Truman Capote In Cold Blood

“In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote

The novel “In Cold Blood” is authored by Truman Capote, who is highly known for his non-fiction writing style. The selected novel is based on the story of a small-town family who was murdered brutally from gunshots, including the two parents and their four children (Goodreads, n.a.). The novel is about the investigation where there were no clues and no clear motive behind the murder (Bauer & Tandon, 2019). This paper aims to discuss the use of symbols that the author used in this novel, which are the yellow bird, two grey cats, and the map.

The Yellow Bird

There are few instances in the book where the yellow bird appears, signifying a theme within the book’s text. It would be essential to understand Perry, one of the two young killers mentioned in the novel, who had dreams about the bird. It has a denotation of s symbolic message, which is relevant to a theme for this book.

The stating of the yellow bird initially starts when Perry is talking to Dick, another of the killers in the novel, about the way fate works and how life is shaped by the functioning of fate (Danny, 2009). He tells him that he has been dreaming about one type of dream since he was a child. The dream is about a tree bearing diamonds, but there is an unpleasant smell when Perry reaches there.

He is driven by his excitement for the diamonds and wants to take them, no matter what happens, and this is where a snake appears beside the tree. Perry is not concerned about the snake, but the snake does not spare him; it takes Perry by his legs and crushes them where Dick seemed uninterested in the rest of his dream. Perry is again taken back to his dreams, where in the beginning, a yellow bird was seen. When he spent his days in the orphanage where he had to bear with the trauma of nuns’ beating, those were the days when this bird appeared in his dreams showing that it was inflicting pain onto the nuns and taking Perry to a better place.

The role of the bird could be seen as that of a savior and hope who tried to take him away from his disagreeable surroundings and people. The bird freed him of the hostility that Perry, as a child, had to tolerate when he was a child. It could be inferred that the yellow bird symbolizes the theme of freedom and lifesaving power for Perry. When Perry was in his darkest hour, the bird was there to help him.

Although the role of the yellow bird kept on evolving throughout the novel, from being a savior to becoming a revenger, the theme applicable to the bird was the same. Even when in jail, the idea behind the yellow bird remained freedom since Dick and Perry wanted to free themselves from incarceration. The central idea of the bird coming into his dreams was not that Perry wanted it to come; the yellow bird was always there in his subconscious whenever Perry was feeling distressed.

Two Grey Cats

The citing of two grey cats in the novel represents Dick and Perry, who used their sly moves to benefit. They both belonged to underserved areas of society and never gained what they should have for a prosperous life. They were in jail and wanted to be free, whereas Mr. Clutter was a successful man who has accomplished much in life (Schwertner, 2009).

There is one instance in the novel where the cat was told to be attacking the dog living across the street, and his eyes might be getting hurt. It could be implied that Capote wanted to denote the cats as Dick and Perry, who wanted to attack the dog, Mr. Clutter. Although, in normal life, it is rare to see a cat attack a dog so that he is harmed unless the cat is threatened.

The theme of sly moves by the two cats was denoted in the novel with the symbolization of two grey cats. The cats’ color determines that the cats were not in a gratifying condition and were ready to try anything cunning to get their way. They were considered sneaky and clever, whereas the depiction of Dick had already been terrifying in the text.

The cats could be using their paws as dangerous instruments or weapons for attacking Mr. Clutter, for whom they might have gained some reward afterward. The two grey cats were of no use to the world and wandered with no specific aim as they were shown as outsiders and belonged to no one. They were left alone later as they had no close ones to whom they could return. It symbolizes the stray cats that have no particular homes and could be violent when the need arises.

The Map

Another symbol that has been used craftily by the author is that of the map. Perry is introduced to have a passion for traveling. He has numerous maps of every state of the Union, Canada, South America since he wanted to travel to far lands of the world (Ekanayake, 2018). The map depicted his discontent, escape, and hope. Discontent was the theme because he could not travel and could not pursue what he aspired for.

He did carry his maps everywhere since he considered them as his precious properties. Escape could also be a relevant theme portrayed by the map since when he was in jail, he formulated a map over there in which he thought the map could help him be free. He hoped that he would be released from incarceration and the map could assist him in safely getting out of the prison.

It becomes a matter of emphasis within the novel text, to which he puts on the same symbol when the story evolves. For example, if the map has been connected with discontent, his unfulfilled dreams of traveling. If again the map appeared with the theme of escape and hope, he valued his freedom linked with the map only.

Another illustration of the map is shown in the context of another character of the novel, Mr. Clutter. A map of River Valley farm was seen in his belongings which could be deduced that portrayed his own family. He treasured his family and was reminded of them along with his home and work.