Loss of trust

Immediately following the murder of the four Clutters, the entire town of Holcomb seems to lose the precious trust that had previously connected and defined this small town. In Holcomb everybody knew everyone else’s business. They knew both the good and the bad about their neighbors. After the murder, the citizens of Holcomb jump to conclusions as they bolt their doors. They consider all of the people whom they had called friends, questioning themselves, one another and their judgment. The day after the murder, one Holcomb citizen notes “…the reason nobody can sleep; he said, ‘All we’ve got out here are our friends. There isn’t anything else.’ In a way, that’s the worst part of the crime. What a terrible thing when neighbors can’t look at each other without kind of wondering!” (70). The people of Holcomb look at each other in a different light. They remember each other’s past flaws and with this knowledge, they try to find reasonable explanations behind the murders. The Holcomb citizens want to believe there was a motive, an understandable reason behind this madness.