The Anti Heroes Of Truman Capote s Cold Blood Are Perry...

There are many novels wherein the main character in an anti-hero. Anti-heroes are the twisted versions of wholesome protagonists; protagonists have pure ideals and motives, while an anti-hero’s end motives usually justify the morally grey means that he or she achieved them by. The readers of such novels usually root for the seemingly villainous protagonist, this â€Å"anti-hero†. The anti-heros in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood are Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. These two men are reported to be cold blooded killers in this nonfiction novel, and yet many readers root for these anti-heroes, thanks to Capote’s retelling of events. Truman Capote attempts to humanizes these killers by sharing their pasts with the reader, which trigger sympathy or hatred, depending on how Capote portrays them In order to humanize the killers, Capote gives background stories on their lives, which trigger sympathy in Perry’s case. Perry first reads a letter from his father to the Kansas State Parole Board, written the first time Perry was held in Lansing, for larceny, theft, and jailbreak. Perry’s father writes about how Perry’s mother fell to drinking and split the family, and how Perry had to live moving from city to city, hunting and trapping. Perry’s father Tex John Smith writes â€Å"How well I know that Perry is goodhearted if you treat him rite. Treat him mean and you got a buzz saw to fight†¦ He knows life is to short to sweet to spend behind bars ever again† (Capote 130). This letter humanizes