Willie-Jay's Letter

I think it is hard sometimes to fully understand characters in books because we form judgments by the actions from which they are introduced by the author. We know that Perry and Dick are murderers before we start reading about them, so we are not very sympathetic to the stories of their pasts and their troubles. I find Willie-Jay’s letter to Perry (p.43-44) very helpful because it is a first-hand analysis of Perry’s personality by someone who knows him personally, and because it was written before the murders took place. Without the letter, my conclusions about Perry would solely be derived from Capote’s descriptions and hand-picked quotations. Willie-Jay writes. “there is a flaw in your strength, and unless you learn to control it the flaw will prove stronger that your strength and defeat you. The flaw? Explosive emotional reaction out of all proportion to the occasion.” Willie-Jay says that the explosive reaction stems from Perry’s anger. He writes to Perry, “Their [people’s] happiness is the source of your frustration and resentment.” Perry’s childhood was full of sadness and abandonment and very deficient in love, respect, and personal attention. His lack of happiness (which was not his fault) resulted in resentment of those who felt and gave the type of love he never experienced. Willie-Jay’s letter goes on to warn Perry that he’s dangerous: “But these are dreadful enemies you carry within yourself—in time destructive as bullets.” Willie-Jay saw that Perry’s inability to distance himself from his troubled past was a potential danger to those around him. The letter, along with Capote’s descriptions, aids my understanding of Perry as a person, not as a murderer.