In the book In Cold Blood, the two main characters, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, are very similar but also very different. There’s a difference between them being natured and nurtured into a murderer, and their overall personality, and however they’re both similar in the way they solve their problems.
The difference between being a murderer by nature and nurture is that one is a natural murderer, while the other grew up to become a murderer. Perry Smith could be argued to be a natural killer, however he is mainly nurtured to become one. Smith grew up without anyone to depend on or care for, which made him the type of person he is. On page 124, it states “Why not? Hadn’t he always been “a loner” and without any real friends,” and this shows how he had no family, no friends, and grew up with people abusing him. Dick Hickock on the other hand had a nice family,
One way Capote presents his prejudice in this book throughout is his favoring of Perry over Dick. Capote characterizes Perry in a really optimistic way compared to Dick, making the audience feel sympathy for him. From the start, the audience is led to think that Perry is obedient to Dick. Perry is what Dick says and seldom bothers speaking his own thought. That combined with the contrasting tones. Capote employs between the two of them leading the audience to think of Perry in a more optimistic light. For instance, using the sympathetic tone while talking of Perry’s childhood (98) while using the calm, yet witty, sound only minutes before Dick’s execution to make him seem like a sociopath (339). Likewise, Capote highlights the picture during the execution at which Perry responds to Dick, “Uh huh. But you’ll get to hear me firstly” after Dick proposes the thought of assaulting Nancy (243). That makes readers see Perry as a better character for stopping Dick.
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Dick and Perry “celled” with each other at Lansing for just two weeks. Perry sees Dick as deliberative and steady that he knows he lacks. Dick also notices that these traits could be beneficial on the outside. He also sees a talent in Perry, one he knows he doesn’t possess, those of a natural born killer. Prison conversations often compensate for other unavailable forms of entertainment, and fictions are woven with the precision of Hemingway. Perry Smith’s abilities may be even better than most. Perry made enough of an impression to secure a place in Dick’s future plans for the “perfect score.”
