Character analysis
Alvin Dewey
in In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Alvin Dewey is the Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent heading the inquiry into the November 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. As the main law-enforcement figure in the story, he grounds the procedural aspect of Capote's dual-perspective narrative. A longtime friend of Herb Clutter and a native of Garden City, Dewey takes the case personally from the very beginning—he is visibly shaken when he first surveys the crime scene at the Clutter farmhouse, and the murders haunt his sleep and strain his family life for months. This emotional engagement sets him apart from a purely professional investigator and imbues the manhunt with a sense of moral urgency.
Dewey's journey progresses from confusion to relentless determination. With almost no physical evidence and no clear motive, he meticulously sorts through tips, collaborates with the FBI, and remains patient. The turning point arises when Floyd Wells, a prison informant, identifies Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, prompting Dewey to arrange their arrest in Las Vegas. He is present during both the interrogations—where Smith's detailed confession disturbs him—and the 1960 trial in Finney County. Years later, Capote illustrates Dewey attending the college graduation of Susan Kidwell, a friend of Nancy Clutter, in a quietly reflective scene that signifies the community's gradual healing and brings the story to a close.
Key attributes include perseverance, professionalism softened by empathy, and an unwavering sense of justice. Capote depicts him with clear admiration, positioning Dewey as the moral counterbalance to the compelling narratives of the killers.
Connected characters
- Herb Clutter
Dewey was a personal friend of Herb Clutter before the murders, which transforms the investigation from a professional duty into a deeply personal mission and fuels his months-long obsession with solving the case.
- Perry Smith
Dewey interrogates Smith after his Las Vegas arrest and listens to his full confession of the killings. Smith's candor and complexity unsettle Dewey, who finds himself reluctantly moved by the killer even as he pursues justice against him.
- Dick Hickock
Dewey identifies and apprehends Hickock alongside Smith, and oversees his interrogation. Hickock's braggadocio and attempts to shift blame onto Smith contrast sharply with Dewey's measured professionalism.
- Floyd Wells
Wells's tip from prison—naming Hickock and Smith as likely perpetrators—is the pivotal break Dewey needs. Without this informant, Dewey's investigation would have remained stalled, making Wells the catalyst for the case's resolution.
- Susan Kidwell
Dewey encounters Susan at the cemetery in the book's closing scene, where she has just graduated from college. This brief, tender meeting allows Dewey—and the reader—a moment of closure and hope after years of grief.
- Nancy Clutter
Nancy's murder, as the youngest and most vividly drawn victim, weighs on Dewey throughout the investigation; the final scene at her grave underscores how her memory persists as the human cost driving his pursuit of justice.
- Bonnie Clutter
Bonnie's death is part of the crime scene Dewey first processes; her fragile mental state, reconstructed during the investigation, deepens his understanding of the family's vulnerability and the killers' ruthlessness.
- Kenyon Clutter
Kenyon's murder, like those of the other Clutters, is a focal point of Dewey's crime-scene work and autopsy review, reinforcing the senselessness of the killings that drives his determination.
- Truman Capote (Narrator)
Capote interviews Dewey extensively and portrays him as the investigation's moral center. Dewey's cooperation is essential to the book's procedural authenticity, and Capote's evident admiration shapes how readers perceive him as a sympathetic, justice-driven figure.