Cast in a Better Light

As he did before, and has been doing throughout the book, Capote casts Perry in a better light than Dick by making Perry more sophisticated than other characters and making Dick seem more cruel and more barbaric. Capote emphasizes Perry superiority when comparing him to King, his former roommate; "said he wanted to stay in bed awhile, read and fan himself and drink beer. The stuff he read, it was just junk-comic books and cowboy junk," (112). Since the aforementioned quote is taken from the perspective of Perry, he seems to believe he is above King's reading and drinking. This reference would persuade the audience into believing that perry is beyond such crude behavior. It is also suggested that Perry is more intelligent than King, referencing his "comic books and cowboy junk," (112). Capote also demotes Dick to more savage and barbaric than Perry. Capote describes his behavior when running down dogs; "'Boy!' he said-and it was what he always said after running down a dog, which was something he did whenever the opportunity arose. 'Boy! we sure splattered him,'" (112-113). This barbaric and cruel behavior casts quite a poor light on Dick. One likely has issues if they try to run over dogs whenever they can, and Capote tries to make it seem as though Dick has these issues (while still maintaining that Perry has some issues as well, after all he is a murderer).