Deception is a powerful motif in this section. Perry whose character has always been a bit of an enigma, once again appears rather double sided, both utterly vulnerable, and sweet, while also cunning and guiltless. Mrs. Meier, who spends considerable time with Perry while he is jailed in her kitchen, comments, “I could’ve judged for myself just how gentle Mr. Smith was. Him and his friend Hickcock. He said they’d cut out your heart and never bat an eye” (254). She is speaking of her impression of Perry as as a gentle young man, and her husband’s opinion of their cruel-heartedness. She is easily deceived into believing he is the lamb, not the lion. Dick, whose character has always been less of a mystery, is shown to be quite capable of consciously deceiving, and manipulating those around him. He easily fooled his own dad into believing, “Dick told me he didn’t even know it when Smitty attacked the man {Mr. Clutter}, cut his throat. Dick wasn’t even in the same room. He only run in when he heard them struggling” (259). This is in contradiction with the account Capote gives in section three. While very nature appears to be unintentionally deceptive, Dick’s outright efforts at manipulation are the product of his own actions.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Deception
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I agree with Sonia that throughout the story Perry has had more than one side to him. The two sides are polar opposites the first one being how he looks innocent and makes you want to be his friend. This side is apparent in the fourth part when the priest offers him his friendship in trade for Perry’s conversion to Christianity. This side is the smart part of him as well as the “innocent” side of him isn’t so innocent at all. The reason that it isn’t actually innocent at all is because it enables his other side because with out the apparent innocence the monster side of him would always be on the surface and he would have clearly been put away many years before the murder of the Clutters. The monstrous side of Perry bears its ugly face far less often then the first side however it is just as important when looking at Perry’s character as a whole. This side is the one that brutally killed the Clutters because he believed that Mr. Clutter was looking at him like he was a monster, Mr. Clutter was correct Perry is a monster. Some people believe that if someone makes a horrible mistake that doesn’t make them a horrible person when in fact it does. Murder is no mistake it comes from one of three things, mental illness, rage, and stupidity. In all of these cases the person should go to jail for life because if someone’s mental instability leads them to commit murder just as Perry’s did then yes they need to be locked away. In the example of rage if someone is so mad that the kill someone then they need to get help and be put away at least until they can do so. And in the final example of stupidity anyone who “accidentally” kills someone clearly wasn’t being careful at all and this can sometimes be followed under either or the two categories when the root cause is one or the other.
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