Tiare Mendez
7/20/2017 04:25:55 pm
In Cold Blood does not fail to captivate readers with alternating narratives. However, this does lead us to consider who is the real protagonist of this novel. The protagonist is usually- but not limited to being the good guy. The good guys in In Cold Blood are obviously Mr. Clutter and Al Dewey. However, Capote spends more time in the narratives of Perry and Dick, and although they are the "bad" guys and the antagonists, my opinion is that Perry is the main protagonist of the novel. We learn much more about his life than any other character and Capote writes in such a way that we may feel sympathy towards him however not to a point where we excuse the murders he committed.
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Emily gallegos
7/26/2017 02:58:25 pm
I completely agree with you Tiare. As I am reading more and more, in cold blood gives a myriad of information for the character Perry. Although Perry had been accused of murder we do learn more about him besides the fact that Mr. Cliutter and Al Dewey were the good guys in the story. I may be wrong to say that Perry is the Protsgonist but as I read it contains more information on this particular character
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Star Brooks
7/26/2017 10:20:49 pm
I would also have to agree that Perry could be the protagonist just because of how Capote spends time just on this character. When he describes them both, in a way he tells the author of how Perry has some sort of feelings about the idea of the attack. On the other hand, Dick does not. When I was reading about Perry's individual life, I thought of how Capote might be trying to tell us Perry's life shouldn't have came to this point, it just had a massive turn and now he is stuck.
Karol Gonzalez
7/29/2017 02:26:19 pm
I like the ideas you gathered to come up with the conclusion that Perry is the protagonist, Tiare. I can see how one can mistake a protagonist and antagonist in a story such as this one, as you implied. Where it seems like Perry is a bad guy, which he is since he murdered people, but the main character does not always have to be good. The main character is the one who goes in depth what the situation and understands it in a perspective no one else can see.
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Ingrid Diaz
8/6/2017 11:24:38 pm
I agree with Star, Perry could be the protagonist of the story because the protagonist is the main character in a story and in the book there is a lot of information about him. I also think he could be the Protagonist because of the tone used when the author was writing about Perry.
De’Jah Donahue
8/13/2017 07:51:21 pm
This definitely makes sense to me and I see exactly where you are coming from. I believe that it can be argued that Perry is both the protagonist and the antagonist. As I explained in my own comment, Perry’s story is one of great significance because he was the one everyone thought was the better person and heavily influenced by Dick when it was actually the other way around. Nonetheless he still murdered four people in cold blood.
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Melany Montesdeoca
8/14/2017 09:08:01 pm
I agree with you the form in which the story is constructed and written it is hard to depict who is the protagonist in the story. I do believe perry is the perry is the protagonist in the story despite being the "bad guy" since he is the murderer
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Kyuante Coleman
8/15/2017 11:48:33 pm
I agree that there is no protagonist here. We could only kind of see the antagonist since it is the main character who is causing harm or hurting the protagonists in a way.
Chantal Garcia
8/15/2017 09:23:53 pm
Yes I definitely agree with this. Once I immediately saw this question, I quickly thought that it had to be Perry. The reason why I think this is because the way Capote was indeed concentrating more on Perry and Dick but mostly more on Perry. I felt that interest he had on Perry and trying to dig for more about him. Perry isn't classified as a good guy but deep down I feel he is.. it's just he quickly changes when starts thinking of his past and just how beaten up he is from his past created him. Perry doesn't have a clear motive as to why he did what he did like we can all figure out why but then even Perry has second thoughts in my opinion.
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Jordan Wright
8/15/2017 11:16:39 pm
I agree completely. Capote gives us so much detail on Perry that it would make sense for him to be the unofficial protagonist of this story. As I read the book, I started to wonder if there was a particular reason for him spending so much time on this one particular person
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Markyla Thompson
8/16/2017 06:32:46 am
I totally agree! While i was reading this was a question was floating in my head. Who was the real protagonist? While I agree with Tiare one hundred percent, I also thing that Perry and Richard could be protagonist in a certain way. For example, Perry stopped Richard from raping young girls. Who feels different?
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Karol Gonzalez
7/29/2017 02:17:50 pm
As I'm reading the book, it is hard to tell who is the true protagonist in the story. A protagonist is an important (main) character that is involved in a conflict or cause. It seems to me that there are a few people that can possibly be the protagonist in the story, those people include Mr.Clutter and Perry because they are mentioned more than other characters in the beginning of the book. I think the author does not want to directly assign a protagonist in the story since he gives a good insight of each character.
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Veronica Viramontes Saab
8/6/2017 10:16:13 pm
I agree with you Karol. I was also having a hard time trying to find out who exactly was the protagonist in this book. I like how you included the definition of it in your summary as well. I also agree with you that there were endless possibilities on who could actually be the protagonist because each character that would be introduced would have a good description of themselves. All characters were equal up to a certain point, and none of them really exceedingly stood out as more important than others, really.
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Krisitna Vargas
8/8/2017 03:03:07 pm
I agree with you on that the author doesn't really assign a protagonist. In my opinion i feel like the author is giving us the opportunity to chose in our understanding of a protagonist who we think t is, or if we think there is multiple protagonists.
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Saniyah Jordan
8/14/2017 10:41:09 am
I also agree with you. I don't think there was a protagonist. The novel is really unique so it was hard for me to pinpoint a specific one
Joanthan Vega
8/15/2017 08:47:19 pm
Kristina you brought out a wonderful point. As I was reading this book it did not bring up to my attention that there was one main character. I believe that the author gave us a taste of all the characters within the book. Now it is up to us to choose our understanding and carry the thought of maybe having more than one protagonist
Isabell Gonzalez
8/10/2017 09:27:14 pm
I totally agree with you, finding a direct protagonist in the story is a bit difficult. Personally I wonder why the author made it like that, why not have a direct protagonists? There are multiple people in the book, with a different view of things.
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Karen Diaz
8/15/2017 05:59:01 pm
Yes I agree when I was reading the book I thought a specific character could've been the protagonist like Perry because I saw all the information But then I could see other people being the protagonist so I think there's no protagonist which is interesting because you get the interpret the book in a different way.
Evelyn Padilla
8/15/2017 10:19:13 pm
I agree with you, this question has been bothering me through out the whole book because he doesn't truly assign someone to the protagonist spot like how other authors have done in the pervious books we've read. But yeah, the part about how you said he wants everyone to be on the same level i guess makes sense because he wasn't us to have a "good" perspective on the characters
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Maryfer Palacios
8/1/2017 09:43:23 am
Since the beginning, I believed that Perry was the protagonist. Capote would describe Perry and his miserable in such pitiful way. It make me feel sorry and compassion for Perry. To me, a protagonist is not meant to be a good person. Perry is the protagonist for he is a significant character that presents the reader with a different perspective. I saw his past and tragic life experiences to blame for his mental view and amoral actions. *SPOILER ALERT At the end, he directly proves his internal good by apologizing before he is hanged. Such a person that has murdered four people may not seem a protagonist, but seeing beyond his doings, we see he withhold his person, tried to live a happy life and yet he had to die before he could possibly find help or a place in the world.
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Veronica Viramontes Saab
8/6/2017 10:03:56 pm
A protagonist in a story is usually the one main character that stands out from everyone else in the story. In In Cold Blood, I'm not sure that I really see ONE person actually stand out from anybody, really. Although some characters are mentioned more slightly than others, if I had to take a guess as to which character would be the protagonist, I would say Perry, but then since he is the murderer, he would be the antagonist, but not all main characters have to be good, do they?
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Million Abay
8/12/2017 05:07:16 am
I agree with your idea that in the novel there is not one person who stands out the most or is mentioned the most to the point where the would be labeled a protagonist. If a protagonist was simply based on the fact of who was mentioned the most I would consider no one this novel to be the main character.
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Kristina Vargas
8/8/2017 02:57:16 pm
At the beginning i really didn't know who the protagonist was. I was literally about to read the first section again because it was driving me crazy that i couldn't figure it out .Than it hit me. In my opinion people usually think that a protagonist is a leading character or one of the main characters in a novel or basically anything that has a situation, which in this case that was me. In this novel in my opinion there is multiple main characters not just one.The protagonists Herb Clutter, Perry Smith, Alvin Dewey and Dick Hickock.
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Chelsea Bautista
8/14/2017 07:38:07 pm
I could not agree more! I believe that in this particular book/story there is more than one protagonist. Many of the characters had a big impact on what happened next or why something was happening. Alvin Dewey has the whole hunt going on for Perry and Dick since they were the ones responsible for the death of the family. It’s like a chain reaction. One person does something that causes someone else to do another thing and those characters are the ones (in my opinion) the ones with the highest or major role in the book.
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Isabell Gonzalez
8/14/2017 08:06:15 pm
I could not agree with you more, the more you read the book you begin to wonder who the protagonists is. At first I never thought about it that way because usually there is one specific character but in this case it isn't.
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Ho Kwan Cheng
8/15/2017 10:59:06 pm
I was confused about who is the protagonist at the beginning too, and I agree with you that a protagonist should be leading the story so I think Perry is the protagonist.
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Million Abay
8/12/2017 05:18:27 am
In my opinion, the definition of a protagonist is the main character of a novel who you can sympathize for. With that said, targeting the protagonist would leave many stuck between Perry and Mr. Clutter. I believer Truman Capote wants us to see Perry as more than a murderer, but as a person too. I think this novel was meant to have more than protagonist or none at all.
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Ron Scott
8/12/2017 06:01:47 pm
I agree with you Million. There is either multiple protagonists or none. It's seems like there a so many diverging story lines to follow. Maybe the book wasn't meant to have a protagonist, it could just be telling a story with characters no greater or lesser than one another.
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De’Jah Donahue
8/13/2017 07:52:13 pm
Herb Clutter, Perry Smith, and Alvin Dewey are all protagonists, in my opinion. This book was written because Perry And Dick decided to hit a “score”. This score later resulted in the death of four members of the Clutter family. This is where Herb comes in as being a protagonist. He is the head of his family. He’s the one everyone talks about because of who he was and his authority. Back to Perry, Capote focuses deeply on his childhood, adulthood, and his relationship with his father. I say he is a protagonist because his story is important. He, not Dick, was ruled as mentally incompetent. Alvin Dewey has minor importance but still plays a part in the conviction of the two perpetrators.
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Adrian Fernandez
8/14/2017 02:12:32 pm
Picking only one character to be the protagonist is challenging since there are many who seem to be the leading character in this book. At first I was stuck between Herb and Bonnie. I leaned closer to the protagonist being Herb Clutter since he's a wealthy Holcomb, Kansas wheat farmer, father of four, and husband to his wife, Bonnie. Another person came to mind when thinking about the protagonist, and that person is Perry Smith, and Dick Hickock who are the killers of the Clutter family. Lastly, Alvin Dewey came to mind since he and his agents lead the manhunt for the ones responsible for the murder. After finishing the book I’m still torn between who the protagonist is.
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Chelsea Bautista
8/14/2017 07:49:17 pm
I had the same problem of trying to pick only one person to be the protagonist of the whole entire story. The cause of that problem is probably because not one person deserves to or can be the lead character. Not everyone is the major character in this story, that’s obvious, but for the ones that are everyone can see how Perry for example can be a protagonist but Floyd Wells isn’t thought of as a protagonist even though his part is somewhat important. Bottom line, the decision is difficult but we can for sure name out who the top people or the most important characters are.
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8/14/2017 09:12:44 pm
As for me, I believe that Perry, since as many of schoolmates mentioned here, there were a large portion described Perry. And also, when I was reading this book, more background of Perry made me feel that not only the Clutters were victims, but also Perry was. Thus, in this way, I thought this book seemed to give more and more details about the aspects of the society, which also explained the causes that gradually led Perry be not normal.
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Melany Montesdeoca
8/14/2017 09:16:39 pm
In the story In cold blood it was hard to depict who was the protagonist in the story. I felt that there was various protagonist while in the same time being no true protagonist. The form in which the story was written the characters and their back story. Perry backstory was focused a great amount through the story and made me think him as the true protagonist. Perry was also the murderer in the story which made me depict him in a different form and makes me considered if he is true protagonist in the story.
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Edgar Garduno
8/14/2017 11:48:04 pm
In my opinion, Perry is the protagonist of the book. His story of past abuse and current narrative in the book amplify his presence as an important character. He is the more "noticed" of the two and tends to be the one calling the shots in their string of illegal hijinks.
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Yuxin Hong
8/15/2017 12:46:53 am
Our classmates' replies make me think many times, finally I do agree with that Perry is the main character. Yes, he is the one that Capote depicts the most. We really see many things and consider many reason cause he "In Clod Blood" through the descriptions of Perry.
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Makiya Baskerville
8/15/2017 07:07:12 pm
When I think of protagonist, I think of innocence. The one who shows good instead of evil. In this book I can't say there is one person who is the protagonist. I believe there can be more than one. Maybe in this story, it is not meant to have a protagonist. The antagonists are easily identified. If anyone is a protagonist, I believe the whole family were protagonists. In the way the story is told, maybe it's not meant to have a protagonist.
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Armani Pace
8/15/2017 07:09:42 pm
I feel like the protagonist of this story was Perry. A protagonist is the main character of a story or movie. The Clutter family is dead so none of them can be the protagonist so that leaves Dick and Perry. Overall, more information was given about Perry so I feel he is the protagonist.
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Armani Pace
8/15/2017 07:45:47 pm
One question said that some people thought Truman Capote favored one character from the book and said he was closes to this character the most during research. Which person in the book do you think it was? (It wouldn't allow me to comment under that post so I'm doing it here)
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Diana Almanza
8/15/2017 08:12:32 pm
Personally I feel like the protagonist in "in cold blood" is nobody less than the murderer. Without him there would be no plot, no story, the book would be dead.
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Edgar Godinez
8/15/2017 10:46:33 pm
In Cold Blood it is quite the struggle to find the protagonist, but i’ve come to the conclusion that Perry is the protagonist. Perry was mentioned a numeral of times and is considered as an important character that deals with certain changes and conflicts during the story. So, he would be most likely to be considered as the protagonist. The author made it rather complicated to find the protagonist because of the many characters that are mentioned but Perry is the best description of the protagonist.
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Ho Kwan Cheng
8/15/2017 10:57:04 pm
I think it is hard to tell who is the protagonist because the characters all seemed to be important, but then i thought a protagonist should be leading the story so I think it is Perry.
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Anna Antunez
8/15/2017 11:30:35 pm
I feel that the protagonist of the book is Perry Smith because through the book we get more details of his life growing up more than we do for the other characters in the book. we learn more of his childhood and how he became the man he did when he murdered the Cutter family.
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Jelani Jackson
8/16/2017 12:30:59 am
I'm on the verge, but I agree with you Anna. I think that Perry is the closest character to being the protagonist although it was quite difficult honestly because of how many characters are in the book. We do learn a bit more about Perry than anyone else though.
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Jelani Jackson
8/16/2017 12:28:35 am
Why do people just wake up one day and decide to kill someone? How can people do that and have a clean conscience? They just go and murdered people with no mercy or remorse, I just do t understand....
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