Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 1999. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iii, 44 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-44).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1969. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Capote's themes of the innocent character who is confronted with evil and the evil character - a product of society - who tries to initiate the innocent, are brought together in In Cold Blood.

In 1959, Capote’s nonfiction novel entitled, In Cold Blood was written using artistic methods related to fictional writing.  In consciously writing in this manner, Capote revealed a controversial shift away from a more objectivity based, journalistic truth, prevalent at the time. By using these methods to portray in particular Perry Smith, Capote has provoked doubts surrounding his commitment to “truth” within the book.  Using a narratological analysis of certain significant passages of the book, Capote’s presence and a notable relation he has to Perry is implied and brought to the forefront.  In turn, this essay looks through these passages from the perspective of the genre of autobiography.  From this viewpoint, how the reader is able to uncover Capote’s “intentions” by identifying with and presenting himself through Perry in the narrative, is discussed. This essay concludes with the claim that due to Capote’s use of these artistic methods, the reader is provided with an autobiographical dimension to the narrative.  Consequently, the essay claims that it is because such autobiographical dimensions are described by Linda Anderson (in her book Autobiography) as having an “honest intention which then guarantees the truth of the writing” (3), that Truman Capote’s “true account of a multiple murder and its consequences”, [own emphasis added] should thus be justifiable, and in his way, honestly true.

<p>In 1959, Capote’s nonfiction novel entitled, <em>In Cold Blood</em> was written using artistic methods related to fictional writing.  In consciously writing in this manner, Capote revealed a controversial shift away from a more objectivity based, journalistic truth, prevalent at the time. By using these methods to portray in particular Perry Smith, Capote has provoked doubts surrounding his commitment to “truth” within the book. </p><p>Using a narratological analysis of certain significant passages of the book, Capote’s presence and a notable relation he has to Perry is implied and brought to the forefront.  In turn, this essay looks through these passages from the perspective of the genre of autobiography.  From this viewpoint, how the reader is able to uncover Capote’s “intentions” by identifying with and presenting himself through Perry in the narrative, is discussed.</p><p>This essay concludes with the claim that due to Capote’s use of these artistic methods, the reader is provided with an autobiographical dimension to the narrative.  Consequently, the essay claims that it is because such autobiographical dimensions are described by Linda Anderson (in her book <em>Autobiography) </em>as having an “honest intention which then guarantees the truth of the writing” (3)<em>, </em>that Truman Capote’s “<strong><em>true</em></strong><em> account of a multiple murder and its consequences”, </em>[own emphasis added]<em> </em>should thus be justifiable, and in his way, honestly true.</p>

This thesis traces the phenomenon of American Southern Gothic literature in relation to its most integral part: the exaggerated monstrosity. Even though the prevalent distorted images are usually associated with aesthetic decadence, their moral symbolism should not be neglected. Furthermore, since the Gothic tradition is congruent with the unconscious and irrational, the absence of any psychological interest poses a major limitation in the Southern studies. Drawing on this approach, the following thesis investigates the role of deformities in connection to the individual's mind. Thus, aside from the literary historical concerns that arise within the context of the American South, the main aim of this thesis is to determine whether there is a link between the distortion and psychological trauma of the Southern past. The selected topic is approached from an interdisciplinary point of view; apart from literary history (E.A. Poe, W. Faulkner), Freudian definition of unconsciousness will be likewise employed. I hereby hope my findings may significantly broaden and contribute to the conceptualization of deformities in regards to the context of the American South, more specifically within the historical, literary and psychological field of Southern studies. Key words: American, South, Gothic, Deformity,...

<p>The aim of this thesis is to establish whether In Cold Blood could be considered to be the true account Truman Capote intended it to be. Capote spent many years researching the murder in Kansas with the aim of writing a news story in the style of fiction. Even so, this essay argues that it is not a completely true account. In order to reach a conclusion this essay studies the concept of new journalism and answers the following questions:</p><p>•What are the problems of depicting reality in writing?</p><p>•What narrative techniques are found in In Cold Blood?</p><p>•Is In Cold Blood subjective or objective in its portrayal of the story and its characters?</p><p>The conclusion also shows that In Cold Blood is too manipulated and subjective in order to be seen as a completely true account that can be read as a news story. It is merely one view of the murder and In Cold Blood is therefore best read as a fiction novel.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:45:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rafael Fonseca Santos.pdf: 1072594 bytes, checksum: 7a87606a43a631d370e1d04cfce5647c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-22 / This dissertation analyzes the work In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote, as the first great novel of the New Journalism or literary journalism. Summarily, it was published in four parts in The New Yorker magazine, in 1965. Given the huge repercussion, in the following year, it was compiled into a single volume and published as a book. In this dissertation, the reader will be faced with an analysis of what is the New Journalism, as well as its relationship with literature. Some issues about fiction inside reports and reality inside literature are discussed. The narrative is analyzed, exposing its journalistic and literary characteristics which contribute to the greatness of the book. Still as part of the narratives, the reader can find a study about North-American society and how Truman shows and discusses it in his book; and how Capote builds his characters, the way he uses literary techniques to give life to people in his work, and, particularly, how he presents the character Perry Smith, a cold killer presented as the effect of a liar society. / Este trabalho analisa a obra In Cold Blood, de Truman Capote, como primeiro grande romance do Novo Jornalismo ou jornalismo literário. Sumariamente, Capote publicou seus escritos em quatro partes na revista The New Yorker, em 1965. Dada a enorme repercussão, no ano seguinte foi compilado em um único volume e publicado em livro. Nesta dissertação, o leitor se deparará com uma análise acerca do que é o Novo Jornalismo, bem como sua relação com a literatura. São discutidas questões acerca do ficcional dentro de reportagens e da realidade dentro da literatura. Esquadrinha-se a narrativa, expondo suas características jornalísticas e literárias que corroboram para a grandeza da obra. Ainda no âmbito narrativo, o leitor poderá encontrar um estudo acerca da sociedade norte-americana e de que maneira Truman a apresenta e discute em sua obra. Verifica-se de que maneira Capote constrói suas personagens, como ele se utiliza de técnicas literárias para dar vida às pessoas reais dentro de sua obra e, particularmente, como ele descortina a personagem Perry Smith, um assassino frio apresentado como efeito de uma sociedade mentirosa.

Truman Capote, autor, roteirista e dramaturgo Americano, foi um dos principais escritores americanos de ficção do período pós-guerra, conhecido por receber ampla notoriedade pelo seu romance best-seller In Cold Blood, de 1965, por um estilo de escrita que misturava literatura e jornalismo. No entanto, o trabalho de Capote se estende além do romance antes mencionado. O autor, que se tornaria famoso por sua personalidade também, revelou grande talento como escritor desde muito jovem, trabalhando com temas muito relacionados à sua vida pessoal. Durante minhas leituras de seus trabalhos, eu pude perceber que o narrador que Capote criava trazia o leitor muito mais próximo à história. O propósito da minha dissertação é fazer uma análise do narrador de Capote para poder discutir suas técnicas específicas. Para tal, escolhi trabalhar com a teoria da narratologia, que não apenas é o estudo da narrativa e da estrutura de um texto, mas também sobre como ele afeta nossas percepções como leitores. Através de uma análise de aspectos como focalização e discurso do narrador, minha intenção foi traçar uma relação entre o narrador de Capote com seu autor implícito para poder entender como isso afeta nossa experiência de leitura e seu relacionamento com o leitor. Para essa análise, eu escolhi o primeiro romance publicado de Capote, Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948), porque acredito que conta uma história que pareceu surgir de emoções altamente reprimidas do autor sobre sua infância e crescimento. Além disso, tentarei identificar onde elementos biográficos podem ter inspirado alguns dos eventos presentes na história, na tentativa de estabelecer uma conexão com os eventos de sua vida real e o quanto elas interferiam em sua ficção. teoria que em destaque nesse trabalho são os trabalhos da autora Mieke Bal (2009) e de Herman & Vervaeck (2005), para poder trazer os termos que ajudam a continuar com a discussão. Ao fim desta análise, espero mostrar o que há por baixo de um narrador cuidadosamente construído, e que o leitor seja capaz de perceber Truman Capote por mais do que sua famosa personalidade, mas também como um escritor cuidadoso e focado que era apaixonado por sua arte. / American novelist, screenwriter and playwright Truman Capote was one of the leading American authors of fiction of the post-war period, known for receiving wide notoriety for his 1965 best seller In Cold Blood, for a style of writing that mixed literature and journalism. However, Capote’s works extend beyond the aforementioned novel. The author, who would eventually become famous for his personality as well, revealed great talent as a writer since a very young age, working with themes closely related to his personal life. During my readings of his works, I was able to perceive that the narrator Capote creates brings the reader much closer to the story. The purpose of this thesis is to carry out an analysis of Capote’s narrator in order to discuss his particular techniques. In order to do that, I chose to work with the theory of narratology, which is not only the study of narrative and the narrative structure of a text, but also of how it affects our perceptions as readers. Through an analysis of aspects such as focalization and the narrator’s discourse, my intention was to trace a relation between the narrator with Capote’s implied author in order to understand how this affects the reading experience and the relationship with the reader. For this analysis, I chose Capote’s first published novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948), because I believe that it tells a story that seem to come from the highly suppressed emotions of the author about his childhood and growing up. I will also attempt to identify where biographical elements might have inspired some of the events that appear in the story, attempting to establish connection to the events of his real life and how much it interfered in his fiction. As to the theory that underlines this work, I chose the works of Mieke Bal (2009) and Herman & Vervaeck (2005), in order to bring light to terms that help further the discussion. By the end of this analysis, I hope to show what lies beneath a carefully constructed narrator, and that the reader will be able to perceive Truman Capote for more than his famous personality, but also as a careful and focused writer that was passionate about his craft.

What can lead authors to come up with entirely different textual portraits of the same nation? My dissertation is an exploration of the rhetorical construction of emotion in nonfiction narratives about the United States from the Second World War to the present. I emphasize the importance of one particular rhetorical strategy: synecdoche, a substitution of part for the whole. I argue that synecdoche is as much a strategy for seduction as it is a rhetorical strategy, and therefore an emotional strategy as well. As the authors in my dissertation -- John Steinbeck, Charles Kuralt, Truman Capote and Sarah Vowell -- write of the nation, they simultaneously write of their irresistible, irrevocable attachment to the nation. In this way, these studies of the United States act like a Rorschach test, as a projection of affect onto what the authors claim to be an objective national portrait. (And we respond to them accordingly: consider the number of "America's" we encounter daily, and how many of them we automatically accept or dismantle.) The ambivalence the authors in my study feel, I would argue, comes only after the portrait is complete. The pleasure is in the process: the result is seldom as rewarding. It has become commonplace to argue that "nations provoke fantasy." I argue that nations provoke fantasy because they are necessarily synecdochical. Synecdoche provokes fantasy because synecdoche is fantasy: the seduction of another through the persuasion that similar parts represent shared wholes. However, the nation is not only a fantasy. This is where the word "fictionable" enters into the study. As one major critic has defined it, the "fictionable" is that which is "available for conversion into fiction." The "nation" as a concept is certainly fictionable, and it is well worth considering -- as an entity and experience -- that has become so much a part of the way we tell stories about ourselves, that it can come to function as a backdrop on which we project both our political ideologies and personal desires.