Character Traits Assignment

1. Herbert William Clutter

2. Bonnie Clutter

3. Nancy Clutter

4. Kenyon Clutter

5. Perry

6. Dick

I’ll assign you one of the above characters. In Part One, highlight or put brackets around all the parts of text in which Capote gives us information about this character. At times Capote explicitly describes the characters’ physical traits/personality; at other times he tells us something about the characters through their dialogue, their actions or the references made to them by other characters. Highlight or put brackets around any and all references to your character from Part One of the book. In the margin, briefly note what you can infer about the character through the information Capote has provided. For an entire page about a character you should have at least two annotations.Once you have finished the chapter, make a sketch of your character on a blank 8 ½ x 11 piece of paper. Justify the way you have done your sketch by referring to three different quotes. At least two of the quotes should refer to personality traits (not just physical traits). In three paragraphs on a separate sheet of paper, explain why you have drawn the character the way you did, using the quotes to support your artistic decisions.Due Wednesday, 10/22.

Capote’s Purpose

In Cold Blood is a good book for talking about “author’s purpose” –this involves figuring out what the author is doing in each section (exposition, description, furthering a particular argument, etc.) and then determining how the section fits into his overall purpose.(Does anyone want to guess what his overall purpose might be right off the bat?) For now, we’ll look at each section of Part One and ask ourselves, “What’s Capote doing here?” We’ll do a few together and then you’ll do the rest on your own.

  1. THE VILLAGE OF HOLCOMB STANDS . . .
  2. THE MASTER OF RIVER VALLEY . . .
  3. LIKE MR. CLUTTER, THE YOUNG . . .
  4. “GOOD GRIEF, KENYON! I HEAR . . .
  5. DICK WAS DRIVING A BLACK . . .
  6. NANCY AND HER PROTÉGÉ, JOLENE . . .
  7. THE TWO YOUNG MEN HAD . . .
  8. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN OLATHE, A . . .
  9. BY MIDAFTERNOON THE BLACK . . .
  10. KENYON HAD BUILT THE CHEST . . .
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  1. THE BLACK CHEVROLET WAS . . .
  2. THE GARDEN CITY REPRESENTATIVE . . .
  3. THE FOLLWING MONDAY, WHILE . . .
  4. THE TRAVELERS STOPPED FOR . . .
  5. NANCY’S BEDROOM WAS THE SMALLEST, . . .
  6. “THIS IS IT, THIS . . .
  7. HOLCOMB IS TWELVE MILES EAST . . .
  8. LARRY HENDRICKS, A TEACHER . . .
  9. EIGHT NON-STOP PASSENGER TRAINS . . .
  10. THE GRIM INFORMATION, ANNOUNCED . . .
  11. FAR OFF, IN THE TOWN . . .