murders, but says he was only an accomplice. He blames the actual murders on Perry. After hearing of Dick's betrayal, Perry confesses and tells his side of the story. After a tedious trial, the two are sentence to death. Whilst on a five-year appeals process, the pair meet various killers on the Death Row floor on the prison. Perry at one point tries to take his life into his own hands and tries to starve himself unsuccessfully. Meanwhile, Perry writes letters to various organizations in hopes that one will try to take his case back to court, on grounds that his defense was not truly trying to defend him. After numerous other re-trials, all with the same outcome, Dick and Perry receive their final date. Before being hanged, Dick is awkward and Perry appears remorseful.
Genre: In Cold Blood is a non-fiction novel. It is the first of its kind and is based on the Clutter family murder that occurred in 1959. Capote utilized literary techniques found in fictional writing, in order to make his novel more appealing to the public.
Importance of Title: "In cold blood" is an idiom defined as "without feeling; with cruel intent". This shows how twisted and cruel the killers were as they felt nothing when killing the Clutter family. Perry even admits to Detective Dewey that he felt no emotion when killing the Clutters. Also when Perry and Dick were being interviewed by Truman Capote, they hoped that his novel would help them get off of death row. But the title of his novel made the crime seem premeditated, which did not help their case.