Truman Capote makes the Clutter like a regular American family for the reason, so the reader will relate either himself or herself or a family they know to get the point across that this horrible act could happen to anyone. If Truman Capote created the characteristics of a rare American family, then the reader will not make the comparison that Truman Capote wants the reader to make to get the point across that this horrible act can happen to anybody. Truman Capote describes the kids (Nancy and Kenyon) as two fairly good kids. He described Kenyon as a "where both Kenyon and Nancy had been honor-roll straight A students." This is a description that most people would admire. But he also says that they, once in a while smoked. The reason that he gives them this flaw is because if the children were absolutely "perfect" nobody would relate to this family because nobody is "perfect." A school teacher about the killings says, "Feeling wouldn't run half so high if this had happened to anyone except the Clutters." This quote shows that the fact that this happened to the Clutters made the murder more significant, due to the fact that they were the least likely people to be murdered. And makes the reader think that this could happen to anyone. Because of the description of the Clutter family, the reader relates the family to either their family or a family they know, which is ultimately what Truman wants the reader to do.