Comparative Analysis - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote - Essay Example

Under this friendly co-existence, a brutal murder occurs leaving all residents scared of each other and the evil that has crept in to the town. Most notable is the fact that the brutal murder happens to the decent and respectable family, and everyone wants justice to the murderer. Capote offers the readers an intriguing narrative as they seek to uncover the mysteries surrounding the small farming town. George Garrett in Then and Now: In Cold Blood revisited revisits the tragedy, which will remain a memorable sad event to most residents of Holcomb.

Garrett cites the murder case as a traumatic event which changed Holcomb. In the article, Garrett gives an overview of the Capote’s In Cold Blood contents starting from the covers to the last sentence of the book. From the title and subtitle of the book, Garrett acknowledges Capote’s captivating title and subtitle, “A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences”. By this, Capote manages to attract the readers’ attention to the non-fiction element in the tale. More so, the article delves in to the background information on the Holcomb murders.

Another element Garrett gives focus to is the final sentence of the novel, which offers facts and numbers. This is to eliminate any sense of suspense in the reader. Garrett gives an in-depth analysis of the processes undertaken to write In Cold Blood, highlighting the various steps taken, people interviewed, and information acquired to complete the story. Garrett further explains the need of certain information in the novel as it adds up to the credibility of non-fiction story. These data include time and place of murder, background information on the family, the community in which the murder took place.

In addition, Garrett gives readers of In Cold Blood an insight on the suspected offender to draw lines and understanding of the sentencing. Trenton Hickman in his review The last to see them alive: Panopticism, the supervisory gaze, and the catharsis in Capote’s In Cold Blood explores the interesting aspects in the book. Hickman begins with his personal experiences with Capote. The focus remains on the Kansas murder case. The article discusses Capote’s staging of the evening guests who contributed to the evidence on the case.

Hickman notes Capote’s ability to contain his characters within certain boundaries determined by history of the actual Holcomb murders, and the author’s desires for scandal and drama. In the article, we note the impact of reviews on In Cold Blood as other authors missed to perceive Capote’s spectacle in the evocation of reality. While reading the two articles, a reader identifies similar approaches given to reviewing certain issues in In Cold Blood. These issues include matters of the judicial proceedings which took place after the murder, and the sentencing of the suspected offender.

It is interesting to read the articles together as a reader gets a wider perspective of the unfolding events in the murder case. More so, the analysis of the book in the two articles gives a reader an in-depth understanding of the author’s approach to the non-fiction story. The two articles have similarities and differences in the matters analyzed In Cold Blood, especially on the writing styles and researches done on the murder case. Capote narrates the witnesses recap on the murder, which has been