Monday, October 26, 2009

Signs of Fate

For both the victims and their killers, signs of fate attempt to warn them of their upcoming doom.
Although knowing what the next day has in store is uncommon for many, the Clutters, Perry and Dick receive signs of warning to stop the next day’s disaster. Signals appear in stories in order to inform the reader, but these signals are very faint, with common signals being meaningful colors and the significance of light and dark. Signals for characters are not as common in stories, with the characters being oblivious, but In Cold Blood gives its characters strong warning signs. The first character to receive an apparent sign of warning of their destiny is Mrs. Clutter. Mrs. Clutter, a character who lives under her husband’s shadow, received her sign through her last action before her misfortunate future. In Cold Blood portrays the Clutter family as a highly religious family and Mrs. Clutter, before going to bed the night of November 14, 1959, opens her Bible to a bookmarked scripture, which reads, “ Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” (pg 30) Mrs. Clutter, being very depressed and ready for sleep, reads the scripture and doesn’t take the script as a signal of her death. Mr. Clutter receives a signal as well that day, but the signal itself, like Mrs. Clutter’s Bible reading, was an everyday task. Mr. Clutter signs his will, in case of his death, for his family to take over his business and money. (pg 48) The character that receives the most warning is Perry, one of the two killers of the Clutters. Perry, a self-doubting character, attaches himself to the people he believes truly cares. Perry’s first signal comes in the form of Willie Jay, a friend he has believed to have built a strong relationship with. After arriving in Kansas he hopes to see Willie Jay, “Perry’s bus reached Kansas City…, Willie-Jay… had already left town—left, in fact, only five hours earlier, from the same terminal at which Perry arrived. That much he had learned by telephoning the Reverend Mr. Post, who further discouraged him by declining to reveal his former clerk’s exact destination.”(pg 45) If Perry had reunited with the friend he had so much wanted to see, the Clutters being still alive today is a great possibility. Perry had himself stated, “…if things didn’t ‘work out with Willie-Jay,’ then he might ‘consider Dick’s proposition.’” (pg 45) Perry’s original plan was soiled, causing the Clutters to end up dead on November 15, 1959, three days after Perry’s arrival. Another sign that Perry receives happens right before committing the murders. Perry and Dick reach a gas station and after walking into the bathroom to freshen up, another sign comes to Perry, “…inside it were the recently purchased rubber gloves. They were glue-covered, sticky and thin, and as he inched them on, one tore—not a dangerous tear, just a split between the fingers, but seemed to him an omen.” (pg 53) Perry’s multiple signals surpassed him and the death of the Clutters was discovered the next day.

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