Mental Stability

Throughout In Cold Blood Perry continually is asking himself how could a normal person kill people and by the end of the book the psychiatrist announces Dick as normal and can’t put an answer on Perry showing that Perry may not be blamed for the murder. In the earlier parts of the book always tells Perry he’s normal. He says, “I’m a normal.” (93). Dick doesn’t feel any guilt wanting to kill a family whereas Perry can’t believe he would do such a thing. Perry says, “Deep down, way, way rock-bottom, I never thought I could do it. A thing like that.” (111). Perry can’t believe what he’s done, it’s like reality escaped him at the time of the murder and he got way into his actions then actually thinking through what he was doing. The fourth part of In Cold Blood spends an ideal amount of time discussing the psychiatric state of Dick and Perry. In the trial when the psychiatrist is asked if Dick is normal he says yes (294) and he says he doesn’t have an answer for Perry (296). The psychiatrist says, “Perry shows definite signs of severe mental illness. His childhood, related to me and verified by portions of the prison records, was marked by brutality and lack of concern on the part of both parents. He seems to have grown up without direction, without love and without ever having absorbed any fixed sense of moral values.” (297). Perry was never taught right from wrong and the psychiatrist thinks it could have an affect on why he killed the Clutters. Overall the rest of the note from the psychiatrist notes many problems for Perry whereas Dick knew what he was doing when he killed the Clutters. The reality of the matter is that Dick didn’t actually kill the Clutters and Perry did.. Perry couldn’t be blamed for the murder because he is mentally unstable and Dick pushed him into a situation he didn’t want to do in the first place. Perry knows there is something wrong with him and Dick knows he’s completely normal. The diagnosis from the psychiatrist was given the first time Dick called himself normal and the first time Perry second guesses killing the Clutters. Capote is always trying to find ways to show Perry as more of an innocent person.