Perry's dream a clue to WHY he killed the Clutters

In the second half of "Persons Unknown" in In Cold Blood, Perry's reocurring dream since childhood can be seen as a representation of his previously commited crimes, as well as the murder of the Clutters, and a big clue to WHY he commited such a terrible crime. Each object and event that happens in his dream can be tied to elements and aspects of a murder and its consequences. Perry describes his dream on page 92, saying, "Where I'm in Africa. A jungle. I'm moving through the trees toward a tree standing all alone. Jesus, it smells bad, that tree; it kind of makes me sick, the way it stinks. Only, it's beautiful to look at-it has blue leaves and diamonds hanging everywhere. Diamonds like oranges. That's why I'm there-to pick myself a bushel of diamonds. But I know the minute I try to, the minute I reach up, a snake is gonna fall on me. A snake that guards the tree. This fat son of a bitch living in the branches. I know this beforeband, see? And Jesus, I don't know how to fight a snake. But I figure, Well, I'll take my chances. What it comes down to is I want the diamonds more than I'm afraid of the snake. So I go to pick one, I have the diamond in my hand, I'm pulling at it, when the snake lands on top of me. We wrestle around, but he's a slippery sonofabitch and I can't get a hold, he's crushing me, you can hear my legs cracking...See, he starts to swallow me" (92). If specifically tying to the Clutters' murder, the tree in Perry's dream represents the Clutters- a rich,succesful family who's wealth and success and represented by diamonds in his dream. Meanwhile, the snake represents the justice authority that stops him everytime, his arrest represented by the snake swallowing him. Perry's dream can be looked at and analyzed several different ways. It can also be a big clue as to why Perry REALLY commited the crime. With the diamonds representing the Clutters and their wealth and success, Perry's attempt to steal them hints towards a feeling of envy that drives him to do so. The diamonds sparkle, and the tree is so beautiful that envy and temptation could possibly be the reason why he commited the crime. Perry's risks of attempting to steal a diamond portrays his irrational logic that derives from his great want. His actions give a sense of him not thinking of the consequences when he steals the diamond, or shoots 4 people of the Clutter family. Therefore, based on his dream, it appears as if he has some kind of glitch that occurs due to temptation, and forces him to forget about the danger and consequences of the situation.