The Role of Family

Dick and Perry both seem to be unruly men but both express the idea of a family in which the two men’s family believe they show morals and lives ordinary lives to an extent. In part one Dick, after killing a family, returns to his family. Capote says, “He arrived home at noon, kissed his mother…” (84). Dick isn’t a human who was orphaned or lived a life without someone guiding him along the way, he had someone in his life. The role of a mother perceives someone who would be raised with good morals but this isn’t the case when it comes to Dick. He lives a life full of lies when he kisses his mother and acts as if the day brought only happiness to everyone.  Perry’s family is also mentioned for a good portion of the book. Perry’s Dad wrote a document on his life that Perry cherished. His Dad saw him as a man who was going to change, like when he says, “Perry has learned a lesson he will never forget. Freedom means everything to him you will never get him behind bars again. Im quite sure Im rite.” (129). Perry has his family believing that he’s going to change. In both scenarios of the murderers families, they seem to believe that their children have only made a few mistakes in life, when in fact a few mistakes ultimately leads to their children being murderers.