Week 4

[mollybeerman]

With this book, Truman has been credited with developing a new genre of writing: "literary non-fiction." What might that term mean, and how does In Cold Blood differ from straight crime reporting? Why did Capote create the kind of story he did, and what is its impact on the reader of this new approach?
-Literary non fiction is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. I believe this is correct because Truman is writing a narrative that is based on a true story and he's telling it in a way that is unique because he is able to use different techniques to get across his message. For example in the beginning of the book he would say things like "and that was the last time she would see Nancy Clutter" he did this to get the readers interest and get them to realize what's about to happen. ICB differs from straight crime reporting because Truman gets the point of view from the criminals, which no officer usually reveals to society because no one believes their side. Unlike Truman who believes and fights for the criminals side which is unlike any narrative I have ever read. Truman came up with this type of approach to get the reader to sympathize with the criminals and feel a sense of sorrow for people they would never expect. Without reading this novel everyone in our society would traditionally hate the criminals but because of this new point of view they are able to feel something for them. The impact of the reader comes from their new sense of sadness which comes from Trumans expression of Dick and Perrys thoughts, feelings, and motives

[lauraboehm]

I agree with you when explaining how the different point of views of the novel has an emotional appeal on the audience to feel sorrowful for the Dick and Perry due to their hardships in life. No other novel has been written in such a way to describe the murder from a criminals perspective. But, what kind of literary technique is utilized by Truman when he repeatedly states "and that was the last..."? That is an example of an anaphora because the author repeats the same phrase in order to achieve a sense of rhythm and flow in the novel. Ultimately the anaphora appeals to the audience's emotional appeal and creates suspense upon the audience to wonder would happen to the Clutter family.

[Cheyenne Lee]

I agree with the definition of literary non fiction and the example and why he created this genre of writing. I agree also with Laura about it being an anaphora but I also think that it's foreshadowing. Mostly because by saying that the reader can predict where the story is heading an what's about to happen.