Secretly Married?

Perry viewed Dick as a masculine person, when Perry himself carries many feminine traits but Capote does this to allow the readers to feel sympathy for Perry and not see him as a monster. Capote even says at the beginning of the book, “…the primary reason Perry had been attracted to him, for it made Dick seem, compared to himself, so authentically tough, invulnerable, totally masculine”(16). Perry seemed to lack masculinity and Dick took advantage of it. Perry looked to Dick as someone he could look up to for what he didn’t have. Dick took account of this and in the third part says, “Merry Christmas honey,” (199) The way Dick talks to Perry is as if he is his wife. He treats Perry like a young child. A few pages later when Dick is trying to seduce the little girl he says, “You’re my baby girl. My little sweetheart.” (201). The way Dick talks to the girl is the type of words he says to Perry all the time. It’s as if Dick views Perry as more of a womanly figure rather then a man and someone he can take advantage of if needed. Perry is very sensitive, like how he was considerate to put the mattress box down for Mr. Clutter before he killed him (241). Dick and Perry’s relationship is close to the status of a married couple. Capote says, “Dick was sick of him—his harmonica, his aches and ills, his superstitions, the weepy, womanly eyes, the nagging, whispering voice. Suspicious, self-righteous, spiteful, he was like a wife that must be got rid of” (215). Capote blatantly comes out and acknowledges the fact that he is like his wife. Perry and Dick share a odd relationship, where it seems Perry is merely following Dick’s orders. It was Dick’s idea in the first place to kill the Clutter family. When the two got to the scene Perry was willing to leave without killing the family. Perry asked himself the night of the murder, “Why don’t I walk off?…I sure Jesus didn’t want to go back in that house.” (240). It wasn’t Perry’s prerogative to kill the family that night but Dick drove him to it. Dick kept saying they couldn’t have any witnesses and that they had to kill everyone but in the end Perry did it. Capote portrays Dick as the selfish, uncaring, mean spirited man who just takes advantage of bossing around Perry who is the more feminine of the two killers. Capote wants the audience to feel sympathy for Perry and not see him just as a monster.