Prompts:
1) What characters do you sympathize with? Why?
2) What patterns and repetitions do you notice?
3) Where is the storyteller visible in the story?
4) Where is the reporter visible?
5) Is Capote or his feelings or opinions apparent?
6) Pose your own question and respond to it.
The Corner in In Cold Blood poses an important and debatable question to the reader or the audience: Is Perry really mentally ill or just a cold-blooded killing machine? While Capote leaves it up to the reader to decide whether or not Perry’s crime is tied to mental illness, we get a good sense of how he is portrayed by the Doctor and presented to the people of Holcomb. Following his analysis of the patient, Dr. Jones states, “Perry Smith shows definite signs of severe mental illness” (296). To conclude he also states, “More extensive evaluation would be necessary to make an exact psychiatric diagnosis, but his present personality structure is very nearly that of a paranoid schizophrenic reaction” (298). Dr. Jones poses the question of whether or not Perry Smith is a paranoid schizophrenic, making the reader think and possibly feel sympathy for Perry’s character. However, throughout the section, while speaking with others, Perry shows signs of definite and clear understanding of his actions and a possible reason for them. While speaking to his friend Cullivan over cigarettes and coffee, he says, “See, Don-I did kill them…I wonder why I did it” (290). He also states, “I was sore at Dick. The tough brass boy. But it wasn’t Dick. Or the fear of being identified. I was willing to take that gamble. And it wasn’t because of anything the Clutters did. They never hurt me. Like other people. Like people have all my life. Maybe it’s just that the Clutters were the ones who had to pay for it” (290). Perry definitely understands his actions and their outcome. It seems as if he took all the pain, resentment and anger in his past out on the Clutters- just because they happened to be there at the wrong place, and at the wrong time. However his reason for killing is debatable about whether or not it should be qualified as a sign of a mental illness or not. Even though a possible reason for his crime is to take out his emotions, contrary to that, he also states, “Am I sorry? If that’s what you mean- I’m not. I don’t feel anything about it. I wish I did. But nothing about it bothers me a bit. Half an hour after it happened, Dick was making jokes and I was laughing at them. Maybe we’re not human. I’m human enough to feel sorry for myself” (291). Again, here Perry shows a logical understanding of his actions and a description of the way he feels about it, that perfectly makes sense. This forces the reader to debate whether or not Perry’s reason for the crime is something more serious than a mental illness. Perry himself raises the question about whether he is human or not. While Perry’s actions are definitely not of a normal human being, he cannot be classified as a paranoid schizophrenic because of his realization of his actions. So I leave it up to you to decide, Is Perry really mentally ill or just a killer in cold blood?
The Corner in In Cold Blood poses an important and debatable question to the reader or the audience: Is Perry really mentally ill or just a cold-blooded killing machine? While Capote leaves it up to the reader to decide whether or not Perry’s crime is tied to mental illness, we get a good sense of how he is portrayed by the Doctor and presented to the people of Holcomb. Following his analysis of the patient, Dr. Jones states, “Perry Smith shows definite signs of severe mental illness” (296). To conclude he also states, “More extensive evaluation would be necessary to make an exact psychiatric diagnosis, but his present personality structure is very nearly that of a paranoid schizophrenic reaction” (298). Dr. Jones poses the question of whether or not Perry Smith is a paranoid schizophrenic, making the reader think and possibly feel sympathy for Perry’s character. However, throughout the section, while speaking with others, Perry shows signs of definite and clear understanding of his actions and a possible reason for them. While speaking to his friend Cullivan over cigarettes and coffee, he says, “See, Don-I did kill them…I wonder why I did it” (290). He also states, “I was sore at Dick. The tough brass boy. But it wasn’t Dick. Or the fear of being identified. I was willing to take that gamble. And it wasn’t because of anything the Clutters did. They never hurt me. Like other people. Like people have all my life. Maybe it’s just that the Clutters were the ones who had to pay for it” (290). Perry definitely understands his actions and their outcome. It seems as if he took all the pain, resentment and anger in his past out on the Clutters- just because they happened to be there at the wrong place, and at the wrong time. However his reason for killing is debatable about whether or not it should be qualified as a sign of a mental illness or not. Even though a possible reason for his crime is to take out his emotions, contrary to that, he also states, “Am I sorry? If that’s what you mean- I’m not. I don’t feel anything about it. I wish I did. But nothing about it bothers me a bit. Half an hour after it happened, Dick was making jokes and I was laughing at them. Maybe we’re not human. I’m human enough to feel sorry for myself” (291). Again, here Perry shows a logical understanding of his actions and a description of the way he feels about it, that perfectly makes sense. This forces the reader to debate whether or not Perry’s reason for the crime is something more serious than a mental illness. Perry himself raises the question about whether he is human or not. While Perry’s actions are definitely not of a normal human being, he cannot be classified as a paranoid schizophrenic because of his realization of his actions. So I leave it up to you to decide, Is Perry really mentally ill or just a killer in cold blood?
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