When In Cold Blood was first published, critics had a hard time categorizing the book. Capote himself held that he had written a “nonfiction novel (Capote in Plimpton 1966: 2)” and that he had thereby created an altogether new genre. In the subtitle, Capote stresses his central claim regarding this new genre, assuring the reader that what she is about to delve into is “a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences (Capote 2000 [1966]).” As will be seen in the opening chapter, criticism of In Cold Blood has therefore to a great degree revolved around Capote’s and the book’s adherence to this assertion of truth. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (SOED) lists as the three first entries under the head word “true”:
true /tru:/
1 Steadfast in allegiance, loyal; faithful, constant (…).
2 Honest, honourable, upright, virtuous; straightforward, sincere (…).
3 Of a statement, report, etc.: consistent with fact; conforming with reality (…).
The following investigation of In Cold Blood and of the biopic based on Capote’s work on the book, Bennett Miller’s Capote (2005), will proceed along the lines of these three aspects of the definition, questioning Capote’s claim of rendering a “true account.”
The genre chapter and large parts of the ensuing discussion of In Cold Blood will be especially concerned with the definition’s third aspect, In Cold Blood’s consistency with fact and its conformity with reality. The question will be raised as to whether or not a true account of real events is possible at all, and in what ways Capote and other writers of New Journalism, as the genre is most frequently called today, have tried to achieve such true accounts.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Genre
2.1 Capote’s Literary Development toward the Nonfiction Novel
2.2 The Nonfiction Novel – an Altogether New Concept?
2.3 The Nonfictional in the NONFICTION Novel – a True Account?
2.4 The Novelistic in the Nonfiction NOVEL
3 Style
3.1 Structure
3.2 Language
4 Setting
4.1 The Rural Homestead
4.2 The Road
5 Character
5.1 Perry
5.2 Dick
5.3 The Clutter Family
6 In Cold Blood and the American Dream
6.1 The Portrayal of American Society in In Cold Blood
6.2 The American Dream
6.3 The American Nightmare in In Cold Blood
6.4 Society’s Reaction – the Trial
7 In Cold Blood on Film
7.1 Miller’s Biopic Capote
7.2 Capote’s Two Sides
7.3 Capote and Perry
8 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This study investigates the complex interplay between factual reporting and creative narrative techniques in Truman Capote’s "In Cold Blood" and Bennett Miller’s 2005 biopic "Capote". The central research question examines the ethical and aesthetic validity of Capote’s claim to have created a "true account" of a multiple murder, while simultaneously analyzing how Miller’s film deconstructs the author's own persona and methods. The analysis focuses on how both works navigate the blurred boundaries between objective truth and subjective interpretation.
- The genre evolution of the "nonfiction novel" and the nature of journalistic truth.
- Stylistic strategies, including imagery, structure, and language, used to construct narrative effects.
- The role of the "American Dream" as both a thematic subject and a driver of character motivation.
- The ethical implications of the author’s presence and influence on the reality he documents.
- A comparative analysis of how film and literature manipulate perspective and "successive centers."
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Structure
Keeping in mind Galloway’s claim that “[it] is in the selection of […] details and in their arrangement that the technique of the novelist is vividly apparent (Galloway 1968: 156)” in In Cold Blood, it is important to take a close look at the structure of the book. On the surface, the way the story details are arranged in In Cold Blood is relatively straightforward. The book consists of four titled parts, all of which are approximately 75 pages of length and contain around 20 unnamed chapters. Capote assembled these chapters in a process of montage. Therefore, he had to think of form and formal relations in advance (cf. Plessen 1971: 80). Altogether, In Cold Blood consists of 85 typographically separated but unnamed and unnumbered chapters. They read like short stories and many of them could be read independently by themselves (cf. Tompkins 1966: 125). This mosaic structure creates an impression of the case being pieced together. The reader finds herself in a position similar to the one the detectives, all of Holcomb and Capote himself were in. All parties gradually dig up more details of a mysterious case and follow it all the way to its unsatisfactory conclusion. In Cold Blood is not a detective story, however, since the detectives, including Alvin Dewey, play only a minor role.
In Cold Blood is narrated in an almost rigidly chronological way. Only at one point does the plot itself move back in story time. After the “evening of Wednesday, 30 December (ICB 205)” has already been told, during which the Dewey family learns of the arrest of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, the chronological order is given up and the plot moves back to “[at] five that afternoon (ICB 207)” in Las Vegas, the place where the killers are apprehended. This lends suspense to the capture of the two fugitives, because the reader learns about the Deweys’ reaction before he learns about the details of the arrest, which, as she knows, must already lie in the past.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Outlines the core problematic of Capote's claim to "truth" and introduces the three-part definition of "true" that will guide the analysis.
Genre: Examines the development of the "nonfiction novel" and the critical debates surrounding Capote's attempt to fuse journalistic fact with fictional narrative devices.
Style: Analyzes the structural montage of the book and the use of rich, descriptive language and direct speech to characterize subjects.
Setting: Discusses the symbolic juxtaposition of the Clutter homestead and "the road" as representative of conflicting American realities.
Character: Investigates the characterization of the Clutters, Perry Smith, and Dick Hickock, focusing on the use of animal and garden imagery.
In Cold Blood and the American Dream: Explores how the murder case serves as a critique of the American Dream and examines the community's reaction through the trial.
In Cold Blood on Film: Provides a comparative analysis of Miller’s biopic, focusing on how the film portrays Capote's own unethical methods.
Conclusion: Summarizes findings, asserting that while Capote achieved artistic success, his claims to objective truth remain fundamentally untenable.
Keywords
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote, Bennett Miller, New Journalism, Nonfiction Novel, American Dream, Perry Smith, Dick Hickock, Narrative Structure, Objectivity, Subjectivity, Literary Criticism, Biography, Symbolism, Ethical Research.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental subject of this work?
The work explores the literary and ethical complexities of Truman Capote’s "In Cold Blood," focusing on his claims of objective truth, and compares these with Bennett Miller’s film adaptation "Capote," which interrogates the author's exploitative research methods.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The main themes include the definition of the "nonfiction novel," the role of the American Dream in social and criminal life, the reliability of the narrator, and the tension between an author's public persona and private morality.
What is the primary research goal of this paper?
The study aims to challenge Capote's claim that his work is a "true account" by evaluating it against scholarly definitions of truth and by analyzing the narrative manipulation present in both the book and the film.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The paper utilizes literary analysis and close reading techniques, applying concepts from narrative theory, film studies, and historical/sociological context to dissect the text and the biopic.
What does the main body of the paper address?
It covers the genre of the nonfiction novel, structural and linguistic stylistic devices, the symbolic settings of the homestead versus the road, character development through imagery, and a critical look at the American Dream and the film's portrayal of Capote.
Which keywords best characterize this study?
Key terms include In Cold Blood, Nonfiction Novel, American Dream, Narrative Structure, Capote (film), and Subjectivity.
How does the book portray the relationship between the criminal and the community?
The author argues that Capote uses structural alternations and juxtapositions to suggest that no absolute divide exists between the "bourgeois" community and the criminal element, effectively linking them through the American Dream.
Why does Miller’s film depict Capote as having "two sides"?
The film illustrates the internal conflict between Capote’s professional ambition—which requires him to be ruthless to secure his book—and his private capacity for empathy, ultimately showing how these conflicting drives destroy him.
How does the author interpret the frequent use of animal and garden imagery?
The imagery is interpreted as a tool for character modeling and a means to express themes of lost innocence, exile from a metaphorical Eden, and the dehumanization of criminals by society.
What role does the American Dream play in the narrative?
The American Dream is presented as a driving force for both the victims and the killers; it is portrayed as a source of frustration and moral decay that turns the dream into a nightmare, ultimately contributing to the catastrophic events in Holcomb.
- Quote paper
- Michael Helten (Author), 2008, Truman Capote’s Nonfiction Novel "In Cold Blood" and Bennett Miller’s Biopic "Capote", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/128448
