In your essay, be sure to

• Develop a clear, defensible thesis that takes a position on how Capote's narrative techniques shape the reader's moral perspective.
• Use specific textual evidence (scenes, dialogue, imagery, or structural choices) to support your argument.
• Address the counterargument: consider how Capote also highlights the humanity of the Clutter family, and explain how this tension complicates or strengthens your claim.
• Reflect on the genre of "creative nonfiction" or the "nonfiction novel" and what obligations, if any, an author has to objectivity when writing about real events and real people.

Suggested Pre-Writing

Annotate passages from Perry Smith's backstory, the execution scene, and the opening description of Holcomb, Kansas.

Suggested Outline

• Introduction – Introduce the "nonfiction novel" genre and Capote's key narrative strategy; present your claim.
• Body Paragraph 1 – Analyze Capote's use of close third-person perspective when focusing on Perry Smith; discuss how this interior access fosters empathy.
• Body Paragraph 2 – Examine Capote's depiction of Dick Hickock and how selective biographical details (e.g., childhood trauma, brain injury) operate rhetorically.
• Body Paragraph 3 – Consider the emotional distance Capote keeps from the Clutter family compared to the killers, and what this imbalance reveals about authorial bias.
• Conclusion – Reflect on the ethical implications of Capote's approach: Can literary empathy and journalistic truth coexist?

Scoring Focus

Argumentation, textual evidence, analysis of narrative craft, and exploration of the ethical dimensions of the text.

In your essay, be sure to:

> A strong essay will go beyond summary to assess the impact of Capote's authorial choices on the reader's moral and emotional response.

• Identify and analyze at least two specific narrative or stylistic techniques Capote uses to evoke sympathy or complexity around Smith and/or Hickock.
• Examine how these techniques challenge or complicate a straightforward moral judgment of the murderers.
• Discuss the ethical tension between Capote's artistic aims and his obligations as a journalist and observer of real events.
• Support your argument with direct textual evidence and close reading.