G12 English: Truman Capote: In Cold Blood

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.

As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.

In 1959, Truman Capote stumbled on a short article in The New York Times about a gruesome quadruple murder at a Kansas farm. He soon realized that it was the story he had been waiting to write for 20 years.

When he began writing professionally, Capote, who died 32 years ago today, theorized that journalism and creative writing could come together in the form of what he called the “nonfiction novel.” The subject had to be right, however; with journalism underpinning such a novel, the pitfall was that it could quickly date itself. Crime, he decided, could be the perfect vehicle.

To read the full article, click HERE.

Secondary sources provide background information on a topic, but are not created during the time period they describe. They interpret events or topics based on primary sources. Works cited pages, footnotes, and bibliographies in secondary sources can help you find primary sources. The ASD databases are great places to locate secondary sources.

EXAMPLES:

• Academic Journals & Articles

• Biographies

• Reviews

• Textbook                                  

• Criticism

• Websites

• Documentaries

• Bibliographies                                       

• Abstracts 

• Interviews with Scholars or Expert                  

• Articles about the topic

• Encyclopedias

• Books about the topic

• Reference Book

Throughout his career, Truman Capote remained one of America’s most controversial and colorful authors, combining literary genius with a penchant for the glittering world of high society. Though he wrote only a handful of books, his prose styling was impeccable, and his insight into the psychology of human desire was extraordinary. His well-documented lifestyle has often overshadowed his gifts as a writer, but over time Capote’s work will outlive the celebrity.

Born in New Orleans in 1924, Capote was abandoned by his mother and raised by his elderly aunts and cousins in Monroeville, Alabama. As a child he lived a solitary and lonely existence, turning to writing for solace. Of his early days Capote related, “I began writing really sort of seriously when I was about eleven. I say seriously in the sense that like other kids go home and practice the violin or the piano or whatever, I used to go home from school every day and I would write for about three hours. I was obsessed by it.”

In his mid-teens, Capote was sent to New York to live with his mother and her new husband. Disoriented by life in the city, he dropped out of school, and at age seventeen, got a job with The New Yorker magazine. Within a few years he was writing regularly for an assortment of publications. One of his stories, “Miriam,” attracted the attention of publisher Bennett Cerf, who signed the young writer to a contract with Random House. Capote’s first book, Other Voices, Other Rooms, was published in 1948. Other Voices, Other Rooms received instant notoriety for its fine prose, its frank discussion of homosexual themes, and, perhaps most of all, for its erotically suggestive cover photograph of Capote himself.

With literary success came social celebrity. The young writer was lionized by the high society elite, and was seen at the best parties, clubs, and restaurants. He answered accusations of frivolousness by claiming he was researching a future book. His short novel, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958), took much of its inspiration from these experiences. With the publication of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the subsequent hit film staring Audrey Hepburn, Capote’s popularity and place among the upper crust was assured. His ambition, however, was to be great as well as popular, and so he began work on a new experimental project that he imagined would revolutionize the field of journalism.

In 1959, Capote set about creating a new literary genre — the non-fiction novel. In Cold Blood (1966). Click HERE to read more.

Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (1965) probably aroused more discussion and enjoyed more publicity than any other book published in America during the last decade. The author was once quoted as saying: "I think most of the younger writers have learned and borrowed from the visual, structural side of movie technique. I have." (Truman Capote, quoted in Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, ed. Malcolm Cowley (New York: Viking Press. 1959),

No one can read Capote's book without being struck by its filmic construction. Hence In Cold Blood ' which was made into a film, raises two important critical questions. To what extent does the influence of film operate legitimately in fiction? And why is it that literary works which use filmic techniques so often prove unsatisfactory when transferred to the screen?  To read the full story in the Literature/Film Quarterly, click HERE.

Primary sources are materials created during the time period or event being studied. These sources have a direct connection to the subject, either by time or through the involvement of a person or material from that era. They provide first-hand accounts of people or events, as they were written or made at the time. Primary sources can also include later recollections from participants, such as autobiographies, interviews, and oral histories. The Qatar National Library, Library of Congress & National Archives offer many digitized primary sources related to the examples below.

EXAMPLES: 

• Historic Objects/Artifacts                                   

• Laws or Statutes

• Raw Data

• Letters & Original Correspondence                  

• Newspaper                                        

• Government Records

• Original Artwork and Music

• Speeches, Interviews, Oral Histories

• Archives                     

• Original Film Footage, Photographs

• Manuscript Collections

• Autobiographies

• Journals & Diaries

The local police department in Garden City, Kansas, maintains historical records pertaining to the Clutter case. Their official website provides police report of the case.

This photo appears courtesy of nydailynews.com, where the report “In Cold Blood: Revisiting the chilling Clutter family murders 58 years later” can be found. 

Perry Smith, left, and Richard Hickock were arrested in Las Vegas in connection with the November 15, 1959, murders of four members of the Clutter family in rural Kansas. Courtesy of Las Vegas Review-Journal Archive.

The official court decision from the Kansas Supreme Court offers a comprehensive account of the legal proceedings against the perpetrators, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith. This document includes testimonies, evidence presented during the trial, and the court's rationale.

Transcript of Kansas Court Proceedings 
DO NOT PRINT - IT'S 1,827 PAGES!
(download for clarity)
Richard Eugene Hickock
and Perry Edward Smith
v. Smith H. Crouse, Warden

The Story Behind a Nonfiction Novel: An Interview
By George Plimpton
January 16, 1966

In Cold Blood" is remarkable for its objectivity--nowhere, despite his involvement, does the author intrude. In the following interview, done a few weeks ago, Truman Capote presents his own views on the case, its principals, and in particular he discusses the new literary art form which he calls the nonfiction novel. 

HOLCOMB, Kan., Nov. 15 (UPI) --
A wealthy wheat farmer, his wife and their two young children were found shot to death today in their home. They had been killed by shotgun blasts at close range after being bound and gagged.
View the Full Article in Times Machine