Point Of Views In Truman Capotes In Cold Blood - 1292 Words

How does someone turn a cold-hearted killing into a sympathetic two-sided story? Truman Capote was able to find the right criteria in order to change the way many people thought of a murderous case. In the novel, In Cold Blood, written by the journalist Truman Capote, Capote constructs persuasive diction, provides visual imagery, and manipulates point of views to broaden the viewpoints of the readers towards the criminals and to create a feeling of sympathy. The persuasive diction Capote changes the story from being very one-sided to opening up different viewpoints. Normally when a person hears about a family being murdered, they don’t particularly pay attention to the criminals and their back-stories. Most people focus on determining the†¦show more content†¦He shares the same technique when he mentions Perry’s father. â€Å"Dad snatched a biscuit out of my hand, and said I ate too much, what a greedy, selfish bastard I was, and why didn’t I get out, he didn’t want me there no more† (136). This statement alone causes the reader to feel compassion towards Perry. Not to mention the fight that follows, in which Perry’s dad tries to shoot Perry. Words such as â€Å"snatched† and â€Å"greedy† causes someone to question whether or not these types of events happen daily to Perry. The persuasive diction predicts a controversial outcome for Perry’s future. These events coul d play a long-term role on Perry and his personality. Capote shares this specific word choice because, he does not want the reader to feel simply bad for Perry; Capote wants the reader to feel an extreme amount of sympathy to the point where they start to not view Perry as a criminal, but as a victim. The powerful and persuasive diction used throughout the story changes and broadens the viewpoints of the readers towards the criminals. The type of diction constructed was not the only logic behind reader’s changing perspectives. The visual imagery provided by Capote was another component of the development of sympathy towards the criminals. When Perry shares his story of the murders to the investigators, it is evident by the imagery that Perry was against violence and hoping to avoid it, unlike his partner,Show MoreRelatedTruman Capote and Postmodernism1398 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Truman Capote, as obsessed with fame and fortune as with penning great words, was a writer who became as well-known for his late-night talk show appearances as for his prose† (Patterson 1). Capote was a literary pop star at the height of his fame in 1966, after he had written such classic books as, Other Rooms, Other Voices, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and In Cold Blood. 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