Flashcards for In Cold Blood

Alvin Dewey

Alvin Dewey is the Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent heading the inquiry into the November 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas.

character

Bonnie Clutter

Bonnie Clutter is the emotionally delicate matriarch of the Clutter family in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, which tells the true story of the 1959 murders of a Kansas farm family.

character

Dick Hickock

Dick Hickock is one of the two convicted murderers at the heart of Truman Capote's true-crime narrative, acting as the mastermind whose bravado hides an underlying cowardice.

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Floyd Wells

Floyd Wells is a minor yet significant character in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, acting as the key connection between the Clutter family and their murderers.

character

Herb Clutter

Herb Clutter is the head of the Clutter family and the main focus of the November 1959 murders central to Truman Capote's true-crime narrative.

character

Kenyon Clutter

Kenyon Clutter, the youngest of the four Clutters murdered on the night of November 14–15, 1959, was a fifteen-year-old boy whose brief portrayal in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood highlights his quiet individuality within a close-knit, respectable Kansas family.

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Nancy Clutter

Nancy Clutter, who was just sixteen when she was murdered, is depicted in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood as a symbol of wholesome, small-town American promise.

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Perry Smith

Perry Smith is one of the two convicted murderers featured in Truman Capote's 1966 nonfiction novel In Cold Blood, and he stands out as the most psychologically intricate character in the story.

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Susan Kidwell

Susan Kidwell is Nancy Clutter's closest friend and one of the first outsiders to witness the aftermath of the Clutter murders in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.

character

Truman Capote (Narrator)

Truman Capote acts as the unseen yet ever-present narrator of In Cold Blood (1966), influencing every scene through his choices in selection, arrangement, and writing style while maintaining a formal distance.

character

“I thought Mr. Clutter was a very nice gentleman. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat.”

This chilling line comes from Perry Smith, one of the two convicted murderers at the heart of Truman Capote's 1966 true-crime masterpiece In Cold Blood.

Perry Smith

“Maybe I had a chance to be something different. But I didn't take it.”

This haunting line comes from Perry Smith, one of the two men convicted of murder in Truman Capote's 1966 true-crime classic In Cold Blood.

Perry Smith

“I think there must be something wrong with us. To do what we did.”

This haunting line comes from Perry Smith, one of the two convicted killers at the heart of Truman Capote's 1966 true-crime masterpiece In Cold Blood.

Perry Smith

“Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shape of exceptional happenings, had never stopped there.”

This lyrical sentence appears near the beginning of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (1966), specifically in the first section called "The Last to See Them Alive."

Truman Capote (narrator) · The Last to See Them Alive

“It's a rotten world. There's no answer to it but meanness. I've tried to believe otherwise, but I can't.”

This stark statement is made by Perry Smith, one of the two convicted killers featured in Truman Capote's 1966 "nonfiction novel" In Cold Blood.

Perry Smith

“The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call 'out there.'”

This is the famous opening line of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (1966), presented through Capote's perspective as the all-knowing narrator.

Truman Capote (narrator) · Part One: The Last to See Them Alive

“I'm a normal. I only do this because I'm normal.”

This chilling declaration is voiced by Perry Smith in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (1966), which is Capote's groundbreaking work of "nonfiction novel" journalism that tells the story of the 1959 Clutter family murders in Holcomb, Kansas.

Perry Smith

“I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat.”

This chilling line is delivered by Perry Smith, one of the two convicted killers at the heart of Truman Capote's 1966 true-crime classic In Cold Blood.

Perry Smith · Part IV: The Corner

“Perry Smith's life had been no bed of roses but was lived on the wrong side of the tracks.”

This observation appears in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (1966) as part of the narrative's rich psychological profile of Perry Smith, one of the two men who killed the Clutter family.

Truman Capote (narrator)

“All I know is, I'm tired. Tired of running, tired of not having a home.”

This line comes from Perry Smith, one of the two convicted murderers featured in Truman Capote's 1966 true-crime book In Cold Blood.

Perry Smith

“We're all part of the same hypocrisy.”

This line is spoken by Perry Smith, one of the two convicted murderers featured in Truman Capote's 1966 non-fiction novel In Cold Blood.

Perry Smith

“I despise people who can't control themselves.”

This chilling line is delivered by Perry Smith, one of the two convicted killers featured in Truman Capote's 1966 nonfiction novel In Cold Blood.

Perry Smith · Part II: Persons Unknown

Perry's Childhood Drawings

In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, Perry Smith's childhood drawings reveal a side of him that is sensitive and artistically gifted, highlighting the painful contrast between who he could have been and the killer he has become.

The Clutter Farmhouse

In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, the Clutter farmhouse at River Valley Farm in Holcomb, Kansas, represents the fragile nature of the American Dream.

The Elm Tree

In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, the elm tree in the yard of the Clutter farmstead in Holcomb, Kansas, captures the essence of the American pastoral ideal and the violent shattering of that innocence.

The Road

In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, the road reflects the aimless, unsettled lives of both the killers and the American heartland they travel through.

The Rope and the Gallows

In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, the rope and the gallows represent the harsh finality of state-sanctioned justice and reflect the chilling similarity to the murders themselves.

The Yellow Bird

In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, the yellow bird symbolizes escape, innocence, and a deep longing for freedom.

Narrative Poem

Capote crafts In Cold Blood as a gripping narrative, blending the style of a novel with the roots of documentary storytelling.

Juxtaposition

Capote's most striking structural technique is the constant switching between victim and killer.

Imagery

Capote's imagery is sharp and cinematic.

Dramatic Monologue

Long sections of the book focus on Perry Smith's perspective, pieced together from Capote's interviews.

Irony

Irony permeates both the structure and tone of the book.

Pathetic Fallacy

The Kansas landscape consistently reflects the emotional tone of the story.

Simile

Capote uses simile to both humanize and horrify at the same time.

Symbolism

The Clutter farmhouse stands as a lasting symbol of the American Dream — prosperous, orderly, and faith-centered — so its violation feels like an attack on that ideal.

Extended Metaphor

Capote maintains an extended metaphor depicting the American heartland as a body that can be hurt.

Understatement

Capote's most chilling effects arise from what he chooses not to amplify.

Motif

Dreams appear frequently as a motif in the book.

Aporia

Capote weaves real uncertainty into the moral framework of the book.

awesomely extensive

Stretching so far in every direction that it fills a person with a sense of wonder or even unease; used here to describe the vast, open flatness of the Kansas landscape.

phrase · Chapter 1

grain elevators

Tall, tower-like storage buildings used to hold large quantities of harvested grain such as wheat before it is shipped out; a common landmark in farming communities.

noun · Chapter 1

self-made man

A person who has achieved success and social standing entirely through their own hard work and talent, without help from family wealth or connections.

phrase · Chapter 1

theretofore

Up until that point in time; before that particular moment or event. An old-fashioned, formal word meaning 'until then.'

adverb · Chapter 1

somber

Dark, gloomy, and deeply serious in tone or mood; used here to describe the disturbing, heavy quality of the violent sounds the townspeople kept imagining.

adjective · Chapter 1

repute

The opinion that other people generally hold of someone; a person's public reputation or standing in the community.

noun · Chapter 2

county agent

A government-employed agricultural adviser who works at the county level, helping local farmers with crop management, soil care, and farming best practices.

noun · Chapter 2

ex-convict

A person who has been convicted of a crime and has already served their prison sentence; a former prisoner.

noun

cellmate

A person who shares a prison cell with another inmate; someone confined in the same small room inside a jail or penitentiary.

noun

forged checks

Checks that have been fraudulently written or signed using a false identity or someone else's name in order to illegally obtain money.

phrase

stays of execution

Official legal orders that temporarily delay or postpone a scheduled execution, giving the condemned person more time while appeals or reviews are carried out.

phrase · Chapter 4

death row

The section of a prison that houses inmates who have been sentenced to death and are awaiting their execution.

noun · Chapter 4

penitentiary

A large, secure prison, typically run by a state or federal government, where people convicted of serious crimes serve long sentences.

noun · Chapter 4

soft-spoken

Speaking in a quiet, gentle voice; not loud or aggressive in the way one talks to others.

adjective · Chapter 4

plunged through

Moved suddenly and forcefully through an opening; here it describes the abrupt, violent drop of a body through a trapdoor at the moment of hanging.

phrase · Chapter 4

farmyard clatter

The loud, rattling noise of wooden or metal parts banging together, like the rough mechanical sounds of barn equipment; used here to describe the harsh noise of the gallows trapdoor.

phrase · Chapter 4

dramatic irony

A storytelling situation in which the reader knows something important — such as an approaching disaster — that the characters in the story do not yet know.

phrase

appeals

Formal legal requests made to a higher court to review and possibly overturn a lower court's decision, often used by convicted prisoners to delay or avoid their sentence.

noun · Chapter 4

sex crime

A criminal act involving sexual violence or assault; the text uses the phrase to rule out this motive and emphasize how inexplicable the murders were.

noun · Chapter 3

motive

The reason or driving force behind why someone commits a crime; the goal or emotion that caused a person to act.

noun · Chapter 3