Characters in “In Cold Blood”

When going back and analyzing the pages within this first section of “In Cold Blood”, I have come to the belief that Capote is truly doing nothing more than playing devils advocate with his readers emotions. To start his novel off, Capote gives his readers a peaceful image of what the hometown of the Clutters is like; depicting it as peaceful and the people within the town friendly and welcoming. Next, he introduces you to the Clutter family; giving you a brief look into the lives of each member of the family. One family member in particular that I feel Capote desperately tires to make his readers connect and show sympathy towards, is that of Bonnie Clutter. He depicts the image of this helpless sickly lady that truly seems to be completely innocent on all levels. She has been battling sickness for most of her life and has not been able to enjoy her family as she would have liked to. Capote then throws in the thought that this woman has the possibility to be cured of her ailment and continue living life as she has been wanting to for years. He draws you in and connects you to them. But soon the reader realizes that these characters that seem like really good and decent people will be murdered. This quickly causes the readers to switch their emotions and begin to greatly dislike the characters Perry and Dick. I think this displays some slight emotion on Capote’s part. Could he be showing some favoritism towards the side of the Clutter’s? Maybe his opinion has shown up.