Perry Smith is explaining his childhood and the effect his father had on him as a little boy, adolescent, and eventual young adult. Smith recalls these memories of when he was a boy, struggling to find love from someone who genuinely cared about him. This need of love came in a time in his childhood when he lived in a prison-like state which, flash forward to his recollection, connects to his literal prison life. In these memories, the audience is given an entire mini-biography of Perry Smith in order to get an honest, well-thought outlook on Smith. It becomes the reader’s responsibility to characterize him rather than let the facts tell the story, which is what Capote forces. Whether Capote wrote this mini-bio on Smith because of is own personal
