Sheree | Keeping Up With The Penguins answers “Do you agree to Perry and Dick's death...”

Juliana Marquez asked this question about In Cold Blood:

Do you agree to Perry and Dick's death sentence? Throughout the whole book, Capote made me sympathize with Perry's situation (his childhood abuse and abandonment) to the point I thought, although he committed an atrocious crime, he perhaps deserved another sentence. However, also, I know that he deserved that punishment for what he did. Am I the only one that feels this way?

Sheree | Keeping Up With The Penguins In my mind, this question captures one of the most essential elements of In Cold Blood as a classic book: it can be read as both supporting and disavo…moreIn my mind, this question captures one of the most essential elements of In Cold Blood as a classic book: it can be read as both supporting and disavowing the death penalty. I would imagine that people who believe in capital punishment would read it and find ample evidence to justify their view, as would people who advocate against it. It's a very clever approach from Capote, and I'm not sure even he could answer your question. "You don't read the book, the book reads you", after all. As to whether I personally think Perry deserved a death sentence: I'm lucky enough to live in a part of the world where capital punishment has been outlawed for longer than I've been alive, so of course my opinion is going to be coloured by that, and it's not really possible for me to be truly objective. :) Great question, though, thanks for asking!!(less)

flag

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more