Point of View

Perspective

Truman Capote writes his book from several separate perspectives. The first perspective, that which opens the book, is that of the author’s perspective. The author writes in his own voice, describing the tiny village of Holcomb and the impact the murders, and subsequent trial and death of the killers, had on the community. The author then moves into the perspective of the Clutters, telling the reader some background of the family members as well as their activities on the final day of their life. The author also includes a narrative of the killers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock as they prepared, on that same, fateful day, to travel to Holcomb. The rest of the novel not only follows the killers as they travel throughout Mexico and the United States, but also the actions of the investigators searching for the Clutters’ killers.

Capote’s...