In Cold Blood

The 2005 movie Capote was adapted from the novel In Cold Blood written by the movie's namesake - Truman Capote. In Cold Blood is often hailed as a staple in American literature and installed Capote as a household name. However, his obsession also destroyed him, as he would never write another book and would later die of a drug overdose.

On Nov. 15, 1959, when the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas, was murdered, Capote was a journalist for the New Yorker Magazine and was sent to write about the murders. His work, which resonates his obsession, grew into a four-piece series, a best-selling book and a literary classic. His researcher for the project, Nell Harper Lee, would later write To Kill A Mockingbird - another staple of American literature.

Blood, sparked a new literary style- journalism written with the style and form of literature. However, it's Capote's resonating images and rhythm that make the novel's greatness endearing.

Capote begins the novel by describing the quaint town of Holcomb. The doomed Clutter family is portrayed to the readers as an innocent farm family caught in the middle of a horrible misunderstanding. Their executioners, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, believed the Clutters were wealthy people and their botched robbery soon evolved to murder. Capote's true success is his ability to humanize the two murderers - especially Perry. Perry's miserable childhood and yearning for recognition are recurring themes throughout the novel.

By the end of the novel, one can empathize with the humanity of the two murderers. Readers experience the dread felt by the killers as they are lead to the gallows.