Dick's Pervertiness

Dick’s behavior makes him seem unscrupulous, while Perry frowns upon his behavior, thus making him seem more ethical. Dick is cast as not only a murderer, but also a pervert and a rapist. This is evident when Dick is on the beach, courting a young child, “He took the child’s hand and said, ‘You’re my baby girl. My little sweetheart.’ But she objected. Her hand, held by his, twitched like a fish on a hook, and he recognized the astounded expression in her eyes from earlier incidents in his career,” (201). Dick’s interest in young girls gives makes him seem more crooked than before. Whereas previous to this event, we only saw Dick as a murderer and…a dick, now we see this perverted and creepier side of Dick. Such vile behavior casts poorly upon Dick, even when he tries to make it seem normal; “That, to be sure, was something he was certain he was—‘a normal.’ Seducing pubescent girls, as he had done ‘eight or nine’ times in the last several years, did not disprove it, for if the truth were known, most real men had the same desires he had,” (201). This adds yet another level of creepiness to Dick. Not only is he a pedophile, but he also justifies it. This makes the reader like Dick less than before. In addition to making Dick look bad, Capote also seizes the opportunity to make Perry look good. Perry frowns upon Dick’s behavior; “Perry, still reclining under the blue umbrella, had observed the scene and realized Dick’s purpose at once, and despised him for it; he had ‘no respect for people who can’t control themselves sexually,’ especially when the lack of control involved what he called ‘pervertiness’—‘bothering kids,’ ‘queer stuff,’ rape,” (201-202). Capote’s excellent manipulation of the text, leads the reader to favor Perry, once again. He makes Perry seem like he has a moral compass. While he maintains all of these characteristics about Perry, he also still reminds the reader that Perry (and Dick) have committed the most heinous of crimes, murder.