Over the course of the first section, one can note the multiple transfers Capote institutes between descriptions of the deceased members of the Clutter family, and their murderers. He depicts the, what was supposed to be, daily routine performed by each departed family member on the day of their demise. However, following the description of one Clutter’s standard day, he begins to illustrate the routine that the murderers went through on the same day of the murders. To repeat the pattern, Capote then resumes his depiction of a family member’s routine, and then returns back to describing the murderers. For example, in pages 5-13, Capote describes Mr. Clutter’s day, ending it with a foreshadowing of his death. He then shifts to the killers, in pages 14-17, and then proceeds to describe Nancy Clutter. By breaking up the routines of each party, leading up to the murders, Capote cultivates suspense and tension. Both the suspense and tension keep the reader captivated and interested in what is going to occur next. In pages 14-17, Capote describes Perry as he waits for Dick, but does not give you much information about Dick. At the end of this account, the narrator states “A car horn honked. At last-Dick.”(17). In ending the description this way, Capote leaves the reader wanting to learn more about Dick. However, Capote does not proceed to describe Dick. Instead, he launches into the typical day of Nancy Clutter. This enables Capote to enhance the anticipation experienced by the reader. The method that he employs in this segment generates a roller coaster effect to keep the reader attracted.
On a separate note, I noticed how Mrs. Clutter has “spells.” These spells allowed people to think that she had perhaps committed the murders. If her “spells” were so severe to lead some community members to think that she had committed the murders, how did her family react to them, as none of them appear affected in the descriptions that Capote gives.
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Repetition is in fact a very important part of Capote’s writing style. Capote tends to revolve around the idea, in this story, that Everything looks fine from afar but once you get in close, everything is different, or more specifically, worse. For example, in the beginning of the book, Truman describes Holcomb as a very fine looking town but once you get in close there is a very “abandoned”, or “desolate” feeling. In the book it says, “At one end of the town stands a stark old stucco structure, the roof of which supports an electric sign DANCE- but the dancing has ceased and the advertisement has been dark for several years. Nearby is another building with and irrelevant sign, this one in flaking gold on a dirty window…” (4). The same thing goes for the people of Holcomb as well. On the outside, or from afar, they look decent enough people making their way by farming and using natural gas to their advantage. But upon closer look, you notice their stressed life and difficult and complex thoughts. Take Nancy Clutter for example. She is a nice enough, pretty, smart, and active girl. However, when you see her close up and alone, she is stressed, she is always staying up late because she never has time for herself, and her dad always is demanding things like “stay away from young Bobby Rupp!” and etc. After the news breaks out about the murder, or rather death, of Herb, many Holcomb residents just think it is an accident. They do this because they look at everyone from afar and they can’t see the flaws in everyone, and in this case, their community. Capote says things like, “something radically wrong” (61), “there’s been some kind of accident” (62), “It’s only a nosebleed”, and more to get the repetitious point on the flaws of the community of these people.
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