Week 4 Questions

[maddieroy]

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?

To me, I believe that the term "Literary non-fiction" means that it is a piece of literature that is true. It provides entertainment and it is a work of art but it also really happened which adds to its credibility and seriousness of the piece. In America, usually Crime reporting is unbiased and factual, but in the novel Capote is biased towards the murderers which is something we, as news audience, don't hear very much. The purpose of news reporters is to give information that is all facts without any opinionated comments.  My view on this type of writing is that Capote wanted the reader to view American crimes in a different way than what we are used to. If he wanted to put the murderers in a bad lighting then he would have told it from the point of view of the family and their loved ones. Capote knew that he wanted to bring a different view on American crimes and he did so with the creation of the novel, In Cold Blood.

[madalynwiefering]

I agree with Maddie's statement about how Capote creates a new point of view on american crimes through his credibility but also subjectiveness. Although most non-fiction reports on a crime are told through an objective, fact-driven point of view, Capote's literary devices of suspense and intimacy with the characters allow the reader to better understand his approach on the event. Today, more and more reports on the news are capturing a sense of subjectivity rather than objectivity to grab the readers attention better and make the event more suspenseful. They are following in Capote's footsteps of bringing a different light on Crimes in america.