Thursday, November 5, 2009
Dick and Perry's relationship
The relationship between Dick and Perry is probably one of the most complex things in In Cold Blood. It changes, it waxes, it wanes, it represents other things outside of the book. Throughout section one Perry seemed to just be following Dick to see Willie-Jay or for other minor reasons. But the relationship begins to change in section two. Perry begins to act more on his own, be more concerned for his welfare now that he realizes that it is in jeopardy. Dick on the other hand is nonchalant. While Perry is frantically reading a list of evidence that has been compiled so far, trying to convince himself that it is a lie, Dick is "bored at hearing it again." (90) Later on Dick becomes aggravated to an extent which is revealed through Capote's language: "He was annoyed. Annoyed as hell. Why the hell couldn't Perry shut up? Christ Jesus, what damn good did it do, always dragging the goddam thing up? It really was annoying." (108) There seems to be much evidence that Dick is becoming increasingly irritated at Perry's actions and speech. The two are tied together from their sentence at the Kansas prison, and of course the murder. However they argue, and never seem to have a unified point of view on a given topic. It would seem that Capote doesn't want the reader to know what will happen to this relationship as time goes on, and I would say he does a good job of it. Considering that Dick and Perry are the only characters who will likely be in the book from section 1 to section 4, their relationship is likely both one of the most major factors in determining the outcome of the story and affected by all events that have and will take place. Dick's slight animosity towards Perry, I feel, may perhaps develop into something more major near the end, or it may just be something to further the story at that moment. The only way to see, I feel, is to just read on.
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I think more than anything Dick is getting annoyed with Perry because of his constant chattering about the Clutters. It seems that Dick wants to just forget everything and get away. However, Dick’s thoughts aren’t as clear cut Perry’s. We can really get inside Perry’s head, or so is seems, because he’s usually the guy talking. As we saw in the first part of the book, Perry thinks, “Dick was full of fun” (44). And I feel this is the same way in the second part because, in Mexico, Perry wants to go treasure hunting! He says, “This is authentic. I’ve got a map. I’ve got the whole history…60 million dollars…” (100). And Dick responds, “Sure, honey, I’m with you. All the way” (100). However, there is a problem with this scenario. Perry, even for a split second, thinks Dick is lying, and note this is all in Perry’s perspective. He thinks Dick was just pretending to be his friend, just using him…If there is one thing I can tell for sure, it’s that Dick’s motives are not clear. In part one he was commenting on how Perry was a “natural killer” but this was only one of the few times we got inside Dick’s head. Maybe he was using Perry. But, like Josh said, the relationship is very complex and I feel the true motives will all be revealed later.
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily believe that Dick is becoming annoyed with Perry directly, I believe that more then anything Dick is angry at the fact that his plan did not work. Back in the first section of "In Cold Blood" as a reader, we are allowed to walk into the thoughts of both Dick and Perry. Dick was the one who initially developed that plan to rob the Clutter's. Dick and Perry went through all of this work and planning; believing that in the end it would all pay off only to be disappointed leaving the house of Clutters empty handed. In the end, Dick has to live with the fact that he has played a crucial role in 4 people being murdered and has nothing at all to show for it. So I think that all of the news paper articles and the worries of Perry are just adding on to his frustration. Daily Dick has to hear about how horrible a crime and how tragic the murder of the Clutter’s was. Overall, I think Dick is made at himself.
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