In Cold Blood Part I - 3.1.16

Throughout the nonfiction novel of “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote the reader may suspectively believe that it is a fiction novel being described as non-fiction for the quality of writing that it is in. The reader knows the fate and outcome of the characters in the book through messages like, “Then, touching the brim of his cap, he headed for home and the day's work, unaware that it would be his last.” (Capote 8) or how the boy's, Dick and Perry, had been going around shopping for tools and services that would be beneficial for them. By reading more and more of the novel, the reader begins to foreshadow what exactly the fate of the characters are. Will Mr. Clutter’s death be ironic because of his perfect health? Who knows, that is to be decided and foreshadowed by the reader while they’re reading throughout part one. Capote helps build suspense in ways that the reader doesn’t really notice are there. He uses imagery to describe locations, people, and whatnot. He also uses setting, which is Holcomb, Kansas, and cities near and far of that location. By using both of these skills, Capote is giving the reader background knowledge about characters like Mr. Clutter, Dick, Perry, and so on.  "There's him. Her. The kid and the girl. And maybe the other two. But it's Saturday. They might have guests. Let's count on eight, or even twelve. The only sure thing is everyone of them has got to go." (Capote 24) This quote shows a subtle reference from Dick and Perry about how they will go about doing what they are going to do… That being murder a family. There is yet another way that Capote goes about building suspense that I did not realize up until now, and that is providing two different narrators (one for the Clutter family, and one for Dick and Perry). Two different narrations helps show the reader who is mainly involved throughout this book and later show how it will all go down. On one end it shows the daily life of how the Clutter family lives, their upbringings, and family life; however, the other end provides a look at the criminal life of Dick and Perry. On page 15 it even talks about how one of them had been on parole, which may also let the reader know that this character may be included to show that later on he will play a larger role in what is to happen.