The War: Exposing PTSD and Nature Versus Nuture

I think that through the fact that Perry and his brother have been in the army, exemplifies the fact that they may be natural born killers or have majorly suffered from post traumatic stress disorder after serving their time in the war. Perry for example has been in the “United States Army” as a “Pvt. Perry E. Smith, 23, first Army Korean combat veteran” (187), and now he’s a killer here in the United States against innocent people. He’s killed the Clutters was planning on killing another guy Mr. Bells, and has “met a man on a bridge and thrown him off it” (187). I thought that possibly post army stress of killing people in battle, but then there was his brother, Jimmy, who had killed him and his wife, but in a more physiological manner. Mrs. Johnson was looking at some old photographs and we find out that Jimmy had served in the army, and had in fact also met his wife from the army too, for Mrs. Johnson said she was a “teen-age San Diego fleet-follower whose glass beads reflected a now long-faded sun” (186), basically the girl was a bit of a army tramp. While Jimmy is in the war he marries this girl and years later Mrs. Johnson said “then she aimed a shotgun at a point between her eyes and pressed the trigger with her toe” (186). Now everyone thinks the reason for her killing herself is because “jealousy imprisoned” Jimmy and Jimmy kept accusing her of sleeping around while he was gone at sea. Really, a sad thought because a day after Jimmy found her and lay at her side on the bed he too loaded the shotgun and killed himself. I think that these two examples of men at war tell two things to the audience: one is that the natural state of being a born killer will prevail, good (fighting for your country) or bad (like murdering innocent people) and second that the debate over post traumatic stress disorder here now in the United States and about the soldiers coming back from Iraq and such not knowing how to adjust again into society. I think now they have training and almost rehabilitation sessions for the soldiers when they arrive back at the United States to help them to once more adjust to the society that they are now in, of which may not be the one they were living in before they went overseas complicating adjusting even more. I think that Perry and Jimmy both are good examples of how war can effect a man (or women), and I think Capote may be trying to stress the importance of rehabilitating institutions for soldiers so they can get some help and adjust better. The other part on nature versus nurture I feel there are two personalities that Capote is trying to express as being natural: one is a natural born killer and the other is insecurities. I think Capote feels that Perry has always been a killer, that’s why while at war he had thrown the guy over the bridge, not because he was an enemy but because it’s Perry’s nature to want to kill or hurt people, hence join the army. Jimmy on the other hand, he might have been insecure about his strengths, (as a lover to his wife, and masculinity), for he goes to war to build his masculinity possibly and turns out meeting a women, seems good. But he drives her basically insane because he doesn’t trust her, more or less he’s worried of comparisons to other men she’s been with before him. I also think that the reason he thought her still to be “promiscuous” having “betrayed him with a multitude of lovers”(186), while he was away at sea was once more some trust issues but more or less the fact that his sexual activity with her may not be satisfying enough. I think that this reflects some insecurities about Jimmy that many may overlook to be only his wife’s fault for being brought upon him but I really think he has always had them it’s just his “passion” for his wife was causing his insecurities to be too strong and ultimately it kills him.