Sunday, October 25, 2009

I believe one of the more significant things in the book are the titles, both the titles of each section and the whole book. The thing that was puzzling me is why the first section is titled The Last to See Them Alive, because the whole chapter appears to be just the reader learning about and being close to the characters. Then it dawned on me:

The first section is titled The Last to See Them Alive, because we as the readers are the last to ‘see’ the Clutter family alive. Capote’s purpose in writing this book was to make it a novel that is based on a true story, what better way than to encourage its novel persona then bringing the reader into the story? As the reader, we see the Clutter family’s final actions before Perry and Dick break in to their house. Even after Bobby leaves we still see what the Clutters do, specifically, Nancy’s ‘midnight routine.’ Because of the way the characters are described, they can be imagined that night, and since we don’t know what they are thinking it is almost as if we are sitting in the room with them, just observing. I think Truman Capote writes the novel this way in order to bring the readers closer to the people in the story. That way it is more than just the ‘reportage’ he always reads, but also a novel. In the end, I think the titles speak to what is going on in the story. The main title In Cold Blood refers to Perry and Dick and why they murdered the Clutters. The second title we have experienced is The Last to See Them Alive and I believe that it refers to the readers, not any actual person from the event. The upcoming three titles will confirm or deny this theory.

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