In Cold Blood

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of death, emotional abuse, and mental illness.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Capote blends journalistic reporting with novelistic techniques in In Cold Blood. How effective did you find this approach? Did it enhance your understanding of the events or raise concerns about accuracy and objectivity?

2. In Cold Blood has been compared to Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment in its psychological examination of killers. How do you feel Capote’s exploration of Perry and Dick’s psychology compares to fictional portrayals of criminals in literature?

3. The book is structured in four parts, moving from the murders to the execution. How did this structure affect your emotional engagement with the story? Did your feelings toward the various characters evolve throughout the narrative?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. For both Perry and Dick, the American Dream feels just out of reach. Have you ever felt that society’s promises of success were inaccessible to you or to someone you know? How did that experience shape your perspective?

2. Perry’s recurring dream of the “yellow bird” represents his longing for escape and transcendence.