Sunday, March 6, 2011

Diction


Truman Capote’s use of diction is key when narrating In Cold Blood. Since his choice of words creates a unique tone, he is immaculate in choosing ones that convey a meaning closest to the reality. When narrating the murder scene, the reader is taken aback when discovering the dialogue between Perry and Nancy. When talking to Dewey, Perry claims that “[he] roped her feet together and tied her hands behind her back. Then [he] pulled up the covers, tucked her in till just her head showed. There was a little easy chair near the bed…She told me quite a lot about herself. About school, and how she was going to go to a university to study music and art” (242). Capote includes this piece of information to characterize Perry. The calm tone of Perry contrasts situation. When describing the event Perry uses phrases such as “pulled up the covers,” tucked her in,” and “little easy chair” to suggest that he was quite comfortable with Nancy and had no intention of killing her. The almost father-like tone created by this dialogue creates a different dimension within Perry.
Capote cleverly includes statements made by Dick hours prior to his execution. When Dewey is talking to an individual sitting next to him during the execution, the individual claimed, “ Hickock’s got a sense of humor. They was telling me how, about an hour ago, one of the guards says to him, 'This must be the longest night of your life,’ And Hickock, he laughs and says, ‘No. The shortest’” (338). The fact that Dick can joke about his “shortest” night of his life suggests that he is the archetypical criminal. Capote also mentions that Dick greeted them with “his most charming smile; it was as if he were greeting guests at his own funeral” (339). This sentence is especially interesting as his carefree tone furthers Dick’s psychopathic personality and a hint of sarcasm is revealed when he was “greeting guests” since they were anything but because the men he greeted “requested permission to attended the execution” (339). The calm tone created by both Dick’s dialogue and his actions are critical in analyzing Dick as a ruthless killer.
As his final chance to convey Perry’s “innocence,” Capote chooses to detail Perry’s last actions meticulously. He remembers that Perry “stopped chewing a hunk of Doublemint gum he had in his mouth, and grinned and winked at Dewy, jaunty and mischievous…” and later recalling that he claim “‘It would be meaningless to apologize for what I did. Even inappropriate. But I do. I apologize’” (340). By choosing to provide phrases such as "chewing a hunk of Doublemint gum"and characterizing Perry's actions as  “jaunty and mischievous” Capote creates a sympathetic tone through his final child-like characterizations of Perry. It becomes clear that Capote views him as a helpless “child” under the inescapable rule of Dick.
Dewy imagined the moments subsequent to Perry’s execution would include an “a sense of climax, release, [and] of a design justly completed. Instead he discovered himself recalling an incident of almost a year ago, a casual encounter in Valley View Cemetery, which in retrospect, had somehow for him more or less ended the Clutter case” (341). The fact that Dewey is met with the idea of “Valley View Cemetery” contrasts the feeling he hoped to have. This automatically invokes a solemn tone. Through Dewey’s thoughts after the execution, Capote is able to convey that even though the case is now officially closed, Dewey would not have a sense of freedom just yet since he had just witnessed a murder of a slightly different kind thus diminishing any hopes for a joyful ending.


1 comment:

  1. I agree that Capote's tone in writing this novel is portrayed by the ever-changing diction within the story. In portraying Perry Capote would use more sophisticated language than in contrast to his partner in crime, Dick. The diction conveys Perry's intelligence and almost "innocence" while Dick is portrayed as a sociopath. When describing the Clutter family, Capote's tone evokes sympathy by recounting their godly lives before their murders. Using moderate levels of diction Capote is able to masterfully change the tone and the mood, to either joyful and cheerful or dark and morose.

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