In Cold Blood by: Truman Capote
This graphic novel goes into detail about the murder of four in a small midwestern town. This murder takes place decades ago where people lived a much simpler style of life. A respected, church going, honorable man, named Herb Clutter fathers the family of four including his wife, son, and daughter. Owner of a very successful farm, Mr. Clutter is both successful and well liked. Within the small, spread out community, everyone seems to know everyone's business, and everyone is Herb's friend, or so he thought. One summer night, all was quiet in the small town, except in the Clutter house. Following a date with daughter Nancy Clutter's boyfriend, two convicted felons breached the house, searched for money, and disposed of the 4 Clutter family members. Capote's rendition of these murders is extremely graphic, much too graphic for this blog, and I warn anyone interested in this book that it is very disturbing. The novel does not conclude with the murders, but rather focuses on the hunt for the evil murderers. They travel from Kansas to Mexico, to California and back to Kansas, all while evading the authorities. The motives for the murders, along with the mental issues of the criminals, are revealed through flashbacks while on this journey. Also, Capote puts you in the head of many of the small town's residents. Scared and intimidated, many move or cannot sleep for months. Everyone is worried they are next. With the FBI on the case, this search has gone nationwide with authorities everywhere looking for the culprits. Will the criminals be caught? Read it or watch the movie and find out!
1) Within this novel, Truman Capote combined elements of fiction and nonfiction to complete the work. Based off a true story and using real facts, while still fabricating some portions Capote felt he had made a major impact on the literary community. Are novels better when they are fiction, nonfiction, or a combination of? Why?
2) Would murderers like this be able to run from the police today like they did within the novel? How has technology, awareness, and larger police forces helped us to catch some of the most dangerous of criminals?
17 comments:
1) Define Better. If you are looking for a more exciting novel, you're looking at both fiction and nonfiction. If you're looking for an accurate novel, nonfiction is definitely better. It just depends on your definition of better.
2) It's obvious, technology has advanced tremendously in the past years. Today, murders would be caught. Technology has greatly improved our ability to catch criminals and also the way we do it.
I think that the most interesting and engaging novels are the ones that include both fiction and nonfiction. Readers want to be absorbed into something that is extremely thought provoking and never boring, and the events that occur in reality are more often that not very mundane things. Combining a little bit of fiction and also nonfiction allows the reader to learn about a situation or experience that isn't something that they have already seen or heard a million times and contains a small amount of fantasy and room for the imagination; however, the nonfiction still enables the reader to imagine what it would be like to be in the novel themselves because the plot isn't too far fetched. A good author always knows a good balance of both elements.
I agree that a combination seems to create the most interesting story. Using a combination allows the author to make the story seem more real or exiting by adding details that may not have really existed. The real portion allows the reader to connect to the concrete aspect of the novel, and, in combination with the fantasies added in, a novel can be crafted to appeal to many more people than if it was only one thing or another.
I think it is interesting to know that something came from a real story, but sometimes authors need to add in some fiction to make the story more interesting to the reader. The made up parts of the story fill in gaps that the author may not have known exactly about and this brings the story full circle. Also, making some parts of the story more elaborate makes the story more exciting, and the reader is able to picture it in their head. In this case, I think the reality of the murder and the details that Capote adds makes the story haunting and a little too realistic for comfort.
1. I personally like fiction or a combination or fiction and nonfiction. I think books are a great escape from the real world but sometimes it is better if you can imagine the world that the characters are in.
2) Murderer are n ot able to run from the police. Today, the police always find the ones who run away. We have so much technology in our world tat it helps us find people wo commit crimes very easily. Since our police forces are larger, they are able to call in reinforcements to help them cautch criminals. If one runs away, they can have other police go to were they assume the criminal is running to.
To answer the first question, I believe that a combination of both is true. For me, movies and books that are based on real events are always better, because you can imagine it happening. But also, I think that fiction books are good too, since the author can take liberties and be crazier in ideas and characters.
Yeah I deffinitly agree with the majority of the comments saying that a mixture poses the most exciting novel. When you mix nonfiction and fiction it keeps the story exciting but also makes the reader believe that the things taking place in the story can actually happen to him/her.
To answer question 2, it is for sure alot harder to run from the police today than it was then. Thanks to things like the internet, catching criminals has become a national task, as everyone is in reach of the police.
I beleve that with new technology that we have today it is much harder to evade the authorities. The internet and computers make it much easier to catch criminals. For example, my dad is a police officer and several days ago he pulled up a picture on his laptop of a bankrobbery and the robber. The picture will be spread around the internet and news. The tv and internet will help to catch him.
It would be nearly impossible to run from authorities like they did in the novel with the amount of technology that there is today. The internet combined with surveillance and tracking equipment, it seems near impossible to keep yourself off the radar and out of sight of authorities.
1)I think novel's are usually more interesting when they are fiction and nonfiction. By using some real events and fabricating them, the events in the novel seem a little more exciting and interesting. If a novel is strictly fiction, the reader knows it is all fake but in a mix, the reader is left to wonder what is real and what is fabricated.
2) Murders would not easily evade the police like they did in the novel. Technology is the biggest aid in helping find criminals. Technology not only helps the police track criminals better but also gets the word out about them. Murders are less likely to get away as technology increases.
So I'm pretty sure graphic novels are comic books, but I digress.
2. Murders can and still do run from the police. technology like DNA reading stuff(not the technical term I'm sure) that allows police to solve previously unsolved crimes.
2) Sadly murderers today still are not always caught. If it is planned out beforehand and the murderer and the victim is not obviously linked, they usually do not get caught. A large majority of murderes that ARE caught are only convicted because they confess.
Technology lets more people be aware of the criminals, and word can now be spread faster. This leads to everyday citizens aiding the police in capturing people now to. The more people helping the easier it is.
1) If I am looking for a novel that has an exciting plot line, and is something that I want to be exciting to read, then either a fiction or a combination is better. If I am looking for the truth of an event, then obviously nonfiction is the better choice.
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