The Clutter Family In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

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In Truman Capote’s novel In Cold Blood, an astonishing massacre of the respected Clutter family shatters the sinews of trust within the formerly innocent and close-knit village of Holcomb. Capote’s structure accentuates the importance of the Clutter family’s massacre on the community brilliantly transitioning from showing the effects of the murder to telling the effects in his own words. Capote captures the transformation of Holcomb Kansas from a trusting, close-knit village where one can aspire to emulate the warmth and success of the Clutter family, to a dispirited, ugly, and untrusting beast.
Capote begins his passage by telling the story of Mrs. Myrtle Clare who, unlike her fellow citizens is unaffected by the Clutter massacre “sleeping …show more content…
The Clutter family represented a warm stability in the town of Holcomb, a symbol of success through which ordinary citizens aspired to embody. Indeed, probably the only thing keeping the Ashida family in Holcomb was Mrs. Ashida’s liking of the Clutter family, though “after what happened to Herb and his family, [she] felt something around here had come to an end.” After including a quotation from a schoolteacher nicely summing up such sentiments, Capote evaluates the evidence he presented thus far concluding that the “hitherto peaceful congregation of neighbors and old friends had suddenly to endure the unique experience of distrusting each other... they believed that the murderer was among themselves.” Capote’s description of the former ‘peaceful congregation’ emphasizes the contrast between Holcomb’s former innocence and Holcomb’s now dispirited and distrustful aura. Rather than simply state ‘distrust occurred in the community,’ Capote portrays numerous examples of how such distrust fermented before reaching his conclusion in order to more vividly capture just how significant such sentiments were felt throughout the “peaceful congregation” and how outwardly apparent they were. Capote’s careful selection of quotations and subsequent thoughtful commentary, therefore, illustrates not only the murder of the Clutter family, but also
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