In the first twenty-five pages of In Cold Blood, Truman Capote gives detailed descriptions of each character so that the reader can witness the story unfold as an informed bystander. Although the characterization Capote gives of Nancy Clutter paints a picture of perfection, Capote also gives the murderers, Dick and Perry a description that makes them seem more mysterious rather than ruthless. As far as the reader is concerned, Dick and Perry are merciless killers who took the lives of an innocent farming family, but Capote changes that perspective. He describes how Perry is a poetic musician dreaming to play his guitar in front of a crowd, which makes it hard to believe this man would take part in a murder. As Dick and Perry get in the car, Perry checks the backseat to make sure his belongings are still there. Perry describes his possessions as, “It was an old Gibson guitar, sandpapered and waxed to a honey-yellow finish. Another sort of instrument lay beside it-a twelve-gauge pump-action shotgun, brand-new, blue-barreled, and with a sportsman’s scene of pheasants in flight etched along the stock. A flashlight, a fishing knife, a pair of leather gloves, and a hunting vest fully packed with shells contributed further atmosphere to this curious still life” (22). At first, the reader thinks that Perry’s initial priority is his music, however he then describes his gun as if it were a work of art. By page twenty-two of the story, one would think that Perry is a poetic murderer and the reader would anxiously be waiting to see what Perry does next as he is completely unpredictable. Another instance where Capote characterizes the murderers as mysterious is before they speed down the street in their car after discussing their times in prison and parole. Dick talks about the blue tattoo under his eye. He says how it is his fraternity pin, or a, “visible password by which certain former prison inmates could identify him” (24). In response to having to live with his family, Perry says, “’I sympathize with that. They’re good people. She’s a real sweet person, your mother.’ Dick nodded; he thought so, too” (24). After hearing the men causally talk about jail and then respectfully mention how sweet Dick’s mother is, its difficult to categorize them as ruthless killers.