Please respond to the following prompts. 2 - 4 sentences should suffice. Use quotes when stipulated.
1. There is much testimony relating to physical accidents and psychological instability - do you agree or disagree with this train of thought?
2. Dr. Jones came to different verdicts about Dick and Perry. Who knew "right from wrong at the time of the offence" (288)?
3. There were "Two features" in Perry's personality that made him "particularly pathological" (289. What are they? Use a quote as support.
4. Why are Dick and Perry "...Murderers who seem rational, coherent and controlled, and yet whose homicidal acts have a bizarre, apparently senseless quality..." (290 - 291)?
5. Why are three of the murders "logically motivated" (294)? Use a quote as support.
6. To me, the following quote, said by Perry, is highly summative of this book as a whole. Agree or disagree. Why?
"'I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat...They [the Clutters] never hurt me. Like other people. Like people have all my life. Maybe it's just that the Clutters were the ones who had to pay for it'" (294).
7. Agre or disagree. Capital punishment is "'a relic of human barbarism'" (295).
8. What is the difference between the Durham Rule and the M'Naughten Rule (308 - 309)?
9. Games up. What do you reckon? They should be on the death row - yes or no?
1. There is much testimony relating to physical accidents and psychological instability - do you agree or disagree with this train of thought?
2. Dr. Jones came to different verdicts about Dick and Perry. Who knew "right from wrong at the time of the offence" (288)?
3. There were "Two features" in Perry's personality that made him "particularly pathological" (289. What are they? Use a quote as support.
4. Why are Dick and Perry "...Murderers who seem rational, coherent and controlled, and yet whose homicidal acts have a bizarre, apparently senseless quality..." (290 - 291)?
5. Why are three of the murders "logically motivated" (294)? Use a quote as support.
6. To me, the following quote, said by Perry, is highly summative of this book as a whole. Agree or disagree. Why?
"'I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat...They [the Clutters] never hurt me. Like other people. Like people have all my life. Maybe it's just that the Clutters were the ones who had to pay for it'" (294).
7. Agre or disagree. Capital punishment is "'a relic of human barbarism'" (295).
8. What is the difference between the Durham Rule and the M'Naughten Rule (308 - 309)?
9. Games up. What do you reckon? They should be on the death row - yes or no?
1. I do believe that physical accidents may cause psychological instability. If you were in an experience inches away from death, it probably would affect the way the world evolves around you. It would probably make you question the way you lived before the accident, and you would probably do things that society would deem crazy (like kill a whole family just for money). However, I have never been in such an experience so I cannot tell for sure. But judging from what I hear people say, I think that physical accidents can cause you to be physically unstable.
ReplyDelete2. Dr. Jones came to the conclusion that Dick knew that killing the Clutters was wrong, while Perry didn’t. Though both Perry and Dick were in accidents, Dr. Jones claimed that Perry was a poor misguided soul because he did not receive much parental guidance during his childhood.
3. The two features in Perry’s personality that made him particularly pathological was “his ‘paranoid’ orientation towards the world” and “Akin to the first trait is the second, an ever-present, controlled rage”(289). In other words, Perry is overly sensitive towards his peers and is constantly angry because of his past, and what life had done to him.
4. Dick and Perry seem rational, but have a senseless quality because they both experienced “previous, and now unconscious, traumatic experiences” (291). Dick was in a serious automobile accident that ruined his face (which is why his face seems like a face put back together wrongly), and Perry was in a motorcycle accident which messed up his leg (which is why he is fully dressed even in hot whether).
5. Three of the murders were “logically motivated” because “Nancy, Kenyon, and their mother had to be killed because Mr Clutter had been killed” (294). In other words, they would not have been killed if Mr. Clutter had been left alone. However, because Perry and Dick had killed Mr. Clutter, the other three became witnesses of the crime and therefore had to be killed.
6. I agree that the quote sums the whole novel up because in the end, Perry and Dick killed the Clutters because the Clutters had everything that they did not have. Perry had been suffering all of his life, and so he needed to punish someone for it. It just so happened that the Clutters were the ones. The murder was not because they had personal grudges towards the Clutters. They had personal grudges towards the life they couldn’t have.
ReplyDelete7. It is true that capital punishment has been done for centuries, but I do not think that it is a barbaric way of punishing someone. It may not be the best, but sometimes the fear of death may be the only reason for people to obey society’s rules. For a long time, we humans have been operating on the system of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I do not think that it is the best solution to solve a problem, but I don’t condemn it as being “a relic of human barbarism” 295).
8. The difference between the Durham Rule and the M’Naughten Rule is that the Durham Rule states that a criminal is not responsible for his/her actions if he/she is suffering from a mental disease or mental defect. On the other hand, the M’Naughten Rule states that in order to defend the criminal, the fact that the criminal is severely mentally ill must be proved thoroughly. The M’Naughten rule also says that the criminals must not know whether their crime was right or wrong in order to establish the fact that they were mentally ill.
9. I personally would have given them more time to live. I do not think a concrete death sentence was the right decision. I don’t know much about Dick, but I think that Perry would have improved a great deal if he had been given a chance to recover from the nightmares of his past. When Mrs. Meier had tended him with love and compassion, Perry seemed to be leaning towards getting better. I cannot tell for sure about Dick, but I don’t think that Perry deserved to die when he was never given a chance or opportunity to be put on the right course. But then again, the only sure way to prevent them from committing another crime, would be the death sentence. I think I would have let them live and watched them closely to see how they would change over the years before determining whether they should die or not.
1. I agree that there is a much testimony relating to physical accidents and psychological instability because it is mentioned that people behave differently because of one incident that happened in the past. And I think that Perry and his testimony is strongly affected by his childhood, where he wasn’t raised well. Perry mentioned that the reason for killing the Clutters was that they were the one who had to pay for it. Because he had bad relations with his family, he starts to lose emotions towards other, which might relate to the testimony and the murder.
ReplyDelete2. Dick knew “right from wrong at the time of the offense”. This is Dr. Jones says that he can see mental illness and poor ability from Perry. It mentions that Perry represents a ‘murder without apparent motive’.
3. One of the feature is that he feels paranoid towards the world. “He is suspicious and distrustful of others, tends feel that others discriminate against him, and feels that others are unfair to him and do not understand him” (Capote 289). Perry seems to think everything in a bad way, and make all his mistakes other people’s fault. The second one is “an ever-present, poorly controlled rage” (Capote 289). This means that his emotions are easily controlled by other people and his faults.
4. Dick and Perry seems rational, but have a senseless quality because they have been “born our of previous, and now unconscious, traumatic experience” (Capote 291). Having been involved in several fights can be the reason for this, because it “would have become homicidal assaults if not stopped by others” (Capote 292).
5. Three of the murders Smith committed were logically motivated because, “Nancy, Kenyon, and their mother had to be killed because Mr. Clutter had been killed” (Capote 294). They had some logic in mind that they can’t let the family live, because the family seen them, meaning that they are the witnesses.
6. I agree in a way that this quote is a summative of this book, because I think this represents one of the theme, which is the American Dream in this novel. This quote talks about how the Clutters were perfect, and had everything. But Perry didn’t have the American Dream and everything as the Clutters did. So this turned into envy which created the murder. It tells that how the American Dreams doesn’t always bring happiness, and it can be the cause of problems.
7. I don’t agree that capital punishment is the relic of human barbarism. Even though capital punishment may sound harsh, this creates the society to face with the issues they have. It brings fear to the people, so they do not end up that way. Whenever we see someone getting punished, we try not to cause the same problem as that person did.
8. The M’Naughten Rule is when the person does not recognize if their crime was whether good or bad. The Durham Rule is that the person is not responsible of their act if they have a mental disease or effect.
9. I do not know whether they should be on the death row or not, but I think they should in social wise. It is because many people are afraid of them committing another crime, which might be including them. Since Perry says that the Clutters didn’t do anything to them, but was chosen to be their victim, any other people can be their victim. Since they murdered four people in a cruel way, it should be fine to give them a death penalty.
1.I agree that physical accidents and psychological instability relate with each other. Once anyone faces an accident, they will learn to be more cautious and often be grateful that their alive. Or if anyone gets disabled through an accident, their view of life would change. For example, if someone were to be handicapped because of a car accident, all of a sudden they would need to adjust to an inconvenient way of life, and they will be part of a social minority.
ReplyDelete2.Dr.Jones says that “Mr Hickock did know right from wrong”(Capote 285). On the other hand, Perry answers saying no to the question if he knew right from wrong.
3. There were "Two features" in Perry's personality that made him "particularly pathological" (289).”The first is his paranoid orientation towards the world”(289), and “second, an ever-present, poorly controlled rage- easily triggered by any feeling of being tricked, slighted, or labelled inferior by others”(289).
4.Dick and Perry seemed “rational, coherent and controlled, and yet whose homicidal acts have a bizarre, apparently senseless quality" (290 - 291) because their first part of the murder was rational: robbery for personal gain. But the fact that they decided to kill all four of them even when the safe wasn’t even there was “irrational”(290) and “senseless”(290).
5.“Obviously, three of the murders Smith committed were logically motivated- Nancy, Kenyon, and their mother had to be killed because Mr Clutter had been killed”(294). Only Mr.Clutter mattered psychologically to Perry according to Dr Satten. He was destroying ‘a key figure in some past traumatic configuration’.
6.I agree that the quote sums up this quote. It just happened to be the Clutters whom they killed, and for Perry, he did not have any emotional attachment to them. The family was killed ‘in cold blood’, and the Clutters were the ones who just had to “pay for” the grudge and envy they carried in their life.
7.I disagree that capital punishment is "'a relic of human barbarism'" (295). Though it may sound cruel, I reckon that death penalty is the most effective way to control and make citizens follow the law, which brings safety in the society. I also personally think that if someone takes another person’s life in an inhumane way or without a reason, they deserve to die. What would be the point of making such a criminal live in jail until they die when the jail is run with the citizens tax money, when they can be put to death at the moment.
8.Durham Rule states that “an accused is not criminally responsible if his unlawful act is the product of mental disease or mental defect”(309). M’Naughten Rule states that a criminal defendant is not guilty by reason of insanity if, at the time of the alleged criminal act he didn’t have “the capacity to discriminate between right and wrong”(308).
9.I would say yes. Though Capote’s writing style built a lot of sympathy for Perry, what he’s done can’t be changed and both of the criminals deserve a severe consequence for taking away four innocent lives. It is both their second time committing a crime, and they are threats to the community. They deserve to be in the death row, so that they won't have any chance of escape or hope for survival.
1. Perhaps. There is some substantial evidence supporting physical trauma as a cause of psychological changes. However, there would need to be a more thorough examination to see whether or not the injury was capable of producing the kind of behavior that Dick and Perry displayed. Dick claimed to have occasionally suffered from fainting spells, migraines and nose bleeds, which could be attributed to his prior car accident. Perry however, does not really have any physical trauma that could have changed the structure or function of his brain. His near death drowning experience might have cut off oxygen just long enough to cause some sort of anomaly, but the evidence would just be too unsubstantiated. The doctor's testimony could have saved Dick and Perry from Death Row, but by the way the court was organized that day, there was too much bias to save them from anything.
ReplyDelete2. The Doctor concluded that Dick knew right from wrong at the time of the killings. He believed Dick was above average in intelligence, and by hiding evidence and the motive of the killing was premeditated, that he knew it was the wrong thing to do. He did however elaborate on the possibility of brain damage due to his car accident. This claim, however, was objected by the prosecution, with the Judge ruling in their favor. He thought that Perry did not know right from wrong at the time of the killings, as is explained in the next answer.
3. Perry is deemed "pathologically" mentally disabled because of two reasons. The first one being his " paranoid orientation towards the world" (Capote 289) and his intentions cannot differentiate between "the real situation from his own mental projections" (Capote 289). He is easily triggered and responds in violence that he occasionally claims to have an amnesiac effect while he's committing the violence. In other words, he cannot remember the act itself or the sensations that accompanied them.
4. It may seem that they killed the Clutters in a senseless frenzy, however this to me seems like an attempt to sensationalize what had really taken place at the Clutter home that evening. The initial motive was robbery, however upon realizing that there was no money to be found, both Dick and Perry went into a state of panic, believing the only way to escape conviction was to kill all witnesses. With Dick being all bark and no bite, Perry "exploded" and killed all four Clutters.
5. Perry's slaying of Nancy, Kenyon, and Bonnie are logically motivated because "They had to be killed because Mr. Clutter had been killed" (Capote 294).
ReplyDelete6. I would have to agree with this statement somewhat. One could indeed compare Perry's insatiable search for recognition and success to that of a traveler dying of thirst. Upon reaching his personal oasis (the prospect of money), Perry discovers it's only a mirage and in a fit of fury, all the culminated anticipation and shame erupt into one cataclysmic event (the murder of the Clutters).
7. Personally being against the Death Penalty in all cases, I do believe that capital punishment is indeed a "relic of human barbarism". It is a complete "eye for an eye" mentality, and as humans we have the primal urge to see the killer be killed, for our own personal satisfaction. I believe that no matter how heinous a crime, life in prison is still the best method. Why kill someone when you can make them wish they were dead?
8. The Durham rule states that a criminal is not responsible for their actions if they have or had a mental illness. The M'Naughten Rule however, states that in order for the Durham Rule to be utilized in court, the defendant must have concrete evidence supporting their mental illness and incapacity to take responsibility.
9. As I said previously-I am against the Death Penalty. Sometimes I think about Dick, and if Dick really didn't kill anybody. I think about how hopeless the situation must've seemed to him, and to many silent sufferers in prisons today. Imagine being put to death, yet not having taken a life yourself? Accessory to murder, yes. But to know that you will die because of that? I certainly can't be the only one kept awake at night by that thought. Or consider Perry. Perhaps he was insane? Perhaps in that sad, pathetic tortured mind of his he thought the only way to get famous was to get infamous. It really is a difficult topic to expand on and would definitely be interesting to talk about in depth. Capote has some magical way of making you feel "ineffable" compassion for a child molester and a murderer. Quite uncomfortable.
1. There is much testimony relating to psychological and physical instabilities. I believe Perry’s testimony affected by his past adolescent experiences. The reason behind the murder of the Clutters was that Perry believed that someone had to pay for his broken life, and fate chose the Clutters.
ReplyDelete2. Dr.Jones metions that “Mr Hickock did know right from wrong”(Capote 285). Though, Perry answers no unexpectedly disagreeing with Dr. Jones original statement.
3. The two main features of Perry’s personality are that he feels paranoid towards the world. “He is suspicious and distrustful of others, tends feel that others discriminate against him, and feels that others are unfair to him and do not understand him” (Capote 289) and seems to think negatively about everything, and make all his mistakes other people’s fault.
4. Dick and Perry seem rational, but have a senseless quality because they have been “born out of previous, and now unconscious, traumatic experience” (Capote 291).
5. Three of the murders committed seem logically motivated because, “Nancy, Kenyon, and their mother had to be killed because Mr. Clutter had been killed” (Capote 294). They did this so that there would be no living witnesses to their crime.
6. I agree that this quote is summative of the novel, because I believe this represents the American dream, a huge theme seen all throughout this novel. This quote represents the perfect life the clutters had, and all the glorification of that family brought further happiness to them.
7. I don’t agree that capital punishment is the relic of human barbarism. Even though capital punishment may sounds cruel, it is the only way to keep order in civilization.
8. The Durham Rule is that the person is not responsible of their act if they have a mental disease or effect. The M’Naughten Rule is when the person does not recognize if their crime was whether good or bad.
9. Depending on your culture and background this questions is difficult to answer. I believe that in some cases the death penalty is the ‘easy’ way out, and the only suitable punishment is to rot in jail for the rest of that persons remaining life. But to bring peace and order to a society the death penalty is appropriate.
ISABEL'S ANSWERS:
ReplyDelete1) I agree that there is a lot of this revolving almost exclusively around Perry. First of all, Perry is the one who is physically handicapped in his legs, and he is also thought to be mentally unstable by Dr. Jones, the psychologist.
2) Dr. Jones, the psychologist on the case, concluded that, while Dick was mentally sound enough to be fully aware of his actions, Perry “was under a mental eclipse, deep inside a schizophrenic darkness” (302) at the time of the murders. In answer to the question, Dick knew right from wrong.
3) Perry’s first feature that made him seem mentally unstable is that he is always paranoid. “He is suspicious and distrustful of others, tends feel that others discriminate against him, and feels that others are unfair to him and do not understand him” (289). The second one is Perry’s “ever-present, poorly controlled rage” (289). The amount of anger that Perry harbors/seems to harbor inside of him proves to Dr. Jones that he is a schizophrenic.
4) At first, the Clutter murders seemed to have a motive: murdering Mr. Clutter for the sake of taking his fortune. The story takes a dark turn when Dick and Perry murder all four of the family members, however; the brutal act suddenly loses its reason.
5) The only reason that Dick and Perry offer for the murders of the entire Clutter family “they had to be killed because Mr. Clutter had been killed" (294). It’s such a weak answer, it’s almost frightening.
6) This quote, as much as it sums up the book, really stands out to me as summing up the title. Before this book, it seemed as if every murder had a motive; people just don’t kill out of “cold blood”. The fact that this murder was really so incredibly unnecessary gives true meaning to the title “In Cold Blood”.
7) I believe capital punishment is not barbarism. The psychopaths of this world are so far gone into evil, there’s no helping them; some have murdered, some practice brutal cannibalism, others take pleasure in torture, some are serial rapists. A quick and painless death by lethal injection isn’t always the wrong thing to do for people like that.
8) The Durham Rule states that anyone who is mentally unstable is not responsible for his or her crimes. The M’Naughten Rule, a component of the Durham rule, states that the lawyer of the criminal must supply ample and concrete evidence of their mental instability before the Durham Rule can come into play.
9) Capote’s style of appealing to Perry’s childhood life builds a sad pity for Perry, however he did commit murder, despite his traumatic past. Death row might have be the best thing for these two; the proof is sufficient when Dick and Perry almost killed the man giving them a ride while they were hitchhiking that they would murder again if they needed/wanted to.
1. I would agree that physical accidents can lead to psychological instability. But in the case of Dick and Perry, there would have to be more evidence to see if any injuries were directly related or were the cause of their behaviors. Although Dick's claims of severe headaches and occasional fainting could be connected to his car accident and ultimately to the root of his behavior, we would have needed more from Perry to assume that his behavior was merely because of a past traumatic event. But if both did suffer physical accidents that were severe enough, I would think that it could attribute to strange behaviors that led them to commit acts of murder.
ReplyDelete2. Dr. Jones comes to a conclusion that Dick was able to differentiate between wrong and right choices at the time of the murders. Since he planned the whole scene out to a point where he did things like cut phone lines and pick up the bullets which killed the members of the Clutter family, the doctor says that Dick knew it was not a right thing to do, and that he was trying to conceal the evidence as much as possible.
3. There are two features that help describe Perry as "pathologically" mentally disabled; "The first is his "paranoid" orientation towards the world" (Capote 289). He always feels "suspicious and distrustful of others" (Capote 289). mostly because he was "marked by brutality and lack of concern on the part of both (his) parents" (Capote 289). The second is how "his ability to separate the real situation from his own mental projections is very poor" (Capote 289). Similar to the first factor, he constantly assumes that people will eventually betray him or mistrust him, even though he craves for friendships and people's understanding. Reality to him is distorted through his own foggy lens of false perception. And I personally think that his childhood was a part to blame for a blurred intuition.
4. They did have a motive in the beginning; to rob the Clutters because they thought that they had lots of money kept away in a safe in the house. But after they find out that there was no such thing kept in the Clutter household, Dick and Perry think that the only way to get out of this situation without being caught was to do away with all witnesses, which equate to the whole Clutter family whom were at the scene. I'm sure that they were in a state of panic, but they probably thought that there wasn't any other way out of the circumstances they were in.
5. The three other murders were logically motivated; "Nancy, Kenyon, and their mother had to be killed because Mr. Clutter had been killed" (Capote 294). They were the other witnesses that Dick and Perry thought they had to kill in order to get away with the murder of Mr. Clutter.
6. I agree with what Perry says, and that it sums up the whole case and intent of the murder. Although it was a sad reality that the Clutters were the ones "who had to pay for it" (Capote 294). it really describes how troubled Perry was, and that murdering a family unknown to him was the last thing he could resort to.
ReplyDelete7. I personally think that receiving a sentence of life in prison is the heaviest of them all. Putting that aside, I do think that capital punishment could be considered barbaric, with the whole "eye-for-an-eye" philosophy that people seem to follow even now.
8. The Durham rule says that if a criminal were to have a mental illness, they would not be responsible for their actions. However, the M'Naughten rule states that in order for a criminal to be subject to the first Durham rule, evidence must be present to back up the criminal's illness if they were to have one, so that they can be considered as incapable to take responsibility for the crime.
9. Before I answer this question, I will first say that when put in the shoes of the relatives of the murdered Clutter family, I will definitely have a different answer to what I am about to say. But with that being said, I do not support the death penalty. Like I have said before, a worthy sentence for those who commit first-degree murder would be life in prison, in my opinion. This is because those who do commit serious crimes are forced to live everyday, knowing that they have done a terrible thing, with no chance of forgiveness whatsoever. But the biggest reason I don't think Dick and Perry, nor anyone else convicted of a crime "worthy" or a death penalty, is because I think that the death penalty is simply an angry response to a violent act. I just don't think killing a person just because they killed someone else really helps at all. I hope I didn't sound too biased.
1. I agree that a physical accident may lead to psychological instability. Logically, if you receive a head injury (hence the possibility of a brain injury), then you may be susceptible to psychological strain. However, in Dick’s case, I feel that his personality disorder started forming before his accident.
ReplyDelete2. According to Dr. Jones, Dick was aware of what was right and wrong, and Perry was not. Dr. Jones stated that Dick, although possibly possessing a brain injury, was only suffering from a personality disorder, meaning that he had trouble holding secure relationships with people, but still had basic moral values. Perry, on the other hand, was said to have a severe mental illness, implying the idea that he had no realization of what was right and wrong on the night of the murder.
3. The two features noted in Perry’s personality were paranoia and uncontrollable anger. Perry was said to “feel that others discriminate against him, and feels that others are unfair to him and do not understand him,” (Capote 289). This suggests that he had a general fear of other people. Perry’s easily triggered, uncontrollable anger was said to be against “authority figures - father, brother, army sergeant, state parole officer - and have led to violent assaultive behaviour on several occasions”, (Capote 289).
4. Although Dick and Perry have personality flaws, they are not deemed as completely psychotic. However, Dick and Perry had no real reason to murder the Clutters; it does not seem justified to kill a family of 4 over 40 dollars.
5. The murder of the other three family members support the idea of how Dick wanted “no witnesses,” (Capote 35). This means that after the murder of Mr. Clutter, Dick and Perry had somewhat of a reason to kill the other three, since their goal was no witnesses.
6. I agree. This book reflects a lot on Perry’s background. I feel that Capote included Perry’s story in the book in order for us to better understand as to why he committed the murders, even if there was no real, justified reason. This quote sums up how Perry’s mental state was the reason he killed the Clutters.
7. I somewhat agree. I feel that condemning a human to death is wrong; it’s a crime equally unjust as first degree murder. However, it seems fair that the criminal should receive the pain of what he inflicted on another. But death seems almost too luxurious, in that the criminal can easily escape his/her deserved pain.
8. The M’Naughten Rule states that sanity is dictated by whether the defendant can tell the difference from right and wrong in a legal sense. The Durham Law simply states that the defendant is not guilty of his criminal acts if they possess a mental disease or defect.
9. It’s hard to say, but I’ll go with no. I feel that if they remain in confinement for the rest of their days, they’ll receive pain equal to what they inflicted on the Clutters, if not worse. Death would be an easy way out. However, if there is a risk of escape, then capital punishment may be a justified answer.
1. I strongly agree that physical accidents and psychological instability matters, when people commit murders. Perry is very unstable mentally, which may have lead into a murder gone wrong. Mental stability should always be tested before any one gets convicted of murder. Dick on the other hand suffered physical accidents around his brain which also might have altered his motive in killing the Clutters. As we read in the book, we do know that both of them are emotionally unstable, but in different ways.
ReplyDelete2. Dr. Jones stated that Perry did not know that killing the Clutters was wrong. They had psychological proof for Perry, however for Dick, although he was in an accident that involved a brain injury, they felt that Dick knew "right from wrong at the time of the offence" (Capote 288).
3. Paranoia and his "poorly controlled rage" were the two features in Perry's personality (Capote 289). Later on Dr. Jones admitted that Perry's "personality structure is very nearly that of a paranoid schizophrenic reaction" (Capote 290).
4. Dick and Perry are quite senseless because their motive was the money, yet they decided to kill the Clutter family even though they couldn't find the safe. On the other hand they are "rational, coherent and controlled" because they had a motive, which was the safe. (290).
5. The murders are logically motivated since after murdering Mr. Clutter, Perry felt like "Nancy, Kenyon, and their mother had to be killed" (Capote 294). Perry felt sympathetic if the other 3 family members remained alive, since their real motive was Mr. Clutter not the family. Losing one family member is sorrowful to the family, and maybe this reflects his own family. The death of two loved ones for Perry might have been a emotional breakdown, so maybe he felt that dying with the family would have been better than not killing the three other family members.
6. I definitely agree, Perry is emotionally drained, eventually he would have killed someone whether he had any relation with that person. It really doesn't matter to him whether he kills the right person, I think it is more of whether he could kill someone or not. Sadly, the Clutter family "were the ones who had to pay for it" (Capote 294).
7. Capital punishment is "a relic of human barbarism", the idea of killing a murder for their wrong doings is barbaric. Of course, killing someone is barbaric, but this form of punishment isn't right. If you want to punish a murder, they need to learn a lesson, and that lesson shouldn't be death.
8. The Durham Rule states that if the defendant has an mental illness, then he is not responsible for the murder. On the other hand, the M'Naughten Rule states that there must be a solid evidence saying that the defendant is mentally ill before the Durham Rule can apply to their sentence.
9. It's hard to make a decision at this point, since I feel very sympathetic for these two characters, especially Perry. I wouldn't have given them the death sentence, but instead the life imprisonment for the rest of their lives. Generally, I don't think the death sentence is a great way of solving a murder. Victims, the Clutter family would feel better by the death of these two murders, who slaughtered their family members. If you truly want to punish Perry and Dick, I think life imprisonment would be better. Just by killing these two murderers, nothing will really change, only the feeling of relief for the citizens of Holcomb.
1. I definitely agree that there is a lot of talk about accidents and injury in the trial. The main issue is perry because he is actually handicapped. The accident that hurt his legs took a toll on him and he was also said to be unstable by Dr. Jones.
ReplyDelete2. According to the doctor, Dick was mentally stable and knew "right from wrong at the time of the offence”. Perry on the other hand seems to be much less stable mentally to the Dr.Jones. Dick was able to elaborately plan the murder and chose Perry because he thought he was a cold killer. Perry seemed to have mixed ideas about the murder and also seemed to have mental issues.
3. One feature that he showed was his distrust of others “He is suspicious and distrustful of others, tends feel that others discriminate against him” (289) He seems to have major trust issues, and self esteem issues on some level. But something that doesn’t necessarily go along with that is his tendency to blame his issues on anything but himself.
4. It appeared to Dick and Perry that after they had been discovered in the Clutter household that they had no other option than to get rid of the witnesses. Dick had implied they would in their meetings. But they kept running from a crime that they gained almost nothing from.
5. Mr. Clutter was killed because there was no safe and they felt as if they had no choice but to get rid of him as a witness of their break in and attempted robbery. Additionally, they felt that they could not leave the others alive if Mr.Clutter was gone "Nancy, Kenyon, and their mother had to be killed because Mr. Clutter had been killed" (294).
6. I agree that this statement has a lot to say about the entire story. Perry had a very bad childhood that was anything but normal and he had a lot of people hurt him in his life. On top of that he had the disapproval of his sister and the loss of his other siblings. The way that he describes them as the ones “who paid for it” is scary but also understandable on some level. Perry probably held a lot of rage inside of himself and let it out on the family. A large theme of the novel is Perry and his past/ situation and this brings it together.
7. I disagree, some people treat the death penalty like we are “killing to prove that killing is wrong” but in reality, the people that get capital punishment aren’t people that would be a good idea to leave living in jail or otherwise.
8. The Durham Rule is that someone who is mentally unstable is not responsible for their crimes. The M’Naughten Rule is part of the durham rule and it says that a lawyer of a criminal who is using the Durham Rule must supply a whole lot of decisive evidence of their mental issues before the Durham rule would even be considered.
9. No, I am actually all for the death penalty in many situations, they should be convicted and put in prison and never be let out (no parole). I don’t understand them as the type to go and escape from prison to kill another family. Plus, in some instances I see the death penalty as the easy way out. I mean, they get to just die and don’t have to suffer through prison anymore. (However, I do also understand that it is human instinct to want to stay alive and if the inmates believed it was the easy way they would volunteer to be executed earlier.) I don’t think Dick and Perry deserve that choice, but they are also not dangerous enough for it to be necessary. However I don’t feel like it was necessarily a bad choice to put them on death row and i don’t greatly object to it.
1. I do agree that physical accidents may cause some psychological instability, since brain is the physical part of the individual that builds up the emotional and psychological part of that individual. If the brain gets damages, it may cause a change in that person’s psychology. However, I do not know whether in what conditions that occur or how long it stays after the accident.
ReplyDelete2. Perry is the one who knew “right from wrong at the time of the offence” (288). Although Dr. Jones concluded that both criminals were mentally deranged, Perry was worse, in a way, since he was conscious of what he was doing and yet, he had absolutely no emotion or remorse of his deed.
3. His “paranoid orientation towards the world” and his “poorly controlled rage” has as cause the disoriented and rough childhood that he went through. These traits prove him pathological but also, his distrust towards the world that has been mocking him since the day he was born.
4. They both are, but I would see this more in Perry than Dick. That might just be because we see more descriptions of Perry than Dick. Perry is able to feel the empathy for the old man and the child who hitchhiked them, which really seems like a rational and caring trait of character as well as his despise for Dick’s pedophilic behavior, however, when it comes to the murder, he is completely apathetic and has no remorse nor regrets.
5. Three of the murders mentioned are those of Nancy, Kenyon and Bonnie and the reason for it is “because Mr. Clutter had been killed” (294).
6. I agree, to me this book talked to me about Perry more than the actual crime or other characters. That might be related to Capote’s relationship with Perry. The fact that Perry says this quote has a lot of impact for that reason and also it reveals Perry’s disturbance and his apathetic attitude towards the crime.
7. I don’t think there is any one sided answer to this however, I am more on the agreeing side. I just feel like taking another life isn’t going to solve anything, so then what’s the point of doing so? I mean people say that they have to pay for what they did, however, that seems to me more like a temporarily emotion for revenge and to be honest, I do not feel it to be very mature. I think that letting go is the best because be sentencing them to death, you are not only the victim now, but also the aggressor. Also, death seems too easy in some cases (however that is not for Perry), I think living with some kind of pain is worse than to die.
8. The M’Naughen Rule states that sanity is defined by whether the defendant knew from right and wrong legally while the Durham Rule will excuse the criminal not responsible of his unlawful acts if he/she owns any mental disease or defect.
9. As I said previously, I am not very supportive of the death penalty. I just do not see the point in it. It’s not like killing the two of them will bring the Clutters back. I feel like legally killing the criminals will make them just as worthy as animals. People won’t say anything about justified and legal killing of animals, which is the same here. It is not because the criminals did some awful things that their worth should be brought down to such level. I also feel like, having them death sentenced won’t do anything to the people left behind either since it is just a stage of anger that will pass anyway, whether the criminals killed or not.
1. I agree with this train of thought, that there are connections between physical accidents and psychological instability. By being in any sort of physical accident may be traumatic for some, such as being in car accidents. For example, by being in a car accident, it can lead to physical brain damage, which may drastically affect one's actions and thoughts, while it can also emotionally traumatize one, leading to psychological instability. Those who, like Perry, are physically disabled, due to an accident, may also be psychologically unstable. This can occur due to being isolated, discriminated against, and/or mocked, which could lead to mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, and depression.
ReplyDelete2. Dr. Jones concluded, that although Perry did not know right from wrong, due to his mental state, Dick did. He stated that Dick was "alert to what is happening around him, and he shows no sign of mental confusion or disorientation" (286), and that Dick knew exactly what he was doing, as he planned everything beforehand. He knew what he was doing was wrong, and still went along with the plan, therefore he was in control of his own actions.
3. The two features in Perry's personality, that made his particular "particularly pathological" (289), was his "'paranoid' orientation towards the world" (289), and his "ever-present , poorly controlled rage"(289). The "first feature", his paranoia, led to him being engulfed with emotions of distrust and suspicion. This led to him believing that everyone was judging and discriminating against him, and that no one understands him. His second "feature", his uncontrollable amount of rage, in the past, have been directed at authority figures (such as father, brother, etc.), and can easily be triggered by any feeling of being insulted or belittled.
4. At first, Dick and Perry seemed rational, due to their original motive; to rob the Clutter household. This was more controlled, as the whole thing was planned, well before it took place, making it seem like any other robbery. But suddenly, in a frenzy of panic, Dick and Perry carelessly murdered the family of four, in order to leave no witnesses, even though they did not succeed in robbing the Clutters. This was bizarre as they murdered a family, fled to different cities and even countries, in order to leave no witnesses, as Dick mentioned in the beginning, for a measly 50-something dollars.
5. Three of the murders were considered "logically motivated" (294), as “Nancy, Kenyon, and their mother had to be killed because Mr Clutter had been killed” (294). This means that because in a moment of panic, Perry had killed Mr. Clutter, they had to go along with their "no witnesses" plan, and kill the rest of the family along with him.
ReplyDelete6. I agree that this quote essentially, sums up the entire point of the novel. Although factually, Dick and Perry murdered the Clutters, as a sort of robbery-gone-wrong sort of deal, it has much deeper meanings behind it. The Clutters represented something they both longed to have; the family, the house, the life, the ultimate American Dream. They both greatly despised those who had all they thought they deserved, but never got, which built a great wall of anger. This wall eventually came crumbling down in a fit of rage, and as Perry mentioned, unfortunately, "the Clutters were the ones who had to pay for it'" (294).
7. I mostly do not agree with the statement that capital punishment is "'a relic of human barbarism'" (295). I am a strong believer in the phrase "you get what you deserved", meaning that if one commits a crime in which they brutally murder someone, they are required to fully make up for it. Although it is definitely not suitable for all situations involving crime, and that taking another life will not bring the victim back, I feel as if the death sentence is needed in the world, as some people will never feel remorse for taking an innocent life. As they say, what goes around, comes around.
8. The Durham Rule, states that the accused is not to be of blame and/or responsible for the act committed, due to mental defect or disease, while the M'Naughten Rule states that sanity is determined legally, by the ability of the accused, to tell right from wrong.
9. As stated before, although I do not believe 100% in the death penalty, I do believe it is necessary. On one hand, I do believe Perry, more so than Dick, deserved to be put on death row, as he took a life that was not his to take. I believe that if he can take a life away so brutally, he deserves exactly what he did to the Clutters, just to make things even, for my emotions' sake. On the other hand, I do believe that they should not have been put on death row, as what if Perry was indeed unable to control his actions, due to his mental disorders? And as Dick did not physically take a life, is it really fair to take his? Although my emotions lead me one way, logic leads me the other way, therefore, this is a hard topic to come to terms with, and would definitely be an amazing debate topic.
1.Yes, I think those factors are quite important in some cases, when trying to understand the motive of the criminals. Psychological instability might be something that only professional psychiatrists could uncover, and the criminals might not even notice it themselves. After reading about both Dick and Perry’s character analysis, I felt that I understood them and the reasons behind their actions better and I realized that sometimes it was a combination between nature and nurture, sometimes you were just born that way.
ReplyDelete2.Dick was the one who knew “right from wrong at the time of the offence” while Perry showed “definite signs of severe mental illness” (288)
3.“The first is the ‘paranoid‘ orientation towards the world” where Perry becomes distrustful of others and often misinterprets “well-meant communications”. The second feature is that he has a “poorly controlled rage” which is very unstable and easily triggered. (289) Because you don’t know when something or someone will set him off, it makes him even more dangerous.
4. Because both of them knew clearly what was going on, and neither of them were insane in the sense that they fantasized during the murder. Both of them were above the average intelligence and had the ability to think, judge, and calculate each of their steps - despite lacking the ability to interpret from what’s right and wrong in the case of Perry. Yet after the murder, Perry was not sure why he actually did it, and neither of them felt remorse over their actions.
5. Three of the murders were “logically motivated because “Nancy, Kenyon, and their mother had to be killed because Mr.Clutter had been killed” (294) which leaves that only the first murder of Mr.Clutter mattered “psychologically”.
6. I also agree that this quote by Perry quite sums up the book, because it explains the book’s title “In Cold Blood”. Perry had no apparent reason why he killed the Clutter Family, and through Capote’s writing, we got to know him more. We found out that he had a tough childhood which might have evolved into a mental disorder where he wanted love and attention but at the same time distrusted people heavily. In the end, like he said, someone had to pay for it and the unfortunate people who did, were the Clutter Family.
7.I disagree, because I believe that some people are unable to change or learn from their past mistakes. Even if they possess sentimental values and are liked by others you never know what will trigger them to do something absolutely brutal the next moment, which makes them even more dangerous than obvious criminals. The only way to keep order in the society and protect the people would be to remove those people completely from the society. Although no one really deserves to die but people who take other people’s lives and only know how to live by hurting others or disrupting the rules of the society are not fit to live amongst other humans.
ReplyDelete8 Durham Rule states that “an accused is not criminally responsible if his unlawful act is the product of mental disease or mental defect” (308-309) while in the M’Naughten Rule, as long as the criminals appeared to have been able to discern from right or wrong during the crime, it will not recognize them as insane, therefore the Durham Rule will not apply.
9. Although Capote was very effective in building up sympathy and compassion for Dick and Perry throughout the book, I still do think they deserve the death row. This is because I couldn’t sense any remorse from the two; they were only confused at why they had done the murder or merely ashamed of themselves, but never really regretted what they had done. They knowingly killed people that had done no harm to them, and after getting to know them, even liked, yet still proceeded with their murder plan, which was just atrocious to me. In a sense, I think that life in prison would have been of greater agony than the execution because they would have had to live the rest of their lives with their basic human rights taken from them, completely degraded to the level of (circus) animals; which I think the two would have found intolerable.
I agree only under certain circumstances. In Dick's case, however, I do not. Trying to form a connection to Dick getting in a motorcycle accident and it having an effect on his mental stability doesn't make sense.
ReplyDeleteDr. Jones believed that Perry was mentally unstable, while Dick was completely normal other than being cold-hearted. Dr. Jones believes that Dick knew right from wrong while Perry could see no difference.
The two features pointed out in Perry's personality was “his ‘paranoid’ orientation towards the world” and “Akin to the first trait is the second, an ever-present, controlled rage”(289).
Dick and Perry seem rational, but have a senseless quality because they have been “born out of previous, and now unconscious, traumatic experience” (Capote 291).
Three of the four murders were necessary because “Nancy, Kenyon, and their mother had to be killed because Mr Clutter had been killed” (294). This is because Nancy Kenyon and Mrs. Clutter could not survive without Mr. Clutter.
I think this quote shows that Perry was a time-bomb. He would go off eventually and do something horrible. He was too full of anger to function normally.
This is a heavy question. I think that capital punishment is the very oldest form of punishment but that doesn't justify the negative connotation that comes with calling it "a relic of human barbarianism". I think that capital punishment has fair arguments. I mean personally, i'd rather die that rot in jail for the rest of my life.
The Durham Rule is the rule that excuses murder due to mental ilness and the M'Naughten Rule states that a criminal must not be able to see right and wrong to be considered insane and thus be convicted as such.
Throughout the book we are given reasons to have sympathy for Perry, not so much Dick, but there is no doubt that they are equally 100% guilty. I think that they felt no remorse, therefore they were unfit for normal society.