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1. Barbara Wróbel
An insight into a murderer's mind in
Truman Capote's In cold blood
Praca licencjacka napisana
na Wydziale Anglistyki
Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza
pod kierunkiem dr Katarzyny Kuczmy
Poznań, 2013

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Imię i nazwisko: Barbara Wróbel
Kierunek i specjalność: filologia angielska, specjalność akademicka
Numer albumu: 365485
Wydział Anglistyki
Promotor: dr Katarzyna Kuczma
1. Oryginalny tytuł pracy dyplomowej
An insight into a murderer's mind in Truman Capote's In cold blood
2. Tłumaczenie tytułu pracy dyplomowej
a) na język polski (w przypadku prac napisanych w języku obcym)
Wgląd w osobowość mordercy w powieści non-fiction Z zimną krwią Trumana Capote
b) na język angielski (w przypadku prac napisanych w języku innym niż język angiel-
ski)
Podpis promotora
.....................................................
Podpis studenta
.....................................................
Miejsce i data
............................................

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Poznań, dnia ............................
OŚWIADCZENIE
Ja, niżej podpisana, Barbara Wróbel, studentka Wydziału Anglistyki Uniwersytetu im.
Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu oświadczam, że przedkładaną pracę dyplomową pt: An
insight into a murderer's mind in Truman Capote's In cold blood napisałam samodzielnie.
Oznacza to, że przy pisaniu pracy, poza niezbędnymi konsultacjami, nie korzystałam z po-
mocy innych osób, a w szczególności nie zlecałam opracowania rozprawy lub jej części
innym osobom, ani nie odpisywałam tej rozprawy lub jej części od innych osób.
Oświadczam również, że egzemplarz pracydyplomowej w formie wydruku kompu-
terowego jest zgodny z egzemplarzem pracy dyplomowej w formie elektronicznej.
Jednocześnie przyjmuję do wiadomości, że gdyby powyższe oświadczenie okazało
się nieprawdziwe, decyzja o wydaniu mi dyplomu zostanie cofnięta.
(czytelny podpis)

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Table of contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................6
CHAPTER 1: DEFINITION OF THE NONFICTION NOVEL AND THE
REPRESENTATION OF THE GENRE IN IN COLD BLOOD.......................................8
1.1. CAPOTE'S RESEARCH OF THE CLUTTER FAMILY MURDER CASE......................................8
1.2. PROBLEMS WITH GENRE SPECIFICATION......................................................................10
1.2.1. The objectivity controversy.................................................................................11
1.2.2. The uneven portrayals of the two killers.............................................................12
1.3.NEW LEADS IN THE CLUTTER KILLERS CASE................................................................14
CHAPTER 2: IN COLD BLOOD AS A TEXT THAT PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO A
MURDERER'S MIND........................................................................................................16
2.1. TRUE CRIME GENRE....................................................................................................16
2.1.2. Historical outline of the true crime genre in American literature......................16
2.1.2. Characteristic features of the genre...................................................................17
2.2.CAPOTE'S TEXT AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE TRUE CRIME GENRE.......................................18
2.3. POSTMODERN FEATURES OF IN COLD BLOOD................................................................19
2.3.1. The use of multiple viewpoints............................................................................19
2.3.2. The use of non-linear narrative and intertextuality............................................20
CHAPTER 3: REPRESENTATION OF THE CLUTTER FAMILY KILLERS........22
3.1. DEFINITION OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR.........................................................................22
3.2. RICHARD 'DICK' HICKOCK............................................................................................23

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3.2.1. Richard Eugene Hickock's sexuality...................................................................24
3.2.2. The American dream in the perspective of the killers........................................25
3.3. PERRY EDWARD SMITH................................................................................................26
3.3.1. The double nature of Perry Edward Smith.........................................................27
3.3.2. "The cycle of violence"- what created Smith's homicidal potential?..................28
3.4.CLUTTER FAMILY MURDERERS-VICTIMS OR VICTIMISERS?.........................................28
3.5.REASONS BEHIND THE DEVELOPMENTOF CRIMINALBEHAVIOUR.................................29
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................32
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................34

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Introduction
Having been considered "a pioneering document in the historyof American nonfiction" and
"a true crime narration" (Voss 2011: 2), In cold blood was a peak of Truman Capote's liter-
ary career and an exemplary work of nonfiction writing. Not only is the novel a stunning
and thorough study of the crime itself as well as the impact it had on the community, but
also – and above all – it provides one with the direct insight into the minds and the person-
alities of the killers, allowing the reader "to understand them as deeply damaged human
beings" (Davies 2012: 11).
This thesis attempts to analyse the characters of the Clutter familymurderers: Rich-
ard 'Dick' Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, focalising on the non-fictional, documentary
character of the novel that provides the reader with an insight into the murderer's mind. The
focus is on the way the journalistic style of Capote and his factual research of the Clutter
family murder of 1959 in Holcomb, Kansas allow the reader to observe a murderer's per-
sonality as it is mediated by the narrative. The detailed research and gathering of data is
visible in Capote's interviews with both the witnesses and the Clutter family killers them-
selves. This thesis approaches the issue of the murderers' troubled selves. Moreover, it pon-
ders on what leads to murder, primarily focusing on trauma and childhood memories.
First and foremost, for the sake of my subsequent development of the argument, the
very process of creation of the novel was described. This part of my study draws upon the
biography of Truman Capote, his personal essays and records about his research of the
Clutter family murder case. Moreover, the first chapter also encapsulates the description of
the nonfiction novel genre. This part of my research ponders on the fact whether Capote's
account is, in fact, as objective as he wished it to be. Numerous factors that could have had
impact on Capote's objective outlook on the events he narrated are addressed and discussed,
especially the close relation he established with one of the killers, Perry Edward Smith.

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In the second chapter, I proceed to describe certain features of the novel that enable
the reader to regard and follow the thoughts and actions of the Clutter family killers. The
history and characteristics of the true crime genre as well as some postmodern features of
Capote's novel are analysed in this section in order to show how these qualities build a sort
of an image of the murderers’ psychological make-up.
Last but not least, the third chapter of the thesis provides an analysis of the lives of
the killers taking into account their background, personal history, traumatic experiences,
and mental welfare. The life stories of the murderers are presented as they are described in
the text of In cold blood, yet they are read in the context of various theories concerning the
social construction of criminality as well as psychiatric research of disorganised personality
of a criminal. Taking all of the above mentioned aspects together, this thesis attempts at
presenting a psychological make-up of the Clutter family killers as they have been repre-
sented in the novel by Truman Capote.

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Chapter 1: Definition of the nonfiction novel and the repre-
sentation of the genre in In cold blood
1.1. Capote's research of the Clutter family murder case
Truman Capote had been toying with the idea of writing nonfiction for quite some time
when – on Monday, November 16, 1959 – he stumbled across and article in The New York
Times:
HOLCOMB, KANSAS, NOVEMBER 15. WEALTHY FARMER, 3 OF FAMILY SLAIN.
A wealthy wheat farmer, his wife and their two young children were found dead today in
their home. They had been killed by shotgun blasts at close range after being bound and
gagged. There were no signs of struggle, and nothing had been stolen. The telephone lines
were cut. (Clarke 1988: 317)
The moment Capote read about it, the mysterious and seeminglymotiveless crime intrigued
him. That is why he made a decision to go down to Kansas, together with his fellow writer
friend, Nelle Harper Lee, in order to research the crime itself, the impact it had on the
community of Holcomb and, eventually, the personalities of the two killers. As he himself
explained the reasons for taking up this particular subject:
After reading the story it suddenly struck me that a crime, the study of one such, might pro-
vide the broad scope I needed to write the kind of book I wanted to write. Moreover, the
human heart being what it is, murder was a theme not likely to darken and yellow with
time. (Plimpton 1998: 199)
It seems that for Capote the American society has always been intrigued by the phenome-
non of crime, the mystery surrounding it, as well as the suspense connected with crime sto-
ries. Such a widely-read, sensationalist subject undoubtedly augmented the public attention
surrounding the book, which was exactly what Capote expected and desired to be in the

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very centre of attention of both the readers and the critics.
Nevertheless, from the very beginning Capote came across manyobstacles since he
clearly did not belong in the small Holcomb community. "The obviously gay 5'3'' Capote,
with his high voice and flair for attracting attention to himself" (Voss 2011: 5) indeed "was
greeted with derision" and was perceived as "someone coming off the moon" (Clarke 1988:
321). Numerous sources point to Nelle Harper being the one who helped the community get
used to the presence of Capote, who in the end was accepted by Holcombians to such an
extent that he was allowed to closely follow the investigation held by Kansas Bureau of
Investigation (Clarke 1988: 322-324). This made it possible for Capote to take thousands of
pages of notes that were then transformed into prose.
What is worth pointing out is the fact that Capote conducted all of the interviews
without the use of tape recorder or a notebook but only depending on his own memory and
listening skills. As he himself explained:
I began to train myself for the purposes of this sort of book, to transcribe conversations
without using a tape recorder. I did it by having a friend read passages from a book, and
then later I'd write them down to see how close I could come to the original. I had a natural
facility for it, but after doing it for a year and a half, a couple of hours a day, I could get 95
percent of absolute accuracy, which is as close as you need (Plimpton 1998: 202).
Such an approach to writing nonfiction has certain pitfalls that are very easy to observe.
The veracity of Capote's memorised account can be refuted by various theories of memory.
According to Thomas Wägenbaur (1998: 9): "however plausible our stories, they do not
turn our recollections into objective reports of passed events" but "they only modify our
subjective narrative of the past that we produce here and now." Additionally, memory "in-
volves processes of a - conscious or unconscious - selection of what is to be remembered,
of evaluating memories and [...], of choosing to forget certain persons, things or events"
(Gymnich et al. 2006: 1-2). Thus, falsifiability of human memory, its utter subjectivity, and
the risk of forgetting some of the memorised events appear to prove dubious Capote's con-
viction of being objective in terms of being able to reliably retell all memorised interviews.
Ultimately, it took Capote over six years to finish the book that he himself referred to as
"the nonfiction novel" (Clarke 1988: 357). As it was later explained by the biographer of
Truman Capote - Gerald Clarke (1988: 358), Capote wanted to write the story that was
written like a novel but "immaculately factual." The attempt at defining the genre of In cold
blood is taken up in the next section of this paper.

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1.2. Problems with genre specification
In cold blood, according to Capote himself, was supposed to represent a "new literary spe-
cies" (Clarke 1988: 357), the nonfiction novel. The genre was supposed to raise a subject of
a factual event by means of techniques hitherto applied by fiction writers. As Clarke (1988:
357) explains the mechanism of the nonfiction novel, it is written in a manner of a novel,
but the whole plot and the characters – instead of being fictitious are based on a veritable
occurrence, here, the actual murder of the Clutter family. Nevertheless, the way Capote
understood nonfiction seems to be of "apparently oxymoronic nature" (El-Hajj 2008: 2) as
it attempts to blend the irreconcilable: the real and the imagined, the objective and the sub-
jective perspective. John Hellman (1981) points to the fact that there is no such literary
work that can be both nonfictional and novelistic at the same time and suggests that the
objectivity of nonfiction is merely an illusion, thus such a literary work is in fact a work of
fiction. Consequently, as Hellman would state, Capote's nonfiction novel has no chance to
stand as a literary genre per se.
Nevertheless, the nonfiction novel was not supposed to be a work of journalism de-
veloping from literature, but rather journalism evolving into a novelistic work. Such a blend
of genres, the result of which is the nonfiction novel, appears to be a natural extension of
the journalistic legacy of Truman Capote, who wrote for The New Yorker in the 1950s.
Nonetheless, what needs to be emphasised is the fact that the nonfiction novel is not a jour-
nalistic medium, though it is often considered as belonging to the New Journalism trend
(Brady, 2006: 2). As defined by Marc Weingarten in his book The gang that wouldn't write
straight (2005: 7), the New Journalism is "journalism that reads like fiction and rings with
the truth of reported fact." Yet, the nonfiction novel only bases on the journalistic under-
pinnings as it is primarily dependent on "the subjective truth found in art and literature"
(Brady 2006: 2) rather than on the objective nature of journalistic writing. Whether the term
applied by Capote is adequate or not, the novel undoubtedly escapes the hitherto settled
convention concerning the distinction between fiction and nonfiction. As stated by Sleiman
Youssef El-Hajj (2008: 7-8), only by means of a conscious use of novelistic techniques in
the real-life narrative was Capote able to entangle his readers into the realityof the novel so
significantly that somehow he manages to "make them complicit in constructing the middle
class cultural and economic clout that, [...], provides fodder for the social construction of
criminality." Additionally, Jesse Brady (2006: 52) points out the importance of the narra-
tive elements of In cold blood, claiming that "the narrative elements that Capote borrows

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from fiction act as glue, not only putting together facts into a narrative, but also providing
and emotional attachment to the story."
1.2.1. The objectivity controversy
Truman Capote himself claimed that every single word of In cold blood was true (Voss
2011: 80). Nevertheless, the closer study of the novel makes certain inconsistencies and
traces of departure from the objective, journalistic-like style easily noticeable. Primarily,
the novel was to be written from a third-person heterodiegetic narrator perspective. Such a
narrative allowed Capote to remain entirely detached which seemed essential for the non-
fictional account of the Clutter family murder that he attempted at. Nonetheless, having
made "over 4,000 typed pages of notes" (Clarke 1988: 331) on his research and spent
around five years on both research and creation of the novel, Capote evidently became
emotionally entangled in the events. This becomes specifically clear if we take into account
personal relations he established with the killers, especially PerryEdward Smith. The sym-
pathy Capote had for the two criminals  chiefly for Smith with whom he identified more 
is one of the book's main overtones.
This is probably the major reason for Capote's departure from the fully objective
narrative. Katrien Persoons (2008: 24) also points to other possible reasons for this change
in style from an objective to a more subjective one, suggesting either a simple mistake of
the author or his desire to be present, even to a very limited extent, in the story to which he
had devoted such a huge part of his life. The narrator who was hitherto invisible to the
reader, "does appear twice at the end of the story" (Persoons 2008: 23) referring to himself
as "a journalist": "That was a cold night, Hickock said, talking to a journalist with whom he
corresponded and who was periodically allowed to visit him" (Capote 1966: 323); "Nobody
ever comes to see him except you1
, he said, nodding at the journalist, who was as equally
well acquainted with Smith as he was with Hickock." (Capote 1966: 327) David Guest (as
in: Persoons 2008: 26) believes that in the case of In cold blood we cannot really think of
an objective, impersonal point of view. Instead he claims that we deal with a "subjective,
manipulative storyteller" (Guest, as in: Persoons 2008: 26) whose point of view is altered
by his personal entanglement in the process of creation of his book.
1
Italics mine, BW

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Some critics also point to the problematic aspect of the re-creation of the Clutter
family. Capote introduced scenes and conversations of the victims he could not have wit-
nessed. According to John Hersey (1981: 291), "vivid as In cold blood was as a novel, it
has serious flaws on the nonfiction side, arising from the fact that its action and dialogue
had been reconstructed long after the events, yet were presented with all the assurance as
being exactly what had happened." Nevertheless, Capote himself wanted to defend himself
from such criticism:
If they read the book carefully they can see readily enough how it's done. Each time Nancy
[Clutter] appears in the narrative, there are witnesses to what she is saying and doing-
phone calls, conversations, being overhead... [...] What is reported of her, even in the narra-
tive form, is as accurate as many hours of questioning can make it. All of it is reconstructed
from the evidence of witnesses. (Plimpton 1998: 208)
Here, once again, the objectivity of the account re-created in such a way may be easily re-
futed. If we take into account how terrorised and traumatised the Holcomb communitywas
after the murder of the Clutter family, the grief and desolation of the interviewed witnesses
could redound to twisting some of the facts or presenting them inaccurately. According to
Cathy Caruth (1995: 151), a traumatic recollection "is not a simple memory" and "the im-
ages of traumatic reenactment [...] are largely inaccessible to conscious recall and control."
Thus, it may be that such a dependence on accurateness of the account provided by the
members of the Holcomb communityinstead of making the account more reliable, deprived
it of the objective character.
1.2.2. Uneven portrayals of the two killers
From the very beginning of the book, Capote seems to clearly state which killer is the one
he wants us to get to know and which he likes better. He gives much more attention to
Smith then he does to Hickock. In his descriptions of the two killers he appears to attribute
Smith with more likeable features.
He [Hickock] seemed a flimsy dingy-blond youth of medium height, fleshless and perhaps
sunken-chested; [...] his long-jawed and narrow face tilted, the left side rather lower than
the right, with the results that the lips were slightly aslant, the nose askew, and his eyes not
only situated at uneven levels but of uneven size, the left eye being truly serpentine, with
venomous, sickly-blue squint that although it was involuntarily acquired, seemed neverthe-
less to warn of bitter sediment at the bottom of his nature. (Capote 1966: 28-29)

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Through the very choice of vocabulary in his description of Hickock, Capote seems to hint
that he is supposed to be the less liked of the two criminals. Throughout the novel he de-
picts Hickock as a sort of crude and coarse plebeian who is unable to understand his part-
ner's complex nature. Hickock is represented as the less likable of the two characters as his
attitude towards Smith is depicted by Capote as a sort of "quibbling, jealous, dependent
relationhsip, like that of a very old or very young couple." (Voss 2011: 103)
Capote's descriptions of Smith have an entirely different overtone. Not only do the
fragments concerning Smith prevail in the novel, but also they seem to carry a much more
positive image of the killer:
Sitting, he had seemed a more than normal-sized man, a powerful man, with the shoulders,
the arms, the thick, crouching torso of a weight lifter- weight lifiting was, in fact, his
hobby. But some sections of him were not in proportion to others. His tiny feet, encased in
short black boots with steel buckles, would have neatly fitted into a delicate lady's dancing
slippers; when he stood up, he was no taller than a twelve-year-old child, and suddenly
looked strutting on stunted leg that seemed grotesquely inadequate to the grown-up bulk
they supported, not like a well-built truck driver but like a retired jockey, over-blown and
muscle-bound. (Capote 1966: 13)
Feminine and infantile features attributed to Smith's character automatically make the
reader perceive him in a completely different way then they perceive Hickock, who is de-
picted as a flat, two-dimensional character. Smith is by far a character with more depth.
Capote presents Smith as a person of extraordinary sensitivity who was fond of literature,
art and music; in contradistinction to Hickock who was presented as a sort of a brute, un-
willing and unable to appreciate beauty. Due to this fact, it is much easier for the reader to
feel sympathy towards Smith rather than Hickock. This situation seems rather baffling con-
sidering the fact that it was Smith who murdered all four members of the Clutter family.
This sympathy the author of In cold blood had for Perry Smith most probably stems
from the fact that during the process of creation of his novel Capote established a very
close relationship with him. Some sources even point to the possible existence of a homo-
sexual relation between the two, though Capote repeatedlydenied such allegations. Accord-
ing to Ralph F. Voss, (2011: 100), Capote's denial, however, might have been mandated by
"mid-1960s public attitudes about homosexuality," as during Capote's times homosexual
motifs were not frequent and common in everyday as well as in literary discourse. Still,
Capote's overt denial seems hard to believe as he was very open with his homosexuality in
general. Additionally, there are sources that prove that there was indeed a homoerotic rela-

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tionship between Capote and Smith. One of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation inspectors
claimed that "they [Capote and Smith] had become lovers in the penitentiary (...) They
spent a lot of time up there in the cell; [Capote] spent a considerable amount of moneybrib-
ing the guard to go around the corner, and they were both homosexuals and that was what
happened" (Plimpton 1997: 189).
According to Clarke (1988: 326): "their [Capote and Smith's] relationship was more
complicated than a love affair: each looked at the other and saw, or thought he saw, the
man he might have been." Additionally, El-Hajj (2010: 103) points to the fact that Capote
viewed Perry Smith as his "anti-doppelganger, in short, his road not taken." Capote dis-
cerned many striking similarities between his and Smith's life stories. Both of them were
repeatedly abandoned as children and suffered from trauma connected with parental abuse
and alcoholism. For Clarke, the relationship between the author of In cold blood and Smith
revolved primarily around the understanding of the miserable experiences both men were
forced to experience since their early childhood:
In Perry, [...] he [Capote] recognised his shadow, his dark side, the embodiment of his own
accumulated angers and hurts. When he looked into those unhappy eyes, he was looking
into a tormented region of his own unconsciousness, resurrecting the nightmares and fears
that had found form and body in such early stories as "Miriam" and "The Headless Hawk".
Reversing the coin, Perry perceived in Truman the successful artist he might have been.
(Clarke 1988: 326)
Because of the personal sympathy he had for Smith, Capote's objectivity in presenting the
character of the killer seems rather questionable. Additionally, due to this kinship between
Smith and Capote, the portrayal of Hickock as the more monstrous of the two killers may
not be as credible as Capote claimed it was. Such a deep entanglement into the events on
the part of Capote who represented them in his nonfiction novel obviously influences and
mars the supposedly objective character the book was aimed to have. One may venture to
say that Capote's perspective, to a smaller or larger extent, was altered by his very deep
attachment to Smith.
1.3. New leads in the Clutter killers case
Quite recently, new leads have appeared in the case of Clutter family murder, which may
change the entire perspective and interpretation of In cold blood. Since the 1960's, Richard

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Hickock and Perry Smith have been considered suspects in yet another multiple murder,
namely that of Walker family in Florida. The case remains unsolved until today. Lately, it
has been revealed that the investigation has been renewed and Hickock's and Perry's bodies
have been exhumed in order to find evidence for their involvement in the Walker family
murder. If it turns out that they in fact committed yet another murder, the whole of Capote's
account and the alleged sympathy for the killers he was trying to evoke in his reader will
have to be re-evaluated. (Daily News, 19th
December 2012).

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Chapter 2: In cold blood as a text that provides insight into a
murderer's mind
2.1. True crime genre
The question of whether Truman Capote did or did not invent the nonfiction novel remains
debatable to this day. Notwithstanding, In cold blood apart from belonging to the Capo-
tian genre of nonfiction novel indisputably has certain features characteristic of the true
crime genre. In order to indentify these characteristics of In cold blood, a closer look needs
to be taken into the history and evolution of the true crime genre.
2.1.2. Historical outline of the true crime genre in the American literature
According to Harold Schechter (2008; quoted in: Rzepka and Horsley2010: 198), the earli-
est true crime texts in American literature date back to 1651 and the Puritan era. The texts
contained "a preoccupation with the representativeness of the criminal; that is, whether the
criminal is more appropriately placed inside or outside the community." (Schmid; quoted
in: Rzepka and Horsley 2010: 198-199) Puritan crime writings portrayed criminals as
members of a community, who have sinned against the society. Nevertheless, sympathy
towards transgressors was seen as "a dangerously unstable emotion" (Schmid; quoted in:
Rzepka and Horsley 2010: 205) and was to be eschewed.
In the eighteenth century, criminal's perspective entered the true crime writings
realm. The important notion of true crime in those times was that of the "rhetoric of mon-
strosity", which according to David Schmid (quoted in: Rzepka and Horsley 2010: 199)
was to view the criminal "as a distinctly asocial creature." (Schmid; quoted in: Rzepka and

17. 17
Horsley 2010: 199) Thus, the eighteenth century true crime writings appear to anwser the
Puritan question whether the criminal belongs inside or outside the community.
As far as the literary merit of the true crime genre is concerned, it is crucial to men-
tion Edmund Pearson, whose writing contributed to a wider appreciation of the genre. He
cultivated a sort of an ironic, critical detachment from the cases he wrote about, defended
the notion of the capital punishment and stressed the inhumanity of criminals and their
separation from law-abiding citizens. As far as this thesis is concerned, Pearson's true crime
is necessary to observe as it constitutes a ground upon which Capote's work is based and,
more importantly, from which it departed (Schmid; quoted in: Rzepka and Horsley 2010).
As stated by Stephen Wade (2009: 11), the very term "true crime" is not a particu-
larly precise one as the word "true" is "a very movable concept" (Wade 2009: 11). Instead
he proposes to call the genre "crime fact".
2.1.2. Characteristice features of the genre
The very term 'true crime', as the name itself suggests, points to the nonfictional character
of such kind of writing and stresses that the topic taken up by true crime texts is the crime
that actually happened. The texts refer to a real life event and thus, are not fictitious. This is
the primary feature of the genre. It is apparently different from the crime fiction itself. The
character of true crime writing differed significantly over time, as it has been observed
above. Nevertheless, the genre's modern form seems to be assumed and notably influenced
by Capote's In cold blood (Schmid; as in: Rzepka and Horsley 2010: 198). Contemporary
true crime texts, according to Wade, are "genre cocktails" (Wade 2009: 11). Wade's meta-
phor perfectly illustrates the interdisciplinary character of true crime genre: it draws upon
many different domains such as historical writing, forensics, journalism, psychoanalysis, or
penology. Many true crime narratives tend to have ethical overtones pondering either on
the nature of punishment of criminals or "the search for the origins of deviance" (Schmid;
as in: Rzepka and Horsley 2010: 208). The very last feature is of tremendous importance in
Capote's text which is predominantly concerned with the killer's trauma as that which is
responsible for their deeds as well as with the pertinence of capital punishment.

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2.2. Capote's text as an example of the true crime genre
According to James N. Lapsley (1966: 201), In cold blood is "a full scale application of
case study methods developed in social welfare work, psychiatry, psychology, and pastoral
care to a complex psychological phenomenon." This description confirms the interdiscipli-
nary character of the true crime genre as in fact a mixture of genres. In the case of In cold
blood, the reader may stumble across the medical or the legal discourse. Capote's story is
presented with the use of a journalistic style and it seems to "peer into the dark world of
murder and violence" (Candelaria 2010: 44).
What is crucial in the discussion about the generic features of Capote's text is the
fact that, as a true crime writer, Capote wrote his story from within the community affected
by the murders, which revealed the significant impact the crime had on it. Nevertheless, he
still wanted to remain as objective as possible. As it has been observed above, he eventually
failed to do so. Instead, what can be observed in the text itself is a sort of "combination of
detachment and engagement" (Schmid; as in: Rzepka and Horsley 2010: 203) that could be
observed in earlier true crime writings. Nonetheless, Capote's understanding of boundaries
between detachment and engagement seemed to be much more vague than those of the an-
ticipatory true crime writers, which can be observed in an intimate relationship he had with
the killers who were at the same time the protagonists in his work.
Another evident true crime genre feature of In cold blood is visible in the way it
ponders on the reasons for misdemeanour and on the foundations for the development of
the pathological personality of a killer. In cold blood conducts "a search for the origins of
the killer's deviance in his childhood" (Schmid; as in: Rzepka and Horsley 2010: 208). Ca-
pote's account seems to attempt at exonerating the heinous crime Smith and Hickock com-
mitted by delving into many of their traumatic experiences, especially the obstacles Smith's
encountered in his childhood.
Look at his family! Look at what had happened there! His mother, an alcoholic, had stran-
gled to death in her own vomit. Of her children, two sons and two daughters, only the
younger girl, Barbara, had entered ordinary life, married, begun raising a family. Fern, the
other daughter, jumped out of a window of a San Francisco hotel... And there was Jimmy,
the older boy- Jimmy, who had one day driven his wife to suicide and killed himself next.
(Capote 1966: 106)

19. 19
Capote seems to try to point to the fact that the misery Smith was forced to witness as a
child took its toll on his psyche to such a significant extent that he ultimately grew up to be
a juvenile delinquent at first and  years later  a murderer.
In his text, Capote managed to achieve a sort of a double effect: the reader is "both
horrified with the violence of the murder of the Clutter family and at the same time moved
to pity at the neglect and pain of the murderer" (Candelaria 2010: 47).
2.3. Postmodern features of In cold blood
Although In cold blood is generally excluded from the standard discussions on postmodern
literature, its certain narrative characteristics clearly seem to have originated in the post-
modern movement. What is crucial to mention in the context of this thesis is the fact that
some of these features contribute to the character of Capote's novel that allows the reader to
have "insight into the mind of an abused, disenfranchised man" (Lapsley 1966: 210),
namely the Clutter family murderers.
2.3.1. The use of multiple viewpoints
According to Kelly Candelaria, one of the most evident postmodern features of In cold
blood is the use of multiple viewpoints (Candelaria 2010: 39). Exceptionally important is
the directly portrayed perspective of the killers themselves. This is an excerpt from Smith's
detailed account of the events in the Clutter family house:
Next thing, I brought the boy down. First I put him in the room with his dad. Tied his hands
to an overhead steampipe. Then I figured that wasn't very safe. He might somehow get
loose and undo the old man, or vice versa. So I cut him down and took him to the play-
room, where there was a comfortable-looking couch. I roped his feet to the foot of the
couch, roped his hands, than carried the rope up and made a loop around his neck, so if he
struggled he'd choke himself [...] (Capote 1966: 235)
The first-person narrative used in the killers' account of the murder is the very feature of In
cold blood that gives the reader an opportunity to have a direct insight into a murderer's
mind. Thanks to such a mode of narrative, the reader is able to closely follow everystep the
killers took in the Clutter family house, experience their ambivalent emotions and thus, be

20. 20
thoroughly moved by both the gruesomeness of the crime and the complicatedness of
Smith's and Hickock's personalities.
Probably the most harrowing moments of the novel appear when the thrust of the
narrative is passed on to either Perry Smith or Richard Hickock. As explained by Tom
Wolfe in The new journalism (1973: 32) "the technique presenting everyscene to the reader
through the eyes of a particular character gives the reader the feeling of being inside the
character's mind" and makes them feel they are "experiencing the emotional reality of the
scene." Giving the narrative voice to the murderers emotionally entangles the reader into
the story as well as poses the main moral dilemma of the novel, namely that of whether
such a heinous crime as the Clutter family murder can at all be justified. Allowing crimi-
nals to raise their voice could also be perceived as yet another postmodern feature which
provides minorities with the right to be heard, if we consider criminals such as Smith and
Hickock as a minority.
2.3.2. The use of non-linear narrative and intertextuality
The use of multiple viewpoints is not the only noticeable postmodern feature of In cold
blood. The narrative presented by Capote is non-linear: the events are not arranged chrono-
logically but they are fragmented. We learn about the murder at the beginning of the book,
yet a full and thorough account of the deed is provided later towards the end of the novel.
More importantly, when either Hickock or Smith take over the narrative, their stories also
lack chronology. This presents their psyches as troubled and somewhat fragmented, but
also such a narrative manoeuvre "leave[s] holes for the reader in order for them to contem-
plate complex social dilemmas" (Candelaria 2010: 39). According to Candelaria (2010:
50), the readers are likely to experience feelings of anger and confusion when bymeans of
non-linear narrative they are unexpectedly transferred from the viewpoint of the victim-
ised community to the perspective of the murderers. This makes them "reconsider every-
thing that they think they 'know' about murder and how society should punish those who
commit it" (Candelaria 2010: 50).
The mixture of genres provided by the text of In cold blood seems to be of an inter-
textual character, which constitutes yet another postmodern characteristic of Capote's
novel. As defined by John Anthony Cuddon (1999: 424) in Dictionary of literary terms and
literary theory, the term "intertextuality" was coined in 1966 by Julia Kristeva and it "de-

21. 21
notes the interdependence of literary texts." In the case of In cold blood we deal with the
interdependence of literary genres. The very genre of nonfiction novel is a blend of fiction
and nonfiction. Nevertheless, within the novel various genres can be encountered: letters to
the convicts, excerpts from Smith's and Hickock's statements, entries from Smith's personal
diary as well as examples of psychiatric discourse. All of these seem to have been con-
sciously used by Capote in order to both depict the murderer's point of view and provide an
insight into their complex personalities. Additionally, as stated by Candelaria (2010: 41),
such mixture of rhetorical strategies "make[s] room for the reader to respond [...] to the
narrative" and "move the reader emotionally."
According to Brady (2006: 53), the use of such extra-textual devices "not only pro-
vide[s] a factual element to the narrative but [...] also break[s] up the single narrative voice
of the text" as "we then see Capote's voice fading out as he uses the words of those directly
involved." Thus, it can be observed how the use of various discourses contributes to the
objective character of the nonfiction novel. It is as if the author wanted to show that his
account does not comprise solely his perspective but also the perception of the inhabitants
of Holcomb, FBI agents investigating the case, people involved in the trial and, eventually,
the killers.

22. 22
Chapter 3: Representation of the Clutter family killers
3.1. Definition of criminal behaviour
According to Curtis J. Braukmann and Edward K. Morris (1987: 4), crime "refer[s] to-
gether to all acts or omissions prohibited by public law and liable to punishment by that
law." The term seems to be a relative one as crime behaviours may differ significantly in
seriousness and dispersal and - additionally - they are heavily dependent on the back-
ground, sex, and age of the offender. Nevertheless, there exist the so-called "universal
crimes", meaning "serious predatory acts, which include violent offences" (Braukmann and
Morris 1987: 4). These perpetrations are regarded as misdeeds regardless of anysocietal or
historical factors and they are such crimes as: murder, nonnegligent manslaughter, aggra-
vated assault, forcible rape, robbery, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson
(Braukmann and Morris 1987: 4).
Behavioural approaches to the phenomenon of criminality attempt at establishing a
possible explanation for the criminal behaviour, though it is "probablythe most complex of
criminological endeavours" (Sheley 1987: 111). Delinquency is customarilybelieved to be
socially constructed. Joseph F. Sheley (1987: 111) asserts that firstly "it is assumed that
every social phenomenon has a cause" and only then it can be assumed that if the social
phenomenon related to the criminal action can be identified, the occurrence of such an ac-
tion can be predicted. Among the most frequent social factors contributing to the develop-
ment of criminal behaviour are: being brought up in a troubled, often large, low-income
family, encountering inappropriate or inadequate child-rearing practices, beginning illegal
behaviour at an early age, having trouble at school and committing crimes in the company
of other young men (Farrington, Ohlin and Wilson 1986, quoted in: Braukman, Curtis J.

23. 23
and Morris, Edward K 1987: 6). In the subsequent development of this chapter a closer
look is taken at the occurrence of the above-mentioned factors in the lives of the Clutter
family murderers, Perry Edward Smith and Richard Eugene Hickock, as they have been
represented in Capote’s nonfiction novel.
3.2. Richard 'Dick' Hickock
Richard Eugene Hickock was born on June 6, 1931 in Kansas City, Kansas. His childhood
was a relatively happy one:
'We never had much money, but we were never really down-and-out,' Hickock said. 'We
always had clean clothes and something to eat. My dad was strict, though. He wasn't happy
unless he had me doing chores. But we got along OK no serious arguments. My parents
never argued, either. I can't recall a single quarrel. She's wonderful, my mother. Dad's a
good guy, too. I'd say they did the best for me they could.'2
(Capote 1966: 210-211)
Hickock's story about his childhood presents him as a happy child, properly taken care of,
living in a complete family. That is why, Hickock does not seem to fit into the categories
inducing the development of criminal behaviour that were discussed in the previous sub-
chapter. He was a rather popular child and a successful athlete in high school. Nevertheless,
his two divorces and a serious car accident in 1950 left him scarred, both emotionally and
physically. The car crash made his face disfigured in a way that it "seemed composed of
mismatching parts [...] as though his head had been halved like an apple, then put together a
fraction off centre" (Capote 1966: 29). As for his marriages, he repeatedlyexpressed hatred
towards his ex-wives: "I keep thinking what fun if my second wife had been there [the
Clutter house]. Her, and all her goddam family" (Capote 1966: 139).
Hickock strikes the reader as a sociopath struggling with enormous amounts of sup-
pressed hatred and aggression. He appears as someone who is not capable of empathy.
However, according to his and Smith's statement, he was not capable of committing an ac-
tual murder. Hickock knew Smith would be able to kill, and that is why he chose him as his
accomplice. Such inability to kill may stem from the fact that Hickock was not exposed to
violence and abuse as a child, whereas Smith experienced such a trauma throughout his
whole life. Eventually, Smith took the blame for all the four killings in order to protect
2
Quotation marks as in the original, BW

24. 24
Hickock's parents: "She's a real sweet person [Dick's mother]. It might be some comfort to
her to know Dick never pulled a trigger" (Capote 1966: 247). Hickock's father could never
come to terms with his son's entanglement in the crime and he always believed that it was
Perry Edward Smith who had a bad influence on Hickock and who persuaded him to plan
the robbery of the Clutter family house. In reality it was Hickock who told Smith about his
plan of robbing the wealthy Clutter family and persuaded him to join.
3.2.1. Richard Eugene Hickock's sexuality
As described by Capote, Hickock clearly demonstrated signs of sexual attraction towards
pre-pubescent girls:
Now a young girl, probably twelve, was drawing figures in the sand, carving out big, crude, faces
with a piece of driftwood. Dick, pretending to admire her art, offered the shells he had gathered.
'They make good eyes,' he said. The child accepted the gift, whereupon Dick smiled and winked
at her. He was sorry he felt as he did about her, for his sexual interest in female children was a
failing of which he was 'sincerely ashamed'- a secret he'd not confessed to anyone and hoped no
one suspected [...] because other people might not thing it 'normal'. (Capote 1966: 195)
Hickock seemed to be sexually attracted to very young girls which was visible not only in
the scene on the beach. According to his and Smith's testimony, Hickock wanted to sexu-
ally abuse Nancy Clutter, who was sixteen years old when she was murdered. Nevertheless,
in the novel he repeatedly mentioned how ashamed he was of his deviation. At the same
time, he did not seem to be doing anything to control his sexual desires in any way.
Such an instance of paedophilic tendencies goes under a specific term. As defined
by The dictionary of modern medicine, ephebophilia is "a sexual preference by an older
person  usually understood to be an older man  for a girl in midtolate adolescence 
the consummation of which is illegal in most jurisdictions" (Segen 1992).
Surprisingly enough, Hickock was allegedly prevented from sexually assaulting
Nancy Clutter by Smith, who resented his accomplice's preferences as well as all the people
"who can't control themselves sexually" (Capote 1966: 195). Hickock strikes the reader as
someone who has tendencies to flaunt his sexuality and manliness. At the same time, he
seems to be quite effeminate, referring to his accomplice as "honey" or "sweetheart".

25. 25
3.2.2. The American dream from the perspective of the killers
An essential characteristic of Hickock is a sort of pathological envy he seemed to had suf-
fered from. As Capote described him, "envy was constantly with him; the Enemy was any-
one who was someone he wanted to be or who had anything he wanted to have" (Capote
1966: 193-194). During Hickock's and Smith's stay in Florida, Dick experienced ferocious
anger while observing wealthy and joyous families during their stay at the beach:
All that belonged to him, Dick, but he would never have it. Why would that sonofabitch
have everything, while he had nothing? Why should that 'big-shot bastard' have all the
luck? With a knife in his hand, he, Dick, had power. Big-shot bastards like that had better
be careful or he might 'open them up and let a little of their luck spill on the floor'3
. (Capote
1966: 194)
Hickock seems to be pathologically jealous of people who are more fortunate than he is.
His instant reaction to other people's happiness is anger or violence. He also seems to
evince sociopathic tendencies in other situations, for instance, when he intentionally run
down a dog (Capote 1966: 108) or when as a child, jealous of his wealthier peers, he stole
his friend's holiday souvenirs in order to smash them all with a hammer (Capote 1966:
193).
Such behaviours like Hickock's sociopathic jealousy, as asserted by El-Hajj (2008:
10), may stem from the "clash of two Americas." We are presented with two entirely oppo-
site visions of the notion of the American dream. The Clutters appear as "a literal applepie
embodiment of the American dream" and "an esteemed pillar of the community" (El-Hajj
2008: 10). On the other hand, there are Hickock and Smith who are excluded from the Clut-
ter's world as they are "underprivileged, dispossessed, and resentful of those accorded suf-
ficient social and economic leverage to achieve their dreams" (El-Hajj 2008: 10). Because
they were socially underprivileged from the very beginning, they wished to move up in the
social ladder. Hickock dreamed of being rich and Smith's dreams was to go on an adventure
similar to those he saw in the motion pictures. However, everything they did in order to
achieve their dreams and become prosperous was by means of criminal acts: Hickock em-
bezzled cheques since his early adulthood and Smith wanted to appropriate money they
3
Quotation marks as in the original, BW

26. 26
were supposed to steal from the Clutters on his dream adventure, which was meant to guar-
antee him an entirely new life.
3.3. Perry Edward Smith
Perry Edward Smith was born on October 27, 1928 in Huntington, Nevada. His ancestry
was of mixed Irish and Cherokee origin. Unlike his accomplice, his childhood was fraught
with traumatic experiences since his early years.
'In Juneau, my father was making bootleg hooch.4
I believe it was during this period my
mother became acquainted with alcohol. Mom & Dad began having quarrels. I remember
my mother was "entertaining" some sailors when my father was away. When he came
home a fight ensued, and my father, after a violent struggle, threw the sailors out & pro-
ceeded to beat my mother. I was frightfully scared, in fact all us children were terrified.
Crying. I was scared because I thought my father was going to hurt me, also because he
was beating my mother. I really didn't understand why he was beating her but I felt she
must have done something dreadfully wrong[...]'5
(Capote 1966: 266)
Smith's mother left his father in 1935 and together with her children she moved to San
Francisco. As an alcoholic she neglected them and she led a very promiscuous lifestyle. At
the age of thirteen, Smith was orphaned. His mother died of alcohol abuse. Since then, he
was moved from one orphanage to another. In each of those establishments he was severely
abused by his caregivers, both emotionally and physically.
In his adolescence he reunited with his father. According to Smith, his father was
always very austere and critical of him. He never seemed to be proud or pleased with him.
During that period he started to show signs of impulsiveness and violence. He was first
caught stealing at the age of eight but he began a life of crime in 1955 after a serious falling
out with his father.
3.3.1. The double nature of Perry Edward Smith
As stated by Candelaria (2010: 50), Smith "is not depicted by Capote as a one-dimensional
maniacal killer." Though traumatized since the early days of his life, Smith was still an ex-
ceptionally intelligent and sensitive man, interested in arts and poetry.
4
Bootleg hooch- a kind of illegally distilled alcohol (www.thesaurus.com)
5
Quotation marks as in the original, BW

27. 27
It seems as if Perry could be someone that we might know. He might be a little peculiar,
but then that is not uncommon. As we continue to get to know Perry we find that he had
been in jail most of his adult life, and had been abused and neglected throughout his child-
hood. This abuse and neglect is sketching out to the reader a child that we all know some-
one should have helped to get out of the impoverished and abused world he lived in. (Can-
delaria 2010: 50)
Certain Smith's behaviours make it impossible for the reader to unequivocally classifyhim
as a cold-blooded monster. While providing an account of the events in the Clutter family
house, he repeatedly claims that he felt as if "he wasn't the part of it" (Capote 1966: 234).
Just as he was ready to leave the house  horror-struck by the cruelty of his accomplice 
he momentarily decides to go back and that is when he murders the whole family: he ties
them up and shoots them one by one.
Much difficult as it is to understand such discrepancyin Smith's attitude, the wayhe
treated his victims leaves the reader even more astounded. He placed all four members of
the family in comfortable positions, either in their beds, a mattress box or a couch. Addi-
tionally, as discussed in the previous subchapter, Smith prevented Hickock from raping
Nancy Clutter. He demonstrates a sort of kindness that is staggering for the reader. For
Candelaria (2010: 51), Capote "brings in this complicated side of the murderer so that the
reader is shocked into a possible new perspective" and presents Smith as "a murderer who
embraces both anger and kindness; he is a monster and protector, a killer and a saviour."
Nevertheless, Smith does not seem to be able to notice, and let alone comprehend, the con-
tradiction in his behaviour. When he described the killing of Herb Clutter he said: "I didn't
want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so
right up to the moment I cut his throat" (Capote 1966: 237). He feels sympathy and respect
for his victim. This, however, does not prevent him from murdering him in cold blood right
after he stops pondering on how nice the victim is. Such behaviour makes Perry Smith a
particularly complex character, someone who experiences pity and anger as if at the same
time. He evokes the reader's empathy yet he simultaneously acts in an utterly unpredictable
way that terrifies and shocks the reader.
3.3.2. "The cycle of violence"- what created Smith's homicidal potential?
One of the main overtones of In cold blood is the critique of the social institutions that had
failed to protect Perry Edward Smith from the life of crime. According to El-Hajj (2008:

28. 28
55), Smith was exposed to violent mistreatment in each of the establishments that he en-
countered in his life, be that a deconstructed family, orphanages, or detention houses. Ca-
pote seems to suggest that Smith had no chance of leading a different life than he did as no
one had ever given him any chance and, thus, Capote attempts to put the blame for Smith's
homicidal potential on the social institutions that repeatedlylacerated and traumatised him.
Smith seems to be a victim of a so-called "cycle of violence." As El-Hajj (2008: 56) ex-
plains the term coined by Spatz Widom, it implies that "those who experience childhood
abuse become more likely to abuse others" as they are in a waytaught violence bymeans of
experiencing "trauma of exposure to violent models." Craig Haney(2005: 153-154) appears
to confirm this by claiming that "fearsomeness as an adult may be rooted in his adaptations
to the many threatening situations and circumstances to which he was forcibly exposed as a
child or adolescent."
3.4. Clutter family murderers- victimisers or victims?
As Michel Foucault (1977: 275-276) wrote in Discipline and punish: the birth of prison, "it
is not crime that alienates an individual from society, but that crime is itself due rather to
the fact that one is in society as an alien." Both the author of In cold blood and a French
philosopher agree in stressing the responsibility of "middle-class mechanisms of discipline"
(El-Hajj 2008: 81) for the development of criminal behaviour in such citizens as Hickock
and Smith. According to Foucault (1977: 223), those mechanisms "characterise, classify
[and] specialise" as they "distribute along a scale, around a norm, hierarchise individuals in
relation to one another and, if necessary, disqualify and invalidate."
Much controversial though it may seem, Capote apparently wanted to place the two
killers in the position of victims who, because of their unfortunate lives, ended up as vic-
timizers.
Perry Smith is the recipient, witness, and, thus inevitably, as Capote suggests, the perpetra-
tor of much of the grassroots violence marking the narrative and ending it with. In sum,
Perry is versed in the agonizing experience of violence in its different physical, sexual, and
psychological forms: he is raped first by his shipmates and later by fellow soldiers, beat by
the nuns for wetting his bed, as well as physically and psychologically abused by his father
at leisure. He first witnesses the sexualized violence his mother is subjected to, her abuse
by his father and, at a later stage, the suicides of his brother, his sister, and his sister-in-law.
(El-Hajj 2008: 82)

29. 29
As El-Hajj further explains, such a continuous pattern of violence had to result in the de-
velopment of violent, criminal behaviour and thus, it made Smith, and to the lesser extend
Hickock, "victim[s]- turned-victimizer[s]" (El-Hajj 2008: 82).
3.5. Reasons behind the development of criminal behaviour
As it has been observed on the basis of the analysis of the characters of Richard Eugene
Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, the reasons for the development of criminal behaviour
are very difficult to establish. Nevertheless, the majority of the described facts seem to en-
force the previously mentioned idea of the social construction of crime. Smith and Hickock
appear to have taken up the life of criminality due to the social circumstances both of them
were placed in. Both characters are depicted in struggle: Hickock, trying to provide for the
financial needs of himself and his family and Smith, struggling with traumatic events since
his early childhood. Their criminal behaviour seems to be a way of either choosing the eas-
ier path or following a pattern of violence, both being social factors they could not have
predicted nor prevented.
Additionally, Capote seems to be pointing out the importance of the middle- class
dominance in the American society that, according to him, played a crucial role in the crea-
tion of the sociopathic, homicidal characters of both Smith and Hickock. The novel is im-
bued with the overall critique of the American penal system, especially the notion of the
capital punishment. This is probably the main reason why In cold blood's nonfictional char-
acter has been severely questioned since the publication of the novel until today. Neverthe-
less, aside from social factors, there seems to be something about both Smith and Hickock
that gives the reader an impression that they had innate murderous potential. Hickock
seems to evince sociopathic behaviours as early as in his childhood years, whilst his family
environment and upbringing were not traumatic as it was in the case of Smith. However,
the studies of the relation between genetics and criminal behaviour are still in progress and
no concrete evidence has been offered so far.
The psychiatrist Joseph Satten (1960: 48), who took part in the psychiatric evalua-
tion of Hickock and Smith, in his article Murder without apparent motive: a study in per-
sonality disorganisation claims that law generallyprovides a differentiation between "sane"
and "insane" murderers. Nevertheless, as Satten asserts, there is a group of murderers who
"seem rational, coherent, and controlled, and yet whose homicidal acts have a bizarre, ap-

30. 30
parently senseless quality." Smith and Hickock appear to belong to this particular group of
murderers. According to Satten (1960: 48), such "individuals are predisposed to severe
lapses in ego control which makes possible the open expression of primitive violence, born
out of previous, and now unconscious, traumatic experiences." The subjects of Satten's
study concerning the disorganisation of personality of the killers were all pronounced sane
and the same goes for Smith and Hickock. Yet, the brutality of their deed seems utterly
senseless. In the majority of Satten's subjects one particular feature similar to Hickock and
Smith was discovered, namely "long-standing, sometimes lifelong, historyof erratic control
over aggressive impulses" (Satten 1960: 49).
One of Satten's findings appears to be especially applicable to Smith who during the
events in the Clutter family house felt as if "he wasn't the part of it" (Capote 1966: 234).
Satten (1960: 49) points to the occurrence of "altered states of consciousness", or "dissocia-
tive trance-like states during which violent and bizarre behaviour was seen." As Satten fur-
ther explains, such murderers as Smith "during moments of actual violence, they often felt
separated or isolated from themselves, as if they were watching someone else." In accor-
dance with Satten's theory, Smith's homicidal potential is intrinsically connected with expo-
sure to violence since his earliest days; as for Satten (1960: 50): "the child's exposure to
overwhelming stimuli, before he can master them, is closely linked to early defects in ego
formation and later severe disturbances in impulse control." While describing his child-
hood, Smith mentioned how he used to be a witness to his mother's promiscuity. Satten
(1960: 50) points out the important role that the child's observing of a "primal scene" 
meaning a sexual act  plays in creation of a disorganised personality. The act may be per-
ceived as "something overwhelmingly violent and sadistic," and if the experience is re-
pressed by that child, it might take its toll on the development of their personality.
As for Hickock's disorganised personality, Satten (1960: 51) points out the impor-
tance of "an idealised, all-giving mother figure." Throughout his life, Hickock felt ashamed
of the fact that he grew up to be an antithesis of the person his mother raised him to be-
come. The struggle between who he became and what he once expected of himself seem to
be a possible reason for Hickock's frustration and anger. Additionally, Satten (1960: 51)
stresses the significance of "shallow emotions" the killers evinced "regarding their own fate
and that of their victims." When asked about the murder, Hickock repeatedlyreferred to the
deed as "blasting hair all over them walls", with no signs of remorse whatsoever (Capote
1966: 20). Satten (1960: 51) attested such behaviours in his subjects claiming that "guilt,

31. 31
depression and remorse were strikingly absent" in them. Hickock's psychiatric evaluation
showed that "his self-esteem is very low, and he secretly feels inferior to others and sexu-
ally inadequate. These feelings seem to be over-compensated for by dreams of being rich
and powerful" (Capote 1960: 287). Such behaviour was also attested by Satten (1960: 49),
who claimed that his subjects "had ego-images of themselves as physically inferior, weak
or inadequate."
Summing up, according to Satten's theory (1960: 52), criminals such as Smith and
Hickock carry "a surcharge of aggressive energy" and they have "an unstable ego defence
system that periodically allows [...] expression of such energy." For Satten, the keyconcept
in such activation of the murderous potential is post-traumatic experience: for Smith it
would be his entire life that was a series of miserable events and for Hickock this could
apply to the car accident that left him severly injured and disfigured. In addition, Satten
(1960: 52) describes such killers as the protagonists of In cold blood as "predisposed to
gross lapses in reality contact and extreme weakness in impulse control during periods of
heightened tension and disorganisation." For Satten, the killers might have projected their
traumatic experience on the victims. This theory stresses the importance of environmental
factors in the development of the homicidal potential. The central notion to it is experience
of trauma, which caused the killers' lack of emotional control as well as lack of comprehen-
sion of consequences of their deeds.

32. 32
Conclusion
This thesis has taken up the notion of the murderous personality presented in the characters
of Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, the killers of the Clutter family, who
are described in the 1966 novel In cold blood by Truman Capote. The book is commonly
regarded as the classic of the nonfiction genre, even though at the time of publishing it
stirred up numerous controversies, as has been pointed out in this thesis. Undoubtedly, this
work was the very peek of the literary career of Truman Capote; it turned out to be his opus
vitae. He dedicated long years of his live to the creation of In cold blood and it was the last
successful book of his. His entanglement into the events presented in his nonfiction novel
was so significant that objectivism towards the represented facts is often denied to him by
many scholars.
In the first chapter, the very process of researching the Clutter family murder case
and the creation of the book was described. The problem with the specification of the genre
of the novel was addressed. This part of the research was primarily based on the biography
of the author as well as the interviews he gave during the creation of the book and after its
publication. Then, we pondered on the Capote's genre of the nonfiction novel and whether
it can be regarded as a legitimate literary genre. Later, a closer look was taken on the con-
troversy of Capote's objectivity, referring to the opinions of scholars both supporting and
dismissing the author's credibility and objectivity. Additionally, the differences in the por-
trayals of the two killers were observed and analyzed in order to show how they influence
the reader's perception of the two characters of Perry Edward Smith and Richard Eugene
Hickock. An important issue of the overt sympathy Capote had for Smith was raised. The
close bond the two developed and also the alleged sexual relationship between them could

33. 33
have had a tremendous impact on the objectivity of Capote's portrayal of the Clutter family
murderers.
The second chapter took up the notion of the true crime genre and it attempted to
show how the genre evolved throughout centuries and how it was changed by the publica-
tion of In cold blood. We pondered on what the characteristic features of this genre are and
how they are represented in the novel. Additionally, a discussion of postmodern features of
Capote's nonfiction novel was provided. These features are of importance for this study as
it is them that provide the reader of In cold blood with an insight into a murderer's mind.
In the final chapter, the analysis of the characters of Richard Eugene Hickock and
Perry Edward Smith was provided. A closer look was taken at their lives and the possible
reasons for the development of their sociopathic tendencies were sought for. The murderers'
live stories and the reasons for their conduct? were analysed from the perspective of behav-
ioural approaches to criminality as well as Michel Foucault's theory of discipline. With the
aid of Joseph Satten's theories, it was observed how essential environmental factors and
traumatic experiences are in the formation of a disorganised and disordered personality.
Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith appear as men who due to the experi-
enced misery and trauma developed a lack of control over their own feelings as well as the
inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality. According to Satten's theory, the grue-
some violence towards the victims might have stemmed from the projection of their trau-
matic experiences on the Clutter family members. This analysis seems to expressly show
that the primary reason for the degradation of Smith and Hickock's personalities was the
environment they grew up in as well as the trauma both of them experienced and were vic-
tims of.

34. 34
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