Perry Capote Rhetorical Analysis

Sometimes one can never realize that what they are doing is wrong, at least until the consequences are revealed to them in the end. A happy ending does not always have to have a good event such as a marriage or happy-ever-after but it can be considered a good ending when a character or characters has gone through moral development. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses rhetorical devices such as logos, ethos and anaphora to provide moral reconciliation for John and Elizabeth Proctor, revealing the consequences through one's actions can spark a realization of wrongdoing.

Perry Smith is commonly acknowledged as attracting more interest from Capote, and by introducing the readers to Perry first, Capote places him in the front of the readers ' mind. Immediately in Perry 's introduction, the reader finds that he prefers “three aspirin, cold root beer, and a chain of Pall Mall cigarettes” (14), and that he has a large collection of belongings, including “a guitar, and two big boxes of books and maps and songs, poems and old letters” (14). In ordinary journalistic material, the author would not take the time to give such details about a

In the intriguing novel, In cold Blood , written by Truman Capote one can see the different ways he uses rhetorical strategies. In the beginning of the novel Capote uses very detailed imagery to describe the village of Holcomb Kansas. He starts off by describing the area as "... Hard blue skies and desert clear air… The land is flat, and the views are awesomely extensive; horses, herds of cattle, a white cluster of grain…" (3) Capote wanted his readers to imagine what the area would look like if they were there in the time period of mid-1950s.

To prove that outside influences are to blame for Perry’s actions, Capote first employs metaphor and parallel structure in order to place the blame on Perry’s partner, Dick. While Perry is waiting for Dick to come back to the laundromat in Kansas, where Perry was waiting, Perry starts to panic and imagine that maybe the police found his partner. Upon Dick’s return, Perry states that “The sound of Dick’s voice was like an injection of some potent narcotic, a drug, that invading his veins, produced a delirium of colliding sensations; tension and relief, fury and affection” (Capote 194). By comparing Dick’s voice to a “narcotic”, and the parallelism of “tension and relief, fury and affection,” conveys that he was like a potent drug and one that Perry was addicted

Through using metaphors, Capote integrates bits and pieces of hints that show Dick’s and Perry’s acting like animals through their savage actions. Capote metaphorically applies, “two gray bobcats

The Confederacy gained support after shots rang at Ft. Sumter on xxx 1861. Before that event, Arkansas preferred to remain neutral and hoped for a peaceful outcome to the divided country. President Lincoln’s decision to issue a call for troops signified an attempt to use violence to preserve the union, and triggered a vote that would change Arkansas forever. The elected leaders of Arkansas by a margin of 69 to 1 passed a disunion ordinance and chose to stand with the Confederate States to oppose Northern aggression, unfortunately there loyalty went underappreciated as Arkansas’ geographical and political significance went overlooked by confederate leaders and their war strategy. This strategic error resulted in limited government support

Rhetoric is the study of how writers and speakers use words to influence an audience. Pathos, Logos, and Ethos are examples of rhetorical devices, where the rhetorician would appeal to an audience to prove a point. In both the Declaration of Independence and The American Crisis #1, the authors use several examples of rhetoric to persuade their audience in the 1700s, to separate themselves from England.

In a society where the thoughts and opinions of people are meant to blend in, a division actually occurs where they are usually separated because of their opinions. The play and the event, The Crucible and the “Red Scare” respectively, supply greatly to the difference of opinion because it shows that people are willing to do anything to not only oust the people that they dislike, but try and obtain the attention that they are seeking. During the “Red Scare,” McCarthy targets the issue of communism in the United States of America in order to become the favorable candidate for re-election as well as obtaining the attention that he desired. This event parallels with Abigail Williams, from Arthur Miller’s

“You don’ know what you’re a-doin’,” were Casy’s last words before he died as a martyr. Casy died for his cause, his belief that the elite were not truly aware of how their greed was causing the suffering of the weak and that the weak could only surpass their sorrows if they worked together. Steinbeck uses chapter 25 of Grapes of Wrath to portray this very message. Steinbeck uses an array of rhetorical devices such as symbolism and the use of a instructive tone which gives the reader a sense of being sermonized to portray the greed of the elite and how that fuels the wrath of the weak, while also empowering the weak to join together and warning the elite of the inevitable consequences of

Throughout the passage told from Dick’s point of view, the syntax is surprisingly curt and choppy. As he is expressing his exasperation towards Perry, his sentences break off repeatedly. He states, “He was annoyed. Annoyed as hell”, which not only is comprised of two extremely short sentences, but also emits an aggressive tone (Capote 108). Dick’s attitude towards Perry becomes apparent quickly, as whenever Perry begins to speak Dick is filled with negative thoughts about his half-witted partner. The curtness and negative content of his thoughts show the annoyance and sheer contempt that Dick feels. Also, Capote uses the short and concise sentences when describing Dick to show his clear mindedness and his seemingly rational thought process. The simplicity of Dick’s thoughts make him seem more focused and reliable. He uses this contrast to emphasize the

Rhetorical appeals reveals the hidden message the character is trying to convey. The language also highlights the characters emotions, feelings and the significance of the text. It allows readers to gain a better understanding of the characters. Arthur Miller, an American essayist, who wrote a variety of amazing plays. One of his famous plays, The Crucible, highlights the importance of rhetorical appeals throughout the play. John Proctor, the tragic hero is a loyal, honest, and kind-hearted individual. Proctor uses strong rhetorical appeals to highlight his emotions and his message. Proctor values his reputation and name. Proctor accuses Abigail Williams of witchcraft. The famous play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller explores Proctors speaking

Early on, Capote makes Smith seem a more sympathetic character, “Yes, and he had told Dick was true… Sierra Madre?” (Capote, 17). Capote makes Perry seem almost childlike as he describes Perry’s naive plan to search for gold in the Sierra Madre, which causes the reader to wrongly assume Smith is innocent, or at least more so than Hickock. While describing the murder of the Clutter family, Perry states, “And I thought… So I went back upstairs,” (277). Truman Capote deliberately includes Perry’s feeling that “It was like [he] wasn’t a part of it. More as though [he] was reading a story,” to show the level of dissociation Perry experiences. Even after Smith is found guilty of murder, the reader still feels some sympathy for Perry as Capote hints that Perry cannot be held accountable for his own actions. Just before he is hanged, Smith remarks, “It would be meaningless to apologize for what I did. Even inappropriate. But I do. I apologize,” (392-393). Capote includes Perry’s last words, which carry significant emotional weight, to evoke a final sympathetic reaction in the reader. Through Perry Smith, Capote creates pathos to demonstrate the harsh nature of capital punishment and cause the reader to wonder if it is the right

Following the emotionally ‘flat’ perspective by Dick, is Perry’s self-pity attitude during his own chapter. Perry knows the annoyance of his voice to Dick, but has no control over his actions. With only having one thought repeated indefinitely, “I think there must be something wrong with us” (capote 30), one would need to vent in some manner. To continue, Perry’s pity persona even has the author himself take pity on him: “Look at his family!” (Capote 30). Capote demands the reader to acknowledge Perry’s grim adolescence and suicidal family: “His mother, an alcoholic, had strangled to death on her own vomit...Fern...jumped out a window...Jimmy...had one day driven his wife to suicide and killed himself the next” (Capote 30). Capote pities Perry and portrays him as human, instead of the monster everyone believes him to be. Capote explains how Perry’s mental state and upcoming is the reason he is mentally unstable. Capote exposes not all criminals are monsters. Referring back to Dick’s passage, Dick claims “Perry could be “such a kid,” always wetting the bed and crying in his sleep” (Capote 29). Perry never matured from his depressing childhood, and he remained a in this state into adulthood. Returning to Perry’s

The persona that Capote is able to capture about Perry Smith shows that Perry was someone who really thought about things even when he doesn’t want to. He particularly has issues letting go of the fact that they had just murdered the Clutters. “I think there must be something wrong with us,” (110, In Cold Blood). He cannot let go of the fact that there might be something mentally wrong with them because of what they have done.

Capote describes and effectively develops the character of Perry Smith by giving us a small glimpse into Perry Smith’s childhood. Perry Smith had an anything but ordinary childhood. Perry had a horrible childhood. This was due to the fact that his parents split apart and he was treated awfully in the places that took him in. Perry’s first horrible experience was in an orphanage. “ The one where the Black Widows were always at me. Hitting me. Because of wetting the bed. Which is one reason I have an aversion to nuns.”( Perry Smith, pg. 206). The nuns beat Perry because he would wet the bed. He would wet the bed because of a weak kidney. Perry was also almost killed by a salvation army nurse. The nurse tried to drown him. “A children’s shelter operated by the Salvation Army. They hated me, too. For wetting the bed. And being half-Indian. There was this one nurse, she used to call me ‘nigger’ and say there wasn’t any difference between niggers and Indians. Oh, Jesus, was she an Evil Bastard! Incarnate. What she used to do, she’d fill a tub with ice-cold water, put me in it, and hold me under till I was blue. Nearly drowned.”(Perry Smith, pg. 206). The constant beatings would give just about anyone a bad childhood to begin with; but it could also lead into the anger and mental issues that Perry suffers