One thing that I find suspenseful is that in the beginning, the chapters switch point of views, from the soon to be murdered family to the killers. The book goes on with the one day in particular that the crime is comitted, showing us all the leading events and details that will bring us to the murder. We're all just waiting until it will get to the point of the murder, or when their paths intertwine. I noticed during the Clutter's point of view, it's always talking about their normal every day life, and at the end of the chapters, (most of the time,) it'll say something along the lines of "unaware it would be their last (whatever)." It almost seems as if Capote is mocking the reader at this point, as the reader knows the murder will happen but we're just unsure when it will.
I found the need to respond to what Kelsey said because she made a very interesting point. The point that was made was about how 'Capote is mocking the reader at this point.' I wanted to go a bit deeper into this idea. Just by the name of the book, we know that someone is going to die and by reading the back of the book, we know it is the Clutter family so by switching back and forth between their perspectives, it gets the reader involved and can even irritate them abit. We read the section about the Clutters and at the end of every section about them, we're expecting them to die, so by switching to Dick and Perry without having the Clutter's dead yet makes us wonder how he can carry the story on, or what twists he can add. The way that this 'mocks' the reader is that he gives us the image that these people are needed in their society and that no one would have expected this to happen as well as giving us hints as to what was to come. A few of these hints are "[Mr. Clutter] headed home from a days work..." (Capote 13), ' "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is."' (Capote 30), '"Like I said, nothing out of the ordinary."' (Capote 41), "...In the event of death by accidental means..."' (Capote 48), to name a few. These subtle messages at the end of each section about the Clutters just serve to drive the point home that they were normal people who would never expect this to happen to them.
Suspense if built, not only by how Brandy and Kelsey say, but also by how you want to know how exactly it happened. You know that the family gets killed. You know the killers get executed. But you don't know just how they could do it. Where they got their information, why this family to murder, why murder them are all questions the reader has. I had those questions burning within as I read. Capote is a smart man for knowing just how much information to give and when to get the overall effect that this book produces.
Capote creates suspense by putting numerous questions in the reader's head. "When will the family die?" "What happend when the died?" "Was it Dick or Perry that killed them?" "Why did they kill the Clutters?" Typically, when people develp these questions they try to answer them as they read, coming up with possibilities that make them anxious to see if they're right. As soon as the first few puzzle pieces are laid down the viewer wants to see the picture.
The suspense is build rather cleverly throughout the novel. Capote takes his time and places small statements about the fate of the victims and criminals at random moments that keeps the reader going and wanting more knowledge on the subject to the point where the reader is taken in by the book and is a imaginary bystander not only wanting to know if the criminals will get away with their crime, but also wanting to know more about the characters' lives, hopes, and dreams. This book takes you in by the suspense and makes a person care just as much about the outcome as Nancy's best friend or Dick's parents, waiting, wanting, and needing to know what comes next for their loved ones.
Suspense is built by the fact that we never know how it’s going to happen. We never know how Dewey will catch Hickock and Smith and we never know how the Clutters were actually killed. Yes, from the beginning we knew that the Clutters would be killed and that Dick and Perry committed the crime and eventually would be caught and killed, but they were so elusive for so long. It seemed like there was at least a couple times when they should have been caught, but weren’t. And even when they were caught, Dewey still wasn’t sure they were the killers. The Suspense came from these facts, that even though we knew what was going to happen, we didn’t know how it would happen. ~Kendall Rosato
Before reading In Cold Blood, I set pretenses that the novel would be bound by informational and passive rhetoric, forcing the audience to succumb to surreal literature. But I was quickly overwhelmed by Capote's mastery as he brilliantly set the stage for a tragedy. Capote creates suspense among readers as he utilizes sickening comparisons between the victims and the criminals. Capote writes as if by some disgusting means the Clutter family forebodes their own demise. Capote describes a setting of innocence and ignorance among the Clutter family which he perverts and amplifies. Capote leads the reader to believe that the horrid murders were self-inflicted and only a consequence to their enviroment. The Clutter family is portrayed to be humble and reverent, understanding of inevitable death, but Capote writes mockingly towards mortality. Capote's style and composure creates such a deep poignant feeling of suspense inside the reader.
I have kind of already said this in a different answer to a question, but I think Capote creates suspense by separating the book into three different parts. He shows the life of an ordinary family going about its buisness, and all of a sudden they are murdered. This is great suspense then you have the murderers escape justice for to long and then the murderers are caught. The biggest question is why they did it and setting a story up like this is perfect for keeping the reader interested and making the reader want to finish the book
Before reading the novel, I was very skeptical about how this will be good because we already know the outcome. However, there was a plentiful supply of suspense in the book. Capote, by withholding information like who actually did the killing and how they got their information, he was able to create a feeling of longing and almost an obsession to know the facts of the murder. We fell under the fantastic spell weaved by Capote with his suspense built by being left in the dark and by relating the killers to the reader. Also, by taking us along the cross-country trek by the killers, we are kept guessing where exactly they will be caught and taken in. All of these thing help contribute to the over suspense created by Truman Capote.
From the very beginning of In Cold Blood, I was vividly reminded of an unfinished puzzle. The reader understands the main concept of the puzzle from the beginning, (that the Clutter's are to be murdered by Dick and Perry) but are missing important pieces of this puzzle in order to comprehend the picture as a whole. The suspense thrives from the un-ignorable, yet un-answered questions of WHY and HOW, which are solved slowly part by part throughout the novel, as the reader waits on edge for the last puzzle piece that will bring everything together into one incredible masterpiece. Capote brilliantly plays off our own human nature which yearns to "solve the puzzle," and, as another student mentioned previoiusly, gives us the perfect amount of information to get the reader interested and keep them intrigued throughout the novel.
I feel that Capote built suspense by writing the way the victims were found,but not giving the details of that exact night. The way he describes the bodies and how careful the killers were at keeping their tracks clean made the reader wonder how in the end they were caught? In doing so Capote explains the killers' 7 week journey which builds more suspense. He gives you more details during the process of Perry and Dick's journey, but not the actual crime. And when Al Dewey is frustrated with the disappearance of both men makes the suspense worse, because the reader wants Dewey to find him, so he and the town can be at peace. During the trip Perry and Dick took the reader also finds out their past and how they found out about the Clutter's house in the first place, when in the book it says that nobody could get there by chance. The trip also gives you a chance to sympathize for Perry and in the end shocks you that Perry murdered the whole Clutter family.
I personally knew he could have done it, because Capote gave you little clues that he wasn't as calm as he was thought to be.
Capote creates suspense by taking you into the last day of the Clutter's lives and making it seem that they won't die, that its just a typical day. Then when the crime has been commited making it seem that the authorities will never catch the criminals. He makes it seem that they will always be on the run and may even one day reach safety because the investigators will never make the connection. Once the authorities are onto them he seems to strech the chase llonger than it actually took. in all these ways Capote creates suspense and then leaves you in doubt about what truly happened that fatal night.
Kelsey and Brandy make good points that the switching of view points does create suspense; except, when I read, the switching served only to whittle away the remaining time. What really got me suspensful was how Capote could be so cavalier about the Clutter family was about to die! Capote had Nancy Clutter teaching little Jolene Katz how to bake a cherry pie, then talking about the physiques of the men who, we assume, will be their killers! And as time progresses, it only gets worse as Dick and Perry travel their way closer and closer to their goal: the murder of the Herbert W. Clutter family. The suspense is crancked up, for me at least, when Dick goes into the Catholic hospital in Emporia, Kansas, because, to me, nuns are God's (Catholic) law on Earth; Dick, very easily, could have be ousted by some divine sign and arrested. Isn't it true that the Lord works in mysterious ways? That's what I was thinking when Perry insisted he go and ask. Too bad they didn't get caught. Connor S.
Capote builds suspense throughout the book in making sure he doesn't give too much away in the beginning. All we know in the beginning is that Perry and Dick committed the crime. Capote makes sure not to give away details on the criminals' motives for the crime or whether Dick or Perry or both killed the Clutter family. In order to do that Capote makes sure everything is known at the end of the book when Perry and Dick are confessing to committing the crime.
While reading, I couldn't help but feel that Capote was using an omission of detail to build suspense. It is true that from the beginning, we know who dies, how they die, and who kills them, but the reader must go through almost the entire novel before finally learning what happened that night. The way the book is set up, one chapter is the Clutters going to bed, the next is a brief point-of-view change to the criminals outside, which is followed by a chapter set during the next morning. The Clutters are dead, each shot in the head, but there is still a lot left unexplained. Why was Kenyon's head propped up? Why was Nancy tucked in? Etc. We don't learn this information until after the criminals are captured, and even then there is no way to be certain it's true or not. Capote also built suspense by sort of 'dragging things out'. We went through approximately a day and a half of the Clutter's last moments in detail, all while knowing they would be dead soon. We grew to know them, and became attached to them, and knew that, within a few chapters, they would be gone. We didn't want to see them die, but we knew it would happen, and that made us suspenseful. A similar effect was used when Perry and Dick were awaiting their execution day. Even though the reader is certain of the boy's inevitable execution, the book keeps us guessing on their fates by emphasizing all of Dick's attempts at a new trial, and the borderline disturbing amount of delays before their hanging, and introducing us to various other murderers in the same situation. All of this makes the reader feel not only very impatient, but also suspenseful.
Capote builds suspense by telling the story from different characters perspectives. He also builds suspense and interests by only giving clues to what really happened rather than telling the whole story in the beginning. He constantly leaves the reader wanting more until the very end where everything gets tied together.
Capote builds suspense despite the fact that the readers know the ultimate outcome, by keeping the reader not sure about things. By doing this, you are overwhelmed with several questions, and what you think you know may not be true. With how the book is written in the beginning, going back and forth from the view of the Clutter family to the view of Dick and Perry, you know something bad is about to happen, you just don’t know when. Capote gives details all throughout the day the murder is taking action and shows us what all happens before and afterwards, while not exactly letting the reader know details about the actual murder. The reader only knows for sure that Perry and Dick were the two involved in it taking place. With that, he keeps the suspense during the rest of the book, until the end, by only giving you a hint of what happens, rather than telling it all. -Braelyn B.
Capote builds suspense by not giving you all the details from one perspective. He leaves lose ends and has different characters tie them together. He gives us bits and pieces of the murder from multiple perspectives then has Perry and Dick put it all together into what really happened. He does that constantly leading up to the confessions.
I agree with braelyn01, Capote managed to create suspense even though the reader knew the ultimate outcome from the start of the novel, by keeping the readers guessing. When the criminals murdered the Clutters and left no evidence, only added more questions to the reader’s mind, “Will the true murders be caught?” and “How did the criminals manage to not leave a single trace of evidence?”, with all the new questions, the suspense is added and keeping the readers at the edge of their seats. In the beginning of the novel, when Capote switches the Clutters’ point of views to the criminals’ point of views, creates suspense and foreshadows that an awful even is about to happen. After the tragedy has happened and the investigators cannot find evidence, the readers can only hope that the true murderers are caught. With that feeling, Capote keeps the suspense throughout the start of the novel until the end.
Capote mostly built suspense through omission of important details. He left many things unknown such as the motive for the murder and the details of the actual break in. Thankfully, these facts came into light near the end of the book. As I read, I was driven crazy with suspense.
Also, Capote used quite a bit of dramatic irony to create a suspenseful novel. The reader knew who committed the awful murders, while the terrified people of Holcomb were completely clueless.
Even though we knew who the murderers were, we wanted to know all the details. Capote creates suspense by holding out until the very end of the book when Dick and Perry are arrested to tell you all of the tiny details in how the clutters were murdered. Also, suspense is built when you begin reading about the Clutter family. Capote introduces you to this real family and you can only wish that you can change the outcome. When Capote has witnesses describe the last day they saw the Clutter famly, it draws suspense. (Capote 41) "'And that,' he was to testify the next day,'was the last I seen them. Nancy leading old Babe off to the barn. Like I said, nothing out of the ordinary." Here, Mr. Helm describes the last day he saw the Clutter children. You are just waiting for the murder and hoping somehow you can change it. Capote builds suspense by foreshaddowing the murders and keeping the details of what really happened in the Clutter home until the end of the book.
The main thing that kept me in suspense while reading this book was how Capote wrote it swtiching the point of views. When it started out, to be honest, it was incredible boring, that is, until it reached the point where it mentioned the fact that this day would be Mr. Clutter's last, and then switched to the killers' point of view. This is the part that truly got me interested, because although every detail about the victim is important in all murder cases, it is more interesting to most to get inside the killer's mind and see what he is thinking. I found that once it started flipping back and forth between the killers' point of view, and the townspeople's statements, I got more interested. As I kept reading, it was getting more and more suspenseful because every move any character made, it made me wonder if this was the move that was going to lead to the murderers' capture.
It was also interesting to know exactly who killed the Clutters, but read about the townspeoples' ignorance to the fact and their desperate need to find out who did it. It was so suspenseful because you're just waiting for the moment when they reach the point of knowledge. It was like when you're watching a murder movie and you want to scream at the characters on the screen "THE KILLER IS (insert killers name here)!!" and you're just sitting there in suspense, waiting until the characters in the movie find out.
Capote used several methods to build suspense in his novel. Many people have touched on the idea that Capote utilized would-be flat characters to contribute to the reader's growing wonder. Any ordinary Joe could read the back of In Cold Blood and figure out exactly who is going to be killed, but Capote chose to add to his novel exponentially by explaining the back stories and giving the thoughts of mostly everyone except the people readers would naturally expect. At the end of every chapter, the reader is left to move on to something seemingly unrelated. This only heightens the suspense.
Capote also employs the townspeople's fear and anguish to temporarily distract the reader from the actual criminals. I was distracted by Mrs. Hartman when she exclaimed, "'We can't go on like this. Distrusting everybody, scaring each other to death'" (Capote 191). I momentarily forgot who actually committed the crime and began to wonder, who did it? I was caught up in an entirely different story, a story where I was unaware of the outcome. The moment I snapped back into reality, the suspense had already built itself up. Like Courtney H. said, the reader is just anticipating the moment until everyone knows the details.
Honestly i must agree with what Emilia said, in that Capote 'drags out' the novel by keeping the reader waiting and anticipating, to finally be informed as to what exactly did happen on the night of the Clutters' deaths. Capote creates an emotional attachment in the reader to the Clutter family, utilizing Pathos to make it seem as if maybe, this innocent family won't die after all. He makes the reader feel anxious, not knowing when the Clutters will die, but knowing the inevitability of the fact. After the crime, rather than give all of the little details of the scene, Capote simply skims over it as if the murder were simply a minor road bump in his story, not even the main event. It creates suspense in the reader in that it leaves them questioning. "Will Capote ever truly tell what happened that night?" "Will the ominous little questions floating around inside our minds be answered?" By that point in the novel, the amount of suspense appears to reach its climax, until of course Capote introduces a new idea, a new concept, to wrap the reader's mind around. After explaining the details of the murder further in the book, the reader now is left to wonder if Dick and Perry really, truly, are going to be hanged. The reader knows the ineffable truth of it all, but Capote still leaves one to wonder. Everyone here has made excellent points to Capote's style of creating suspense, and it all boils down to this: Capote's use of "to give or not to give". He deliberately withholds details from the reader, and lets their own mind fill in the blanks, while the reader's mind builds suspense and attempts to anticipate the truth of it all. - B. Leggett
Capote leaves the reader in suspense by not giving the reader the entire truth until the end. He leaves us wandering whether it was Dick or Perry who actually killed the Clutter family. He also leaves us wandering when and where the killers will be caught. I agree with what Balee and Emilia said, the author does 'drag out' the novel by keeping the reader waiting to find out the truth. Even though we know the outcome from the beginning we want to know exactly what happened the night of the murders, and Capote keeps the readers interested by withholding information, and leaving the readers wanting more.
Capote builds suspense despite the fact we already know the outcome by letting you into the worlds of many characters. Including the Clutters, Dick, Perry, and many others. Knowing the Clutters stories of many important events in their lives, we almost forget that they will be murdered. Then being introduced to Dick and Perry we also learn many life stories. Stories that could have shaped them to be the person they were they day they killed the Clutters. As you truly get to learn about Dick and Perry, we almost come oblivious to the fact that they murdered the Clutters. So when we truly learn the exact details of the murders of the Clutter family, it becomes a complete shock to the reader. This is because of the suspense Capote makes by meeting all the characters throughout the "In Cold Blood."
Capote builds suspense by the fact that we have already know who commited the murders but we don't know the how or the the why. Through out the book we're given little details about the charecters and the murders that only fuel the need to figure out exactly what happend. The book seems to drag on and on but it still keeps your attention by giveing you background on Dick and Perry.
Capote builds suspense throughout the novel from switching from the killers dialouge, to the victims, to the investigators. And leaving 'cliff hangers' at the end of some of the chapters. In using lots of description and conflicting conversations and thoughts between the killers and the investigators, Capote shapes suspense in the readers mind following with the readers questioning thoughts of needing to know more. An example of Suspense, is in Part 2. Perry and Dick are conversing over the murder, and perry brings up "Floyd Wells" as their only connection. When Dick gets mad, Thats the end of it. Leaving the name "Floyd Wells" hanging in the air, and us wondering who he is. And as the peices fall together, the suspense is uncovered by the confessions of each criminal and witness.
Capote builds suspense throughout the novel by giving the reader small tidbits of information gradually as the reader progresses. This controlled exposure to the facts forces the reader to change their opinion about the characters to the point where they can no longer predict how the characters are implicated in the storyline. An example would be Dick's character. Initially, he comes off as a violent, unstable person. But as the story progresses, the reader learns of his average American background and starts to feel an empathy with him. Eventually the reader finds out that Dick had committed none of the murders, and realizes that their new understanding of Dick is drastically different than their initial understanding of him.
Capote does a very fine job with how he builds suspense in this novel. He knows exactly how much information the reader should have at any given time from any given perspective in the book to keep the reader guessing on to what is happening. The main suspense builder in the book is the fact that you already know how it is going to turn out, you know the family will die and you know they will be found guilty and executed for their crimes. Though the book does seem to drag on for some time in the early chapters, it does pick up and keep you more interested when you begin to learn of the killers themselves and see exactly how they picked the way to kill the clutter family.
Capote builds suspense in "In Cold Blood" by not telling you all the details of the killings in the beginning. Capote builds suspense by giving you details about the killer's past, and keeps the reader guessing "why" and "how" Dick and Perry killed the Clutter's, and also which of the two actually pulled the trigger. Capote keeps the reader interested in the book till the very end, where he lets you know exactly what happened.
Capote creates suspense through the way he spaced out the story. He kept you guessing throughout the novel by drawing out each little clue to the characters pasts and quirks, and ultimately to better understand how and why the murder happened. Also by switching points of view every chapter, Capote creates a sense of anticipation. Discovering equal sides to different parts of the story bit by bit keeps the reader on his toes. Diction is also a large contributor to the way Capote describes his acute imagery. The way he twists the normal cheery atmosphere of the Clutter home into a scene of grim expectancy, such as "Crows cawed, sundown was near, but his home was not, the lane of Chinese elms had turned into a tunnel of darkening green" (Capote 41). Despite the face that the reader already knows the fate of the Clutter family, what we don't know is how and why, also Capote gives us a chance to explore the mind of the two killers giving a heightened sense of actuality.
Throughout this book, Capote introduces more to the pasts of Dick and Perry. To me I think that this heightens the suspense. Learning about where they came from and there past experiences helps to piece together why they committed the murders and how they got to that place where they could physiologically handle the blood of four innocent people on their hands. Also Capote kept me guessing by why the murders happened in the first place. At first the motive wasn't clear and I kept trying to get a better understanding of why. Capote withholds details of the murder and the fate of the two killers by not giving it all up front. This keeps the reader waiting and observant, wondering what happened and if they will ever know.
To keep the book suspenseful Capote first splits it into three sections each of which goes further into detail about Dick and Perry. Second he allows the reader to know right from the beginning that the Clutters were killed by Dick and Perry. He is able to maintain the suspense by not allowing the reader to know what happens in the Clutter house during the murders until the end. Which allows you to stay interested the last two sections which aren't nearly as eventful as the first.
The suspense created within the reader is not merely created by the organization of the novel but rather the haphazard rhythm of Capote's narration. Capote's constant meandering between characters and the vivid juxtaposition of the criminals and the victims forces the reader to remain in an unstable mindset. The reader begins the novel with many presumptions established, but Capote quickly invalidates any preconceptions by his alluring prose. Capote writes in a seemingly condescending style that quickly makes the reader question their knowledge and blindly receive whatever Capote provides. When the reader no longer has confidence in the substance of their logic, they fall victim to the author's rhetoric. Capote brilliantly uses diction to forebode the inevitable death of the Clutter family and the death of the criminals.
One may think that suspense is created simply by the impending unknown. However, Capote creates tremendous suspense throughout the book even though the culprits were made known from the very beginning. It was not the question of who committed the crimes, but the reason behind it that kept the reader turning pages. The backgrounds and personalities of both Perry and Dick are woven slowly into the novel, and the questions why and how are constantly on the readers mind. How did the murder happen? How do they live with themselves? Why did they commit the crime? Questions such as these create tremendous suspense.
Capote creates suspense as he continuously switches points of views throughout the book. As you read, you become attached to the characters knowing what will happen. If you read the back of the book, you knew the outcome of what was going to happen. The question was how or why did the murder happen to begin with. At the end of the Clutter's family's point of view there sometimes was a bit of foreshadowing the family's death. For example, "he headed for home and the day's work, unaware that it would be his last." (Capote 13) and "Only now when I think back, I think somebody must have been hiding there. Maybe down among the trees. Somebody just waiting for me to leave." It makes you think that it is going to happen soon, but then it switches to the criminal's point of view.
To me Capote builds suspense through the constant switch of perspectives throughout the novel and through the details of the murder. The way he switches up the viewpoint in between chapters keeps us on our seats for what might happen next, especially in the beginning of the book when he leaves a finger clinching cliffhanger "He headed for home and the day's work, unaware that it would be his last."(Capote 13) then right after that switching the view of Perry he leaves you questioning whats to come in the novel, and the way he describes the killers creeping closer and closer to the family while giving you details on what the family is doing, then he writes how the killers are finding the Clutter home and slowly pulling into the drive of the farm house only leaving you with "Dick doused the headlights,slowed down, and stopped until his eyes were adjusted to the moon-illuminated night... the car crept forward."(Capote 57) then switching to the Ewalt family finding them[Clutters] dead in the house. The way that Capote builds suspense through details, omitted and given, is amazing, he keeps your mind racing until you finally know what truly happened that fateful night of Saturday November 14, 1959.
This Blog is the easiest one! The multiple point of views of the victims, Murders and all the townsfolks point of views builds massive amouts of suspence and anxionous. By describing how each persons life has played out as far as it has allows us( the readers) to truely connect with all the characters, it just eggs us on to keep reading! By the time the murders do happen it is as just if we did'nt know the murders were going to happen at all like they did.
Calpote pulls the reader in at the end of almost every chapter. Like how he wrote Mr. Clutter, "headed for home and a day's work unaware that it would be his last" (Capote 13). "Oh well what's going to happen to him?" is what I would constantly ask after every chapter. He'll also invent other little things to scare you that have nothing to do with the story. Like the "ghost" the gardner saw, or how frightening Mrs. Clutter was, or how upset Mr. Clutter was before his death and the smoke Nancy kept smelling. Capote also started the questioning of Bobby and Sue from after the death during the chapter of the Clutter's death before the murder. So I would think Capote used a whole lot of suspense to build the entertainment of the book.
Capote builds suspense by constantly referencing the future, already known events, without any explanation behind them, like someone tugging a dollar just out of reach on a string. You know what is going to happen, but you have no idea how or when.
Take the introduction section. It constantly refers to the family's "last days" or "last actions". The reader has no idea how anything will go down, or how Dick and Perry will perform their deed.
Then, after Dick and Perry murder the family, it starts referencing to their eventual capture, but the reader has absolutely no idea how on earth that will happen, considering the two of them are in Mexico at the time. Capote builds suspense by being vague and omitting details that are revealed later.
After the two are caught, all signs start pointing to their deaths, but Capote keeps the suspense by constantly having the hanging delayed, making the reader look deeper to find out how the tale truly ends. I'd say he effectively used suspense by making the reader what to find out the details that he ever so cleverly left out.
In the book, In Cold Blood Truman Capote gradually increases the suspense of the story by not disclosing how the murders took place until the end. This makes the reader curious and want to read more. At times I found it difficult to put the book down. It kept me wondering how the murders happened and why someone would do such a horrible crime. When the author kept switching point of views, it kept me changing my mind on the motive and perpetrators. On top of that Capote builds suspense by using vivid detail and making the reader feel closer to the murders and not just the victims and townspeople. I felt that sometimes I wanted Perry and Dick to just start over and have a real job and be contributors to society. The suspense is keep though out the novel by making the readers ask questions like why and how. Dalton K.
Capote creates suspense through the novel by withholding the information on how Dick and Perry actually committed the murder of the clutter family. This makes the reader want to keep reading till the very end of the novel. Being withheld the information on how the murder was committed gave time for you to learn about the life’s of Dick and Perry, keeping the reader wondering why the murders were committed in the first place.
Capote build suspense despite the fact that readers know the ultimate outcome from the beginning of 'In Cold Blood' by not telling all the true facts and by keeping us guessing until the end of the book when Dick and Perry confess.
I think Capote created suspense in muliple areas. One was the readers didnt know if they were going to get caught,and one other fact is we didnt know what there punishment would be. Unless you watched video clips of the story like i did.
While reading the beginning of In Cold Blood, Capote creates suspense by writing about the victims last day alive and creating it as any other normal day. The Clutter family are viewed as respectful and humble people which makes the murder more dreadful. By adding in the different perspectives of the victims and the murders it creates suspense because you relive the before and after of the crime and how everything adds up, it also allows the reader to take in both sides of the story. By including the murders point of view it creates sympathy and includes all the details of the crime. Because Capote writes the book from both perspectives without including the why and how motive the reader is still interested and adherent until the very end of the novel.
One thing that I find suspenseful is that in the beginning, the chapters switch point of views, from the soon to be murdered family to the killers. The book goes on with the one day in particular that the crime is comitted, showing us all the leading events and details that will bring us to the murder. We're all just waiting until it will get to the point of the murder, or when their paths intertwine. I noticed during the Clutter's point of view, it's always talking about their normal every day life, and at the end of the chapters, (most of the time,) it'll say something along the lines of "unaware it would be their last (whatever)." It almost seems as if Capote is mocking the reader at this point, as the reader knows the murder will happen but we're just unsure when it will.
ReplyDeleteKelsey J.
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DeleteI found the need to respond to what Kelsey said because she made a very interesting point. The point that was made was about how 'Capote is mocking the reader at this point.' I wanted to go a bit deeper into this idea.
ReplyDeleteJust by the name of the book, we know that someone is going to die and by reading the back of the book, we know it is the Clutter family so by switching back and forth between their perspectives, it gets the reader involved and can even irritate them abit. We read the section about the Clutters and at the end of every section about them, we're expecting them to die, so by switching to Dick and Perry without having the Clutter's dead yet makes us wonder how he can carry the story on, or what twists he can add. The way that this 'mocks' the reader is that he gives us the image that these people are needed in their society and that no one would have expected this to happen as well as giving us hints as to what was to come. A few of these hints are "[Mr. Clutter] headed home from a days work..." (Capote 13), ' "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is."' (Capote 30), '"Like I said, nothing out of the ordinary."' (Capote 41), "...In the event of death by accidental means..."' (Capote 48), to name a few. These subtle messages at the end of each section about the Clutters just serve to drive the point home that they were normal people who would never expect this to happen to them.
Brandy U.
Suspense if built, not only by how Brandy and Kelsey say, but also by how you want to know how exactly it happened. You know that the family gets killed. You know the killers get executed. But you don't know just how they could do it. Where they got their information, why this family to murder, why murder them are all questions the reader has. I had those questions burning within as I read. Capote is a smart man for knowing just how much information to give and when to get the overall effect that this book produces.
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ReplyDeleteCapote creates suspense by putting numerous questions in the reader's head. "When will the family die?" "What happend when the died?" "Was it Dick or Perry that killed them?" "Why did they kill the Clutters?" Typically, when people develp these questions they try to answer them as they read, coming up with possibilities that make them anxious to see if they're right. As soon as the first few puzzle pieces are laid down the viewer wants to see the picture.
ReplyDeleteRachael Jensen
Leann Daniels:
ReplyDeleteThe suspense is build rather cleverly throughout the novel. Capote takes his time and places small statements about the fate of the victims and criminals at random moments that keeps the reader going and wanting more knowledge on the subject to the point where the reader is taken in by the book and is a imaginary bystander not only wanting to know if the criminals will get away with their crime, but also wanting to know more about the characters' lives, hopes, and dreams. This book takes you in by the suspense and makes a person care just as much about the outcome as Nancy's best friend or Dick's parents, waiting, wanting, and needing to know what comes next for their loved ones.
Suspense is built by the fact that we never know how it’s going to happen. We never know how Dewey will catch Hickock and Smith and we never know how the Clutters were actually killed. Yes, from the beginning we knew that the Clutters would be killed and that Dick and Perry committed the crime and eventually would be caught and killed, but they were so elusive for so long. It seemed like there was at least a couple times when they should have been caught, but weren’t. And even when they were caught, Dewey still wasn’t sure they were the killers. The Suspense came from these facts, that even though we knew what was going to happen, we didn’t know how it would happen.
ReplyDelete~Kendall Rosato
Before reading In Cold Blood, I set pretenses that the novel would be bound by informational and passive rhetoric, forcing the audience to succumb to surreal literature. But I was quickly overwhelmed by Capote's mastery as he brilliantly set the stage for a tragedy. Capote creates suspense among readers as he utilizes sickening comparisons between the victims and the criminals. Capote writes as if by some disgusting means the Clutter family forebodes their own demise. Capote describes a setting of innocence and ignorance among the Clutter family which he perverts and amplifies. Capote leads the reader to believe that the horrid murders were self-inflicted and only a consequence to their enviroment. The Clutter family is portrayed to be humble and reverent, understanding of inevitable death, but Capote writes mockingly towards mortality. Capote's style and composure creates such a deep poignant feeling of suspense inside the reader.
ReplyDeleteKeep those thoughts coming!!
ReplyDeleteMrs. Kasper
I have kind of already said this in a different answer to a question, but I think Capote creates suspense by separating the book into three different parts. He shows the life of an ordinary family going about its buisness, and all of a sudden they are murdered. This is great suspense then you have the murderers escape justice for to long and then the murderers are caught. The biggest question is why they did it and setting a story up like this is perfect for keeping the reader interested and making the reader want to finish the book
ReplyDeleteBefore reading the novel, I was very skeptical about how this will be good because we already know the outcome. However, there was a plentiful supply of suspense in the book. Capote, by withholding information like who actually did the killing and how they got their information, he was able to create a feeling of longing and almost an obsession to know the facts of the murder. We fell under the fantastic spell weaved by Capote with his suspense built by being left in the dark and by relating the killers to the reader. Also, by taking us along the cross-country trek by the killers, we are kept guessing where exactly they will be caught and taken in. All of these thing help contribute to the over suspense created by Truman Capote.
ReplyDeleteFrom the very beginning of In Cold Blood, I was vividly reminded of an unfinished puzzle. The reader understands the main concept of the puzzle from the beginning, (that the Clutter's are to be murdered by Dick and Perry) but are missing important pieces of this puzzle in order to comprehend the picture as a whole. The suspense thrives from the un-ignorable, yet un-answered questions of WHY and HOW, which are solved slowly part by part throughout the novel, as the reader waits on edge for the last puzzle piece that will bring everything together into one incredible masterpiece. Capote brilliantly plays off our own human nature which yearns to "solve the puzzle," and, as another student mentioned previoiusly, gives us the perfect amount of information to get the reader interested and keep them intrigued throughout the novel.
ReplyDeleteJaclyn M.
I feel that Capote built suspense by writing the way the victims were found,but not giving the details of that exact night. The way he describes the bodies and how careful the killers were at keeping their tracks clean made the reader wonder how in the end they were caught? In doing so Capote explains the killers' 7 week journey which builds more suspense. He gives you more details during the process of Perry and Dick's journey, but not the actual crime. And when Al Dewey is frustrated with the disappearance of both men makes the suspense worse, because the reader wants Dewey to find him, so he and the town can be at peace. During the trip Perry and Dick took the reader also finds out their past and how they found out about the Clutter's house in the first place, when in the book it says that nobody could get there by chance. The trip also gives you a chance to sympathize for Perry and in the end shocks you that Perry murdered the whole Clutter family.
ReplyDeleteI personally knew he could have done it, because Capote gave you little clues that he wasn't as calm as he was thought to be.
-Rocio Espinoza
Capote creates suspense by taking you into the last day of the Clutter's lives and making it seem that they won't die, that its just a typical day. Then when the crime has been commited making it seem that the authorities will never catch the criminals. He makes it seem that they will always be on the run and may even one day reach safety because the investigators will never make the connection. Once the authorities are onto them he seems to strech the chase llonger than it actually took. in all these ways Capote creates suspense and then leaves you in doubt about what truly happened that fatal night.
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ReplyDeleteKelsey and Brandy make good points that the switching of view points does create suspense; except, when I read, the switching served only to whittle away the remaining time. What really got me suspensful was how Capote could be so cavalier about the Clutter family was about to die! Capote had Nancy Clutter teaching little Jolene Katz how to bake a cherry pie, then talking about the physiques of the men who, we assume, will be their killers! And as time progresses, it only gets worse as Dick and Perry travel their way closer and closer to their goal: the murder of the Herbert W. Clutter family. The suspense is crancked up, for me at least, when Dick goes into the Catholic hospital in Emporia, Kansas, because, to me, nuns are God's (Catholic) law on Earth; Dick, very easily, could have be ousted by some divine sign and arrested. Isn't it true that the Lord works in mysterious ways? That's what I was thinking when Perry insisted he go and ask. Too bad they didn't get caught.
ReplyDeleteConnor S.
Capote builds suspense throughout the book in making sure he doesn't give too much away in the beginning. All we know in the beginning is that Perry and Dick committed the crime. Capote makes sure not to give away details on the criminals' motives for the crime or whether Dick or Perry or both killed the Clutter family. In order to do that Capote makes sure everything is known at the end of the book when Perry and Dick are confessing to committing the crime.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading, I couldn't help but feel that Capote was using an omission of detail to build suspense. It is true that from the beginning, we know who dies, how they die, and who kills them, but the reader must go through almost the entire novel before finally learning what happened that night. The way the book is set up, one chapter is the Clutters going to bed, the next is a brief point-of-view change to the criminals outside, which is followed by a chapter set during the next morning. The Clutters are dead, each shot in the head, but there is still a lot left unexplained. Why was Kenyon's head propped up? Why was Nancy tucked in? Etc. We don't learn this information until after the criminals are captured, and even then there is no way to be certain it's true or not. Capote also built suspense by sort of 'dragging things out'. We went through approximately a day and a half of the Clutter's last moments in detail, all while knowing they would be dead soon. We grew to know them, and became attached to them, and knew that, within a few chapters, they would be gone. We didn't want to see them die, but we knew it would happen, and that made us suspenseful. A similar effect was used when Perry and Dick were awaiting their execution day. Even though the reader is certain of the boy's inevitable execution, the book keeps us guessing on their fates by emphasizing all of Dick's attempts at a new trial, and the borderline disturbing amount of delays before their hanging, and introducing us to various other murderers in the same situation. All of this makes the reader feel not only very impatient, but also suspenseful.
ReplyDeleteEmilia K
Capote builds suspense by telling the story from different characters perspectives. He also builds suspense and interests by only giving clues to what really happened rather than telling the whole story in the beginning. He constantly leaves the reader wanting more until the very end where everything gets tied together.
ReplyDeleteCapote builds suspense despite the fact that the readers know the ultimate outcome, by keeping the reader not sure about things. By doing this, you are overwhelmed with several questions, and what you think you know may not be true. With how the book is written in the beginning, going back and forth from the view of the Clutter family to the view of Dick and Perry, you know something bad is about to happen, you just don’t know when. Capote gives details all throughout the day the murder is taking action and shows us what all happens before and afterwards, while not exactly letting the reader know details about the actual murder. The reader only knows for sure that Perry and Dick were the two involved in it taking place. With that, he keeps the suspense during the rest of the book, until the end, by only giving you a hint of what happens, rather than telling it all.
ReplyDelete-Braelyn B.
Capote builds suspense by not giving you all the details from one perspective. He leaves lose ends and has different characters tie them together. He gives us bits and pieces of the murder from multiple perspectives then has Perry and Dick put it all together into what really happened. He does that constantly leading up to the confessions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with braelyn01, Capote managed to create suspense even though the reader knew the ultimate outcome from the start of the novel, by keeping the readers guessing. When the criminals murdered the Clutters and left no evidence, only added more questions to the reader’s mind, “Will the true murders be caught?” and “How did the criminals manage to not leave a single trace of evidence?”, with all the new questions, the suspense is added and keeping the readers at the edge of their seats. In the beginning of the novel, when Capote switches the Clutters’ point of views to the criminals’ point of views, creates suspense and foreshadows that an awful even is about to happen. After the tragedy has happened and the investigators cannot find evidence, the readers can only hope that the true murderers are caught. With that feeling, Capote keeps the suspense throughout the start of the novel until the end.
ReplyDeleteCapote mostly built suspense through omission of important details. He left many things unknown such as the motive for the murder and the details of the actual break in. Thankfully, these facts came into light near the end of the book. As I read, I was driven crazy with suspense.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Capote used quite a bit of dramatic irony to create a suspenseful novel. The reader knew who committed the awful murders, while the terrified people of Holcomb were completely clueless.
Amanda P.
Even though we knew who the murderers were, we wanted to know all the details. Capote creates suspense by holding out until the very end of the book when Dick and Perry are arrested to tell you all of the tiny details in how the clutters were murdered. Also, suspense is built when you begin reading about the Clutter family. Capote introduces you to this real family and you can only wish that you can change the outcome. When Capote has witnesses describe the last day they saw the Clutter famly, it draws suspense. (Capote 41) "'And that,' he was to testify the next day,'was the last I seen them. Nancy leading old Babe off to the barn. Like I said, nothing out of the ordinary." Here, Mr. Helm describes the last day he saw the Clutter children. You are just waiting for the murder and hoping somehow you can change it. Capote builds suspense by foreshaddowing the murders and keeping the details of what really happened in the Clutter home until the end of the book.
ReplyDeleteLauren S.
The main thing that kept me in suspense while reading this book was how Capote wrote it swtiching the point of views. When it started out, to be honest, it was incredible boring, that is, until it reached the point where it mentioned the fact that this day would be Mr. Clutter's last, and then switched to the killers' point of view. This is the part that truly got me interested, because although every detail about the victim is important in all murder cases, it is more interesting to most to get inside the killer's mind and see what he is thinking. I found that once it started flipping back and forth between the killers' point of view, and the townspeople's statements, I got more interested. As I kept reading, it was getting more and more suspenseful because every move any character made, it made me wonder if this was the move that was going to lead to the murderers' capture.
ReplyDeleteIt was also interesting to know exactly who killed the Clutters, but read about the townspeoples' ignorance to the fact and their desperate need to find out who did it. It was so suspenseful because you're just waiting for the moment when they reach the point of knowledge. It was like when you're watching a murder movie and you want to scream at the characters on the screen "THE KILLER IS (insert killers name here)!!" and you're just sitting there in suspense, waiting until the characters in the movie find out.
Courtney H.
Capote used several methods to build suspense in his novel. Many people have touched on the idea that Capote utilized would-be flat characters to contribute to the reader's growing wonder. Any ordinary Joe could read the back of In Cold Blood and figure out exactly who is going to be killed, but Capote chose to add to his novel exponentially by explaining the back stories and giving the thoughts of mostly everyone except the people readers would naturally expect. At the end of every chapter, the reader is left to move on to something seemingly unrelated. This only heightens the suspense.
ReplyDeleteCapote also employs the townspeople's fear and anguish to temporarily distract the reader from the actual criminals. I was distracted by Mrs. Hartman when she exclaimed, "'We can't go on like this. Distrusting everybody, scaring each other to death'" (Capote 191). I momentarily forgot who actually committed the crime and began to wonder, who did it? I was caught up in an entirely different story, a story where I was unaware of the outcome. The moment I snapped back into reality, the suspense had already built itself up. Like Courtney H. said, the reader is just anticipating the moment until everyone knows the details.
Kristen H.
Honestly i must agree with what Emilia said, in that Capote 'drags out' the novel by keeping the reader waiting and anticipating, to finally be informed as to what exactly did happen on the night of the Clutters' deaths. Capote creates an emotional attachment in the reader to the Clutter family, utilizing Pathos to make it seem as if maybe, this innocent family won't die after all. He makes the reader feel anxious, not knowing when the Clutters will die, but knowing the inevitability of the fact. After the crime, rather than give all of the little details of the scene, Capote simply skims over it as if the murder were simply a minor road bump in his story, not even the main event. It creates suspense in the reader in that it leaves them questioning. "Will Capote ever truly tell what happened that night?" "Will the ominous little questions floating around inside our minds be answered?" By that point in the novel, the amount of suspense appears to reach its climax, until of course Capote introduces a new idea, a new concept, to wrap the reader's mind around. After explaining the details of the murder further in the book, the reader now is left to wonder if Dick and Perry really, truly, are going to be hanged. The reader knows the ineffable truth of it all, but Capote still leaves one to wonder. Everyone here has made excellent points to Capote's style of creating suspense, and it all boils down to this: Capote's use of "to give or not to give". He deliberately withholds details from the reader, and lets their own mind fill in the blanks, while the reader's mind builds suspense and attempts to anticipate the truth of it all.
ReplyDelete- B. Leggett
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ReplyDeleteCapote leaves the reader in suspense by not giving the reader the entire truth until the end. He leaves us wandering whether it was Dick or Perry who actually killed the Clutter family. He also leaves us wandering when and where the killers will be caught. I agree with what Balee and Emilia said, the author does 'drag out' the novel by keeping the reader waiting to find out the truth. Even though we know the outcome from the beginning we want to know exactly what happened the night of the murders, and Capote keeps the readers interested by withholding information, and leaving the readers wanting more.
ReplyDeleteCapote builds suspense despite the fact we already know the outcome by letting you into the worlds of many characters. Including the Clutters, Dick, Perry, and many others. Knowing the Clutters stories of many important events in their lives, we almost forget that they will be murdered. Then being introduced to Dick and Perry we also learn many life stories. Stories that could have shaped them to be the person they were they day they killed the Clutters. As you truly get to learn about Dick and Perry, we almost come oblivious to the fact that they murdered the Clutters. So when we truly learn the exact details of the murders of the Clutter family, it becomes a complete shock to the reader. This is because of the suspense Capote makes by meeting all the characters throughout the "In Cold Blood."
ReplyDeleteCapote builds suspense by the fact that we have already know who commited the murders but we don't know the how or the the why. Through out the book we're given little details about the charecters and the murders that only fuel the need to figure out exactly what happend. The book seems to drag on and on but it still keeps your attention by giveing you background on Dick and Perry.
ReplyDeleteCapote builds suspense throughout the novel from switching from the killers dialouge, to the victims, to the investigators. And leaving 'cliff hangers' at the end of some of the chapters. In using lots of description and conflicting conversations and thoughts between the killers and the investigators, Capote shapes suspense in the readers mind following with the readers questioning thoughts of needing to know more.
ReplyDeleteAn example of Suspense, is in Part 2. Perry and Dick are conversing over the murder, and perry brings up "Floyd Wells" as their only connection. When Dick gets mad, Thats the end of it. Leaving the name "Floyd Wells" hanging in the air, and us wondering who he is. And as the peices fall together, the suspense is uncovered by the confessions of each criminal and witness.
Courtney Frye
Capote builds suspense throughout the novel by giving the reader small tidbits of information gradually as the reader progresses. This controlled exposure to the facts forces the reader to change their opinion about the characters to the point where they can no longer predict how the characters are implicated in the storyline. An example would be Dick's character. Initially, he comes off as a violent, unstable person. But as the story progresses, the reader learns of his average American background and starts to feel an empathy with him. Eventually the reader finds out that Dick had committed none of the murders, and realizes that their new understanding of Dick is drastically different than their initial understanding of him.
ReplyDeleteCapote does a very fine job with how he builds suspense in this novel. He knows exactly how much information the reader should have at any given time from any given perspective in the book to keep the reader guessing on to what is happening. The main suspense builder in the book is the fact that you already know how it is going to turn out, you know the family will die and you know they will be found guilty and executed for their crimes. Though the book does seem to drag on for some time in the early chapters, it does pick up and keep you more interested when you begin to learn of the killers themselves and see exactly how they picked the way to kill the clutter family.
ReplyDeleteCapote builds suspense in "In Cold Blood" by not telling you all the details of the killings in the beginning. Capote builds suspense by giving you details about the killer's past, and keeps the reader guessing "why" and "how" Dick and Perry killed the Clutter's, and also which of the two actually pulled the trigger. Capote keeps the reader interested in the book till the very end, where he lets you know exactly what happened.
ReplyDeleteCapote creates suspense through the way he spaced out the story. He kept you guessing throughout the novel by drawing out each little clue to the characters pasts and quirks, and ultimately to better understand how and why the murder happened. Also by switching points of view every chapter, Capote creates a sense of anticipation. Discovering equal sides to different parts of the story bit by bit keeps the reader on his toes. Diction is also a large contributor to the way Capote describes his acute imagery. The way he twists the normal cheery atmosphere of the Clutter home into a scene of grim expectancy, such as "Crows cawed, sundown was near, but his home was not, the lane of Chinese elms had turned into a tunnel of darkening green" (Capote 41). Despite the face that the reader already knows the fate of the Clutter family, what we don't know is how and why, also Capote gives us a chance to explore the mind of the two killers giving a heightened sense of actuality.
ReplyDeleteMadeleine G.
Throughout this book, Capote introduces more to the pasts of Dick and Perry. To me I think that this heightens the suspense. Learning about where they came from and there past experiences helps to piece together why they committed the murders and how they got to that place where they could physiologically handle the blood of four innocent people on their hands. Also Capote kept me guessing by why the murders happened in the first place. At first the motive wasn't clear and I kept trying to get a better understanding of why. Capote withholds details of the murder and the fate of the two killers by not giving it all up front. This keeps the reader waiting and observant, wondering what happened and if they will ever know.
ReplyDeleteTo keep the book suspenseful Capote first splits it into three sections each of which goes further into detail about Dick and Perry. Second he allows the reader to know right from the beginning that the Clutters were killed by Dick and Perry. He is able to maintain the suspense by not allowing the reader to know what happens in the Clutter house during the murders until the end. Which allows you to stay interested the last two sections which aren't nearly as eventful as the first.
ReplyDeleteThe suspense created within the reader is not merely created by the organization of the novel but rather the haphazard rhythm of Capote's narration. Capote's constant meandering between characters and the vivid juxtaposition of the criminals and the victims forces the reader to remain in an unstable mindset. The reader begins the novel with many presumptions established, but Capote quickly invalidates any preconceptions by his alluring prose. Capote writes in a seemingly condescending style that quickly makes the reader question their knowledge and blindly receive whatever Capote provides. When the reader no longer has confidence in the substance of their logic, they fall victim to the author's rhetoric. Capote brilliantly uses diction to forebode the inevitable death of the Clutter family and the death of the criminals.
ReplyDeleteOne may think that suspense is created simply by the impending unknown. However, Capote creates tremendous suspense throughout the book even though the culprits were made known from the very beginning. It was not the question of who committed the crimes, but the reason behind it that kept the reader turning pages. The backgrounds and personalities of both Perry and Dick are woven slowly into the novel, and the questions why and how are constantly on the readers mind. How did the murder happen? How do they live with themselves? Why did they commit the crime? Questions such as these create tremendous suspense.
ReplyDeleteAlexis A.
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ReplyDeleteCapote creates suspense as he continuously switches points of views throughout the book. As you read, you become attached to the characters knowing what will happen. If you read the back of the book, you knew the outcome of what was going to happen. The question was how or why did the murder happen to begin with.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the Clutter's family's point of view there sometimes was a bit of foreshadowing the family's death. For example, "he headed for home and the day's work, unaware that it would be his last." (Capote 13) and "Only now when I think back, I think somebody must have been hiding there. Maybe down among the trees. Somebody just waiting for me to leave." It makes you think that it is going to happen soon, but then it switches to the criminal's point of view.
-Diana T.
To me Capote builds suspense through the constant switch of perspectives throughout the novel and through the details of the murder. The way he switches up the viewpoint in between chapters keeps us on our seats for what might happen next, especially in the beginning of the book when he leaves a finger clinching cliffhanger "He headed for home and the day's work, unaware that it would be his last."(Capote 13) then right after that switching the view of Perry he leaves you questioning whats to come in the novel, and the way he describes the killers creeping closer and closer to the family while giving you details on what the family is doing, then he writes how the killers are finding the Clutter home and slowly pulling into the drive of the farm house only leaving you with "Dick doused the headlights,slowed down, and stopped until his eyes were adjusted to the moon-illuminated night... the car crept forward."(Capote 57) then switching to the Ewalt family finding them[Clutters] dead in the house. The way that Capote builds suspense through details, omitted and given, is amazing, he keeps your mind racing until you finally know what truly happened that fateful night of Saturday November 14, 1959.
ReplyDeleteScott Mitchell
This Blog is the easiest one! The multiple point of views of the victims, Murders and all the townsfolks point of views builds massive amouts of suspence and anxionous. By describing how each persons life has played out as far as it has allows us( the readers) to truely connect with all the characters, it just eggs us on to keep reading! By the time the murders do happen it is as just if we did'nt know the murders were going to happen at all like they did.
ReplyDeleteCalpote pulls the reader in at the end of almost every chapter. Like how he wrote Mr. Clutter, "headed for home and a day's work unaware that it would be his last" (Capote 13). "Oh well what's going to happen to him?" is what I would constantly ask after every chapter. He'll also invent other little things to scare you that have nothing to do with the story. Like the "ghost" the gardner saw, or how frightening Mrs. Clutter was, or how upset Mr. Clutter was before his death and the smoke Nancy kept smelling. Capote also started the questioning of Bobby and Sue from after the death during the chapter of the Clutter's death before the murder. So I would think Capote used a whole lot of suspense to build the entertainment of the book.
ReplyDeleteSydney Garcia
Capote builds suspense by constantly referencing the future, already known events, without any explanation behind them, like someone tugging a dollar just out of reach on a string. You know what is going to happen, but you have no idea how or when.
ReplyDeleteTake the introduction section. It constantly refers to the family's "last days" or "last actions". The reader has no idea how anything will go down, or how Dick and Perry will perform their deed.
Then, after Dick and Perry murder the family, it starts referencing to their eventual capture, but the reader has absolutely no idea how on earth that will happen, considering the two of them are in Mexico at the time. Capote builds suspense by being vague and omitting details that are revealed later.
After the two are caught, all signs start pointing to their deaths, but Capote keeps the suspense by constantly having the hanging delayed, making the reader look deeper to find out how the tale truly ends. I'd say he effectively used suspense by making the reader what to find out the details that he ever so cleverly left out.
In the book, In Cold Blood Truman Capote gradually increases the suspense of the story by not disclosing how the murders took place until the end. This makes the reader curious and want to read more. At times I found it difficult to put the book down. It kept me wondering how the murders happened and why someone would do such a horrible crime. When the author kept switching point of views, it kept me changing my mind on the motive and perpetrators. On top of that Capote builds suspense by using vivid detail and making the reader feel closer to the murders and not just the victims and townspeople. I felt that sometimes I wanted Perry and Dick to just start over and have a real job and be contributors to society. The suspense is keep though out the novel by making the readers ask questions like why and how.
ReplyDeleteDalton K.
Capote creates suspense through the novel by withholding the information on how Dick and Perry actually committed the murder of the clutter family. This makes the reader want to keep reading till the very end of the novel. Being withheld the information on how the murder was committed gave time for you to learn about the life’s of Dick and Perry, keeping the reader wondering why the murders were committed in the first place.
ReplyDelete-Clark Driscoll
Capote build suspense despite the fact that readers know the ultimate outcome from the beginning of 'In Cold Blood' by not telling all the true facts and by keeping us guessing until the end of the book when Dick and Perry confess.
ReplyDeleteI think Capote created suspense in muliple areas. One was the readers didnt know if they were going to get caught,and one other fact is we didnt know what there punishment would be. Unless you watched video clips of the story like i did.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the beginning of In Cold Blood, Capote creates suspense by writing about the victims last day alive and creating it as any other normal day. The Clutter family are viewed as respectful and humble people which makes the murder more dreadful. By adding in the different perspectives of the victims and the murders it creates suspense because you relive the before and after of the crime and how everything adds up, it also allows the reader to take in both sides of the story. By including the murders point of view it creates sympathy and includes all the details of the crime. Because Capote writes the book from both perspectives without including the why and how motive the reader is still interested and adherent until the very end of the novel.
ReplyDelete