In Cold Blood Socratic Seminar

Date: Thursday, October 12th

Grade – 50 points

Written Portion – 25 points

Choose two of the discussion questions below to answer in-depth in one-two paragraphs. Make sure to include insightful claims, explicit textual evidence, and thoughtful and developed warrant. You will turn this in after our seminar.

Spoken Portion – 25 points

You should be prepared to answer any of the discussion questions. Take notes on all of them, even though you will be more fully prepared for the two you wrote about. It may help to tab pages in the book that you might want to refer to in class.

You will be divided into two discussion groups, who will be assigned particular questions. You will not know which questions your group will be answering until you get to class.

You will be graded on thoughtful participation (not how often you speak), including claim, evidence, warrant, and building off peers’ ideas. You do not have to have claim, evidence, and warrant every time you speak, as you might ask questions to move along discussion, but you should strive to provide developed responses when possible.

*If you choose not to speak in class, we will have a make-up on another date for a reduced score.

Questions

Holcomb, Kansas, appeared to Capote as the very embodiment of traditional American ideas. Explain, therefore, how Capote views “traditional American ideas.” What does the novel reveal about the town? Why is this specific setting important in shaping the “nonfiction novel”?
Does In Cold Blood have a protagonist? Is it Herb Clutter? Dewey? Perry? The town of Holcomb? Someone or something else? Explain.
What role does "dreaming" play in the novel, both figuratively and literally? Why include dreams at all?
How did Capote build suspense despite the fact that readers know the ultimate outcome from the beginning of the book? How did he color the opening with a sense of impending doom?
Why has Capote chosen to leave himself out of the story, even though he developedclose relationships with some of the characters? Is this technique effective? Explain. Did you feel that Capote was truly absent from his work, or could you feel is presence in any way? Explain.
Because the Clutter family could not speak for themselves, Capote’s information about them was supplied by neighbors, friends, and other people who knew the family. Capote got most of his information about the perpetrators of the crime directly from them. How do these descriptions shape readers’ opinions about the victims and about the criminals? Does this matter?
Capote wrote what he termed a non-fiction novel. The combination was intended to achieve historical accuracy but also use fictional devices to shed creative light on actual events. In what ways is In Cold Blood like a fictional novel? In what ways is it like journalism? Did Capote achieve his goal?
Perry Smith eventually admitted that it was he alone who actually committed each of the four Clutter murders. At the trial, the prosecuting attorney told the jurors, “Regardless of who pulled the trigger on Richard Eugene Hickock’s shotgun, both men are equally guilty.” Dick steadfastly maintained that he was less guilty and did not deserve the death penalty because he “never touched a hair on a human head.” Which of these two points of view is more valid? Explain.
In the course of In Cold Blood, Truman Capote manages to create sympathy for almost every character at some point, whether the character is a murder victim, a murderer, a law-enforcement official, or an ordinary citizen. How and why does he create sympathy for all these characters?
Several arguments regarding the death penalty are presented in the book. Even the book’s title and its epigraph seem at odds. How do you think the book makes the reader think about this topic, and why? What do you think was Capote’s purpose regarding this issue?
What other questions/ideas did this book spark for you that you would like to discuss? Create a question, preferably tied to something explicit in the text, to move along conversation.