Dang 1 Quotes: Far off, in the town of Olathe, in a hotel room where window shades darkened the midday

sun, Perry lay sleeping, with a gray portable radio murmuring beside him. Except for taking off his boots, he had not troubled to undress. He had merely fallen face down across the bed, as though sleep were a weapon that had struck him from behind. The boots, black and silverbuckled, were soaking in a washbasin filled with warm, vaguely pink-tinted water. A few miles north, in the pleasant kitchen of a modest farmhouse, Dick was consuming a Sunday dinner. The others at the table his mother, his father, his younger brother were not conscious of anything uncommon in his manner. He had arrived home at noon, kissed his mother, readily replied to questions his father put concerning his supposed overnight trip to Fort Scott, and sat down to eat, seeming quite his ordinary self" (73-74). Imagery: This mostly normal passage read out of context would seem faintly laced with the notion that something quite odd had indeed happened the night before. Capote portrays both of the killers here with a drastic difference in lifestyle. On one side we have the ideal family man Dick, sitting around a table with his family and pretending as if all is well. On the other lies the romantic Perry in a hotel with nothing but a pair of boots and his bed. Dick's passage almost evokes a familial laughter and conversation while reading, yet Perry's "hotel room where window shades" are drawn shut brings darker emotions to the foreground. What seems most odd is Capote's use of weapon: "as though sleep were a weapon that had struck him from behind" reflects the violent acts that were committed the night prior. The overall image drawn from the passage of the two murderers could not be more different.

Dang 2 Quotes: "They looked to him like "O.K. boys." The taller of the two, a wiry type with dirty-blond, crewcut hair, had an engaging grin and a polite manner, and his partner, the "runty" one, holding a harmonica in his right hand and, in his left, a swollen straw suitcase, seemed "nice enough," shy but amiable. In any event, Mr. Bell, entirely unaware of his guests' intentions, which included throttling him with a belt and leaving him, robbed of his car, his money, and his life, concealed in a prairie grave, was glad to have company, somebody to talk to and keep him awake until he arrived at Omaha. (172)" Irony: In this passage, the appearance of the two murderers belies a sense of safety and company to this traveling salesmen. Capote's tone is almost humorous in how he pairs "throttling him with a belt and leaving him, robbed of his car, his money, and his life," all fairly morbid things, with the immediate "was glad to have company." The huge irony lies in Capote's unexpected change in voice here. The irony of the crimes the two commit is also reflected here: Dick and Perry murdered the Clutters for a safe, despite Herb always paying by check, Dick and Perry bounce checks yet soon run out of money in Mexico, and finally here they are about to murder another man for his money. Another individual "unaware of his guests' intentions" is about to be murdered for a petty lump sum and a company car!

Dang 3 Quotes: "Afterward, as he crossed the darkening courthouse square, pensively scuffing through dry mounds of unraked leaves, Dewey wondered at his lack of elation. Why, when he now knew then the suspects were not forever lost in Alaska or Mexico or Timbuktu, when the next second an arrest might be made- Why was it he felt none of the excitement he ought to feel? The dream was at fault, for the treadmill mood of it had lingered, making him question Nye's assertions-in a sense, disbelieve them. He did not believe that Hickock and Smith would be caught in Kansas City. They were invulnerable.(198)" Diction: The K.B.I detective has just received word that the biggest leads on the case, the largest suspects they have for the murder are in town. But from Capote's perspective, Dewey's solemnity is reflected via his careful choice of words. Capote's use of "darkening courthouse square" and "pensively scuffling" show the film noir detective reflecting on the days advancements. We see the pessimism that he faces with his "lack of elation," because the "dream was at fault." Capote brilliantly describes the difficulty in arresting the two given the "treadmill mood," meaning they can run after them yet never get any closer. Lastly, Capote ends the chapter "they were invulnerable," a phrase that recalls Achilles' and his invulnerable body. It reminds us however that nothing is perfectly "invulnerable," and just how close Dewey is to catching them.

Dang 4 Quotes: "Institutional dourness and cheerful domesticity coexist on the fourth floor of the Finney County Courthouse. The presence of the county jail supplies the first quality, while the so-called Sheriff's Residence, a pleasant apartment separated from the jail proper by steel doors and a short corridor, accounts for the second (251)." Tone: Truman Capote takes a warm tone as he describes the steel prison that will be the two convicts' home for the next few months. They're "county jail supplies the first quality" of prison. Only the finest for our delighted inmates! The "pleasant apartment" is really nothing too special if you don't mind the occasional visitor in the cell over there in the corner. The contrasting parts of the Sheriff's Residence are described to us with a cheerful humorous tone. Capote, who describes it with familiarity, was no doubt a frequent visitor to the prisoners held here. Poor old Perry Smith was kept behind bars, but his residence doesn't sound like the experience of Lansing or Leavenworth. The overall impression is that this is the place where Perry will spend his remaining time, a place of gentle family, yet of strict rules on living space. We see it in a positive light, that Perry will have people to talk to, but also with the grim reality of his execution. Something that Capote, at the time

Dang 5 of writing the ending, must have been quite familiar with.