Several times throughout the book, I am forced to question the feelings and presence of a conscience in both Dick and Perry. The following post highlights these concerns and ideas in Dick, followed by a second blog post highlighting those with examples of Perry. The two exhibit moments of thoughtfulness and softness, but in many other instances they exhibit a terrible act or thought and it seems to take no effect on them whatsoever.
Like Perry, Dick can be seen in this light of an occasional conscience. Concerning his family, he is extremely sensitive. He explains, “I’m ashamed too. I’m afraid of what my mother would say. About the checks. And going off like we did. But I wish I could call them, hear how they are” (193). This excerpt perfectly portrays Dick with a conscience and thought about what he did to his family and what he has done in general. He is actually exhibiting feelings of shame and sorrow. These moments seem to only arrive at the thought of family or close friends because there are many moments throughout the novel where Dick does not fit this description in any sense. For example, previously in section 2, the readers watch Dick ruthlessly and thoughtlessly run down a dog in the middle of the street. This is a strong indication of a poor or non-existent conscience. This thoughtlessness and un-bother is shown later as well for both Dick and Perry when they are waiting for the “perfect” driver to come along and pick them up off the side of the road. When Mr. Bell is pulling over to pick up the boys, “He was entirely unaware of his guests’ intentions, which included throttling him with a belt and leaving him, robbed of this car, his money, and his life, concealed in a prairie grave” (172). This makes Dick seem heartless and unaffected; that he doesn’t care about the man’s life and that murder or general violence means nothing to him as far as feelings and his conscience
Much like Dick, I find myself questioning the presence of a conscience in Perry as well. In some instances, it is clear that he is thoughtful or pained by his actions or events, (in many references to his father, or hardships of his past) and in many others, it seems obvious that he doesn’t care about harming others and that he goes unaffected by it – exhibiting his possible lack of conscience, ethics, or sensitivity. Perry, like Dick, also feels some variation of pain for his family, more specifically his father. When in the van listening to Mr. Bell’s laughter, he thinks, “…hearty barks that sounded very much like the laughter of Tex John Smith, Perry’s father. The memory of his father’s laughter increased his tension; his head hurt, his knees ached. He chewed three aspirin and swallowed them dry. Jesus! He thought he might vomit, or faint” (174). This shows that Perry feels some sort of pain for his father whether it be regret, shame, or missing him and ultimately indicates that he has a conscious or thoughts. This sincerity is quickly re-considered when you consider the flashback scene in which he is yelling at Bobo. He shouts, “Shut up, or I’ll throw you into the river. Like once when I was walking across a bridge in Japan, and a guy was standing there, I never saw him before, I just picked him up and threw him into the river” (185). This is a strong indication of having no conscious and being unbothered by acts of random violence. An example of Perry, caught in this double standard of an occasional conscience is expressed by his sister. She reports, “I’m afraid of him. I always have been. He can seem so warm-hearted and sympathetic. Gentle…. Oh, he can fool you. He can make you feel so sorry for him-“ (171). Here, Mrs. Johnson portrays Perry as two-faced; a person who can seem so soft and harmless, but then act ruthlessly and feel no pain. She adds, “The rights of other people mean nothing to Perry. He has no respect for anyone” (184). Also, just later, Perry thinks, “…if Dick delayed “the party” much longer… (174). This leads me to believe that this is just a heartless act and that he might possibly get some bit of enjoyment out of it which portrays him in a twisted light.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the book, there is a common thought that the reader much contemplate, and that is the degree of remorse, sorrow or shame that Dick and Perry feel when they are violent and uncontrollable. This never-ending question of the idea of caring and whether or not they do, is constantly being portrayed throughout Capote’s novel.
I think, in spite of the fact that perry killed someone, that Perry has "more" of a conscience than Dick. Capote, who had first hand experience talking to both killers, writes with a bias against Dick. Dick completely exploits Perry throughout the book, and Perry is too "out of it" to realize. The fact that Dick would trick Perry, who he knows is emotionally unstable, into a helping him scheme like that seems inhumane at the least.
ReplyDeleteIn the third part of the novel we learn that Dick also tried to rape Nancy Clutter, but Perry defends her. Dick says, " 'I'm gonna bust that little girl.' And I [Perry] said, 'Uh-huh. But you'll have to kill me first' "(243). Despite killing the Clutters, Perry seems to be much more compassionate towards them (and humans in general) than Dick. This shows that Perry has a perfectly good conscience with one "fatal" flaw. It also shows that along with having no conscience, Dick has a dark secret, just like Perry - he's attracted to little girls. In Florida we find out that, "He was sorry he felt as he did about her, for his sexual interest in female children was a failing of which he was 'sincerely ashamed'"(201). While this shame may seem like he has a conscience, it is not. He is only trying to make sure other people don't think he's weird or perverted. That is the difference between Dick and Perry -Dick tries to deny he has faults while Perry accepts them, and tries to accept other people's faults too.