Over the first part of In Cold Blood, Truman Capote uses the time to give the reader an understanding of the characters and the characters attributes. This is especially true for Nancy. He mentions her being a straight-A student, class president, winner of numerous pie contests, having shiny hair, and also practically running the house (180. Capote is trying to imply her innocence upon the reader, making the reader become attached to her before she is brutally murdered. Capote also does a phenomenal job of making the characters seem perfect, then, after showing their perfection, he undermines the characters to show their flaws. Later in the first part Capote talks about how Nancy takes a few puffs on a cigarette every once in a while and that she also flirts with boys even though she is happily involved with Bobby Rupp (19-20). Also when looking at her journal Truman notices that Nancy tinkers with her handwriting (57). This is something that a teenager often does trying to figure out what style fits them the best. The change in styles can also show Nancy’s immaturity, when everyone finds her so mature. This shows that she really isn’t the perfect girl that everyone believes her to be. Capote uses this technique to show the reader the characters flaws, as well as make them seem more human. Less perfect and more like the everyday non-perfect humans reading the non-fiction novel.