paper 1
James Crawford
English 215
July 23, 2006
Any newspaper, magazine or news program today will, at any given time, have debate about capital punishment. The media is torn on this issue perhaps more than any other. In Truman, Capote’s In Cold Blood, the two main characters are executed. While they did commit four heinous murders, Capote’s writing almost makes you sympathize with them and the struggles they endured throughout their lives. America as a whole has gotten much more sympathetic toward criminals as knowledge of psychology and psychological disorders has become more widespread. For example, the 2006 blockbuster movie Munich tells the story of the Israeli athletes who were brutally murdered for political reasons during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Israel and its surrounding countries have been warring for centuries. However, the Olympics was a peaceful venue. The terrorist group who murdered those athletes ripped the families of innocent men apart. They were not soldiers or even political representatives of the nation of Israel. Instead, they were athletes who were representing their country at an event that was designed to bring all nations together. Not too long ago, American society as a whole would have disapproved of a movie in which the terrorists were humanized. In this particular movie, the terrorists were almost portrayed as having no choice. They were just unfortunate enough to have been born into a culture where they were taught to hate Jews and Israelis. It seemed almost as if they were not in a position to question the orders to brutally torture and kill these athletes.
Much in the same way, Capote portrays Dick and Perry as two lost souls who never really had a chance. Perry was born into an extremely dysfunctional family with an alcoholic for a mother and a wanderer for a father. They were malnourished and not cared for. His mother had men in and out constantly and was drunk more than sober. His father lived out of a modified van and wandered the country looking for work. At one point, Perry was in an orphanage where the nuns abused him physically and mentally. He had weak kidneys from being malnourished as a child, and, while in the orphanage, he wet the bed nightly. The nuns beat him mercilessly after he wet the bed and threw him into a bath of ice water to clean him off. They rubbed painful ointments on his skin in an attempt to get him to stop the bed-wetting. He spent a lot of his life hungry and dirty. He quit school after the third grade.
Dick was a troubled child who was below normal intelligence. The only thing he was ever good at was swindling and thievery. He was sexually perverted, and often molested little girls. His family was poor lower class. Also, he was in a horrific car accident as a young person and sustained severe head injuries. These head injuries caused episodes where he blacked out and lost control of his consciousness. His father used extremely severe methods of punishment on him as a little boy.
In the book, Capote uses an astounding amount of detail and description when writing about the two killers. On page 48, he quotes Perry singing the old gospel hymn “Just A Little Talk With Jesus.” The way he makes Dick and Perry seem human and pitiful is similar to the way that the writers of the movie Munich make the terrorists seem like pitiful soldiers who have no choice but to carry out their evil orders. Many comparisons can be drawn between these terrorists and the two killers. Perry and Dick grew up with nothing. They are uneducated, have no money, have no skills, and have no family or friends to support them. They are both eccentric loners who have no capacity for friendship or human interaction. They have no social skills. It does seem, however, that they want to be successful members of society. They dream of finding treasure in Mexico, starting a deep sea fishing tours business, and traveling the world. They have hopes and dreams just like the rest of us.
Another modern day case with many comparisons is the Andrea Yates case. Ms. Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub. All of the children were under the age of 7. She claims that she killed them to save them from hell. She suffered from severe post partum psychosis. She believed that Satan wanted her to drown her children in the bathtub. She admits that she knew at the time of the killings that what she was doing was wrong. She had a history of mental illness, and had attempted suicide before the killings took place. Prosecution can prove that the insanity, if any, lasted for a good while. She drowned the five children separately by holding them down in the bathtub until they stopped breathing. This would have taken several minutes per child. The reason that there is sympathy for Andrea Yates is her history of mental illness. There is extensive evidence that she has been unstable for many years. She has been under the treatment of many psychiatrists and has undergone many different types of treatments and therapies. She claims to believe that killing her children would also kill Satan.
In the same vein, Capote seems to believe that Dick and Perry had some sort of mental illness. Although clearly not as psychotic, the pair seems to have a loose grip on reality at best. Perry kept worthless items as if they were treasure, and went to great lengths to have them preserved. On death row, he was more concerned about the menu served when he had a visitor in jail than the outcome of his capital trial. He believed that a treasure map would lead him to buried treasure in Mexico, and that a yellow bird that showed up in his dreams was Jesus. He never had remorse or pity even after the brutality of the murders of the Clutter family. He seemed to miss the big picture that would have been obvious to a normal person and concentrate on trivial details.
Dick was superstitious and almost childlike. He was a hardened criminal who had committed heinous crimes, and, at the same time, concerned about hurting his mother and father by his actions. He had religious tattoos and a respect for nuns. He, like Perry, had trouble with relationships and fitting into society.
Yet a third modern day example of sympathy for a less that reputable bunch is the movie Syriana this is the story of oil cartels in the Middle East. The movie almost portrays them as businessmen doing whatever is necessary to support their families. They don’t show the violence and bloodshed associated with their business. In the same way, Dick and Perry steal because that is what is necessary for them to survive. They have no education, and no chance to get one. They are unable to adjust because of their dysfunctional backgrounds. For these and other reasons, they are forced to steal to exist.
These are just a few of the examples in the media and entertainment industry today where the criminals are humanized. They are sympathized with and almost excused for their horrific acts. While the murder of the Clutter family was atrocious and vicious, the murderers don’t seem to be those things. While no inference is made that the killings were not wrong, by the end of the book, the reader almost hates to see the killers punished. This just proves that there is rarely a black and white case. There are countless factors that can be used to determine why humans do anything. The more horrible the crime, the more we try to find out what those factors are.
English 215
July 23, 2006
Any newspaper, magazine or news program today will, at any given time, have debate about capital punishment. The media is torn on this issue perhaps more than any other. In Truman, Capote’s In Cold Blood, the two main characters are executed. While they did commit four heinous murders, Capote’s writing almost makes you sympathize with them and the struggles they endured throughout their lives. America as a whole has gotten much more sympathetic toward criminals as knowledge of psychology and psychological disorders has become more widespread. For example, the 2006 blockbuster movie Munich tells the story of the Israeli athletes who were brutally murdered for political reasons during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Israel and its surrounding countries have been warring for centuries. However, the Olympics was a peaceful venue. The terrorist group who murdered those athletes ripped the families of innocent men apart. They were not soldiers or even political representatives of the nation of Israel. Instead, they were athletes who were representing their country at an event that was designed to bring all nations together. Not too long ago, American society as a whole would have disapproved of a movie in which the terrorists were humanized. In this particular movie, the terrorists were almost portrayed as having no choice. They were just unfortunate enough to have been born into a culture where they were taught to hate Jews and Israelis. It seemed almost as if they were not in a position to question the orders to brutally torture and kill these athletes.
Much in the same way, Capote portrays Dick and Perry as two lost souls who never really had a chance. Perry was born into an extremely dysfunctional family with an alcoholic for a mother and a wanderer for a father. They were malnourished and not cared for. His mother had men in and out constantly and was drunk more than sober. His father lived out of a modified van and wandered the country looking for work. At one point, Perry was in an orphanage where the nuns abused him physically and mentally. He had weak kidneys from being malnourished as a child, and, while in the orphanage, he wet the bed nightly. The nuns beat him mercilessly after he wet the bed and threw him into a bath of ice water to clean him off. They rubbed painful ointments on his skin in an attempt to get him to stop the bed-wetting. He spent a lot of his life hungry and dirty. He quit school after the third grade.
Dick was a troubled child who was below normal intelligence. The only thing he was ever good at was swindling and thievery. He was sexually perverted, and often molested little girls. His family was poor lower class. Also, he was in a horrific car accident as a young person and sustained severe head injuries. These head injuries caused episodes where he blacked out and lost control of his consciousness. His father used extremely severe methods of punishment on him as a little boy.
In the book, Capote uses an astounding amount of detail and description when writing about the two killers. On page 48, he quotes Perry singing the old gospel hymn “Just A Little Talk With Jesus.” The way he makes Dick and Perry seem human and pitiful is similar to the way that the writers of the movie Munich make the terrorists seem like pitiful soldiers who have no choice but to carry out their evil orders. Many comparisons can be drawn between these terrorists and the two killers. Perry and Dick grew up with nothing. They are uneducated, have no money, have no skills, and have no family or friends to support them. They are both eccentric loners who have no capacity for friendship or human interaction. They have no social skills. It does seem, however, that they want to be successful members of society. They dream of finding treasure in Mexico, starting a deep sea fishing tours business, and traveling the world. They have hopes and dreams just like the rest of us.
Another modern day case with many comparisons is the Andrea Yates case. Ms. Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub. All of the children were under the age of 7. She claims that she killed them to save them from hell. She suffered from severe post partum psychosis. She believed that Satan wanted her to drown her children in the bathtub. She admits that she knew at the time of the killings that what she was doing was wrong. She had a history of mental illness, and had attempted suicide before the killings took place. Prosecution can prove that the insanity, if any, lasted for a good while. She drowned the five children separately by holding them down in the bathtub until they stopped breathing. This would have taken several minutes per child. The reason that there is sympathy for Andrea Yates is her history of mental illness. There is extensive evidence that she has been unstable for many years. She has been under the treatment of many psychiatrists and has undergone many different types of treatments and therapies. She claims to believe that killing her children would also kill Satan.
In the same vein, Capote seems to believe that Dick and Perry had some sort of mental illness. Although clearly not as psychotic, the pair seems to have a loose grip on reality at best. Perry kept worthless items as if they were treasure, and went to great lengths to have them preserved. On death row, he was more concerned about the menu served when he had a visitor in jail than the outcome of his capital trial. He believed that a treasure map would lead him to buried treasure in Mexico, and that a yellow bird that showed up in his dreams was Jesus. He never had remorse or pity even after the brutality of the murders of the Clutter family. He seemed to miss the big picture that would have been obvious to a normal person and concentrate on trivial details.
Dick was superstitious and almost childlike. He was a hardened criminal who had committed heinous crimes, and, at the same time, concerned about hurting his mother and father by his actions. He had religious tattoos and a respect for nuns. He, like Perry, had trouble with relationships and fitting into society.
Yet a third modern day example of sympathy for a less that reputable bunch is the movie Syriana this is the story of oil cartels in the Middle East. The movie almost portrays them as businessmen doing whatever is necessary to support their families. They don’t show the violence and bloodshed associated with their business. In the same way, Dick and Perry steal because that is what is necessary for them to survive. They have no education, and no chance to get one. They are unable to adjust because of their dysfunctional backgrounds. For these and other reasons, they are forced to steal to exist.
These are just a few of the examples in the media and entertainment industry today where the criminals are humanized. They are sympathized with and almost excused for their horrific acts. While the murder of the Clutter family was atrocious and vicious, the murderers don’t seem to be those things. While no inference is made that the killings were not wrong, by the end of the book, the reader almost hates to see the killers punished. This just proves that there is rarely a black and white case. There are countless factors that can be used to determine why humans do anything. The more horrible the crime, the more we try to find out what those factors are.
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