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>

<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.

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: •What are the problems of depicting reality in writing? •What narrative techniques are found in In Cold Blood? •Is In Cold Blood subjective or objective in its portrayal of the story and its characters? 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.

In literary trauma theory, victimized victimizers represent an ambiguous area. In my thesis, I show how Perry Smith, a historical figure in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, and Josef Kavalier, a fictional character in Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, represent these ambiguities. Both men become murderers acting out violence that was inflicted upon them as children. However, only Kavalier seems to work through the trauma.