Capote's Familiarity

Capote discusses the town, and its inhabitants with undeniable familiarity. He often uses the voice of the townspeople instead of his own with phrases like “poor Bonnie’s afflictions” (7). He used phrases like “everyone in Holcomb” to preface many statements of general opinion. For instance, “ everyone in Holcomb recalled the day a small disabled plane crashed into the peach trees: “Herb was fit to be tied! Why, the propeller hadn’t stopped turning before he’d slapped a lawsuit on the pilot.”” (13). This sort of general statement Capote must have gathered from the towns people as it is a Non-Fiction novel. This type of statement makes the reader feel like they are being given the gossip, the talk of the town and creates a sense of acquaintance. To further impress the sense of familiarity between the reader and the townspeople, Capote often offers small details about one or another person. About Mr. Clutter he mentions that, “no woman in Kansas baked a better loaf of salt-rising bread, and his celebrated coconut cookies were the first item to go at charity cake sales” (9). This innocent detail helps connect us to the soon to be murdered man. Capote familiarity is almost alarming as he recites town wide sentiments, and person specific information, about a group of people not crafted by his own imagination, making him the master, but that actually exist, and these things had to have been observed.