In Cold Blood by Truman Capote should receive two and a half stars for literary merit; one being the high and five being the lowest. Throughout the novel Truman Capote uses detailed imagery to entice readers and to provide a better understanding of the mental struggles and physical surroundings characters face. Using imagery was a major strength to help create more specific and realistic feelings since a major event is the murders. Foil characters and clear connections of how characters grew up and developed are provided. In Cold Blood developes thought provoking themes that are easily related throughout the book. The weakness concerning the literary element of the book is how the storyline unfolds mainly at the beginning of the novel.
The imagery in this novel is very explicitly detailed and very specific to create a mysterious and gory mood of the non fiction event. An example of imagery in Truman Capote’s book In Cold Blood is “ ‘Nancy loved the river. Summer nights we used to ride double on Nancy’s horse, Babe - that old fat grey? Ride straight into the river and right into the water. Then Babe would wade along the shallow part while we played our …show more content…
An example of a foil is Dick and Perry to the Clutter family. Some reasons why Dick Hickock and Perry Smith foil the Clutters are because of their childhood and education. Perry Smith was uneducated and lacked support as a child “I started to realize the importance of an education. This only added to the hatred and bitterness I held for others” (276) while Dick Hickock grew up in a supportive environment but just not for education but more of sports. This is the completely opposite case for the Clutter family, the kids are largely supported and have family members as well as a town that values education including active duties in the