Quote #1: "But also--I'll be honest--I had faith in Dick; he struck me as being very practical, the masculine type, and I wanted the money as much as he did. I wanted to get it and go to Mexico. But I hoped we could do it without violence" (234).
Quote #2: "I wasn't kidding him. I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat" (244).
Quote #3: "Although none of the journalists anticipated violence, several had predicted shouted abuse. But when the crowd caught sight of the murderers, with their escort of blue-coated highway patrolmen, it fell silent, as though amazed to find them humanly shaped" (248).
Quote#4: Then he said something about a movie...said this show took place in Biblical times, and there was a scene where a man was flung off a balcony, thrown to a mob of men and women, who tore him to pieces. And he said that was what came to mind when he saw the crowd on the Square. The man being torn apart. And the idea that maybe that was what they might do to him. Said it scared him so bad his stomach still hurt...Course he was wrong, and I told him so--nobody was going to harm him, regardless of what he'd done; folks around here aren't like that" (253).
Quote # 5: "And now I think of you, and wonder what you think about. I didn't know what to say to my brother in the last weeks before he died. But I know what I'd say now. And this is why I am writing you: because God made you as well as me and He loves you just as He loves me, and for the little we know of God's will what has happened to you could have happened to me" (261).
Quote # 6: "And most of the ministers are opposed to capital punishment, say it's immoral, unchristian; even the Reverend Cowan, the Clutters' own minister and a close friend of the family, he's been preaching against the death penalty in this very case. Remember, all we can hope is to save your lives. I think we stand as good a chance here as anywhere" (266).
Quote # 7: "I have always felt a remarkable exhilaration being among people with a purpose and a sense of dedication to carry out that purpose. I felt this about you in your presence" (276).
Quote # 8: "'There's nobody much I can talk to,' she told her companion. 'I don't mean people haven't been kind, neighbors and all. And strangers, too--strangers have wrote letters to say they know how hard it must be and how sorry they are. Nobody's said a mean word, either to Walter or me ...Sheila, that's her, she says it's not our fault what happened. But it seems to me like people are looking at me and thinking, Well, she must be to blame somehow. The way I raised Dick. Maybe I did do something wrong'" (287).
Quote #2: "I wasn't kidding him. I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat" (244).
Quote #3: "Although none of the journalists anticipated violence, several had predicted shouted abuse. But when the crowd caught sight of the murderers, with their escort of blue-coated highway patrolmen, it fell silent, as though amazed to find them humanly shaped" (248).
Quote#4: Then he said something about a movie...said this show took place in Biblical times, and there was a scene where a man was flung off a balcony, thrown to a mob of men and women, who tore him to pieces. And he said that was what came to mind when he saw the crowd on the Square. The man being torn apart. And the idea that maybe that was what they might do to him. Said it scared him so bad his stomach still hurt...Course he was wrong, and I told him so--nobody was going to harm him, regardless of what he'd done; folks around here aren't like that" (253).
Quote # 5: "And now I think of you, and wonder what you think about. I didn't know what to say to my brother in the last weeks before he died. But I know what I'd say now. And this is why I am writing you: because God made you as well as me and He loves you just as He loves me, and for the little we know of God's will what has happened to you could have happened to me" (261).
Quote # 6: "And most of the ministers are opposed to capital punishment, say it's immoral, unchristian; even the Reverend Cowan, the Clutters' own minister and a close friend of the family, he's been preaching against the death penalty in this very case. Remember, all we can hope is to save your lives. I think we stand as good a chance here as anywhere" (266).
Quote # 7: "I have always felt a remarkable exhilaration being among people with a purpose and a sense of dedication to carry out that purpose. I felt this about you in your presence" (276).
Quote # 8: "'There's nobody much I can talk to,' she told her companion. 'I don't mean people haven't been kind, neighbors and all. And strangers, too--strangers have wrote letters to say they know how hard it must be and how sorry they are. Nobody's said a mean word, either to Walter or me ...Sheila, that's her, she says it's not our fault what happened. But it seems to me like people are looking at me and thinking, Well, she must be to blame somehow. The way I raised Dick. Maybe I did do something wrong'" (287).
Quote #7: Smith was a good man when he was younger. He tried to do the right things then things just changed. He started killing people and stealing things, so his life was going down hill. He got put in jail a few times. He then got out and wanted to change his life around. He then got a job and he felt honored to be around real people and people that will succeed in there life. I feel like people that are so called bad can change, it may take them a while but in their heart if they really want to they can make that change and be a better person. Maybe not everyone will change but if they really want to they will.
ReplyDeleteQuote #7: I didn’t realize how much crime Perry committed until I read all of what he had done. I feel like some people can never change without changing themselves and it seems like Perry might actually be on the right track when he wrote his little postscript. I know exactly what he meant/ felt when I read that. In real life as well I get the same feeling of exhilaration when I am around people that are really devoted to accomplishing something. I think the best thing we can do in our society today is surround ourselves with people who are devoted.(Taylor Penzer)
ReplyDeleteQuote #2: "I wasn't kidding him. I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat" (244).
ReplyDeleteThis is when Perry is being interviewed by Dewey and Duntz. I think this is another example how Perry has such a complicated personality. As his sister was telling Dewey, that he can be so persuasive and not to buy into it, basically. Another example of Perry acting like this is when they were robbing the family and Dick wanted to rape Nancy but Perry told him he might kill him if he did that, when Perry ends up killing Nancy anyway? Its like his morals are very contradicting, because he also says the "[he] can steal from someone, but [he] would never rape them". But on the other hand he is able to kill them? It leads me to think that he has a split personality disorder, or something of the nature.
Quote #2: "I wasn't kidding him. I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat" (244).
ReplyDeleteIn this quote, Perry has a very weird and complicated personality, like Lucy said above. This is all from his childhood. He keeps tacky souvenirs and notebooks all from his past trying to remember good things; I think this means that he himself is confused about it, too. His father wrote a letter a while ago to get him out of jail early saying he was a normal child that liked to go against authority sometimes. That doesn’t sound normal to me because I’ve never gone against authority before. Most of his siblings have died but the one that hasn’t, he loathes. I think all of this adds up to why he says he won’t rape a girl but he would kill her because honestly, he is messed up. I don’t think meeting Dick helped him become better because Perry has some morals when Dick doesn’t have any at all.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteQuote #5:
ReplyDeleteThis quote is from the letter Don Cullivan wrote to Perry. Don Cullivan is posing as a young soldier in the photo that Perry doesn’t recognize at first, but afterwards something sparks in his brain and he does after all. Don talks about beforehand how he “used to just drift along with little though about the only important thing there is. I never considered death or the possibility of a life hereafter.” He was preoccupied by other things most young people are busy with. Before this quote he mentioned is brother had leukemia at 17. In this quote when he says “God made you as well as me and he loves you just as he loves me” it makes me think of how God loves everyone equally and everyone has an equal chance or what happens to them. In my opinion, we’re all human, we’re no better than each other. What happens to the person next to me can just as easily happen to me the next day. Sometimes it’s whether you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, or even the right place at the right time.
Quote 6: This quote is by the killers’ defense attorney and it doesn’t really show a sense that the attorney himself even understands just how horrible this crime was. He is either trying to reassure the killers Perry and Dick that they have a chance to escape the death penalty or maybe he even believes it himself. To me he is showing his naivety when he says that even the Clutter’s minister doesn’t believe in the death penalty. Does he truly think anyone who committed that kind of murderous violence against a whole family would be allowed to live? Even if you don’t believe in capital punishment this crime committed against personal acquaintances would make you reevaluate your position on capital punishment.
ReplyDeleteSmith and Hickock are kept in separate cells of the county prison which it thought was pretty weird,but Smith wants to amend Hickock's confession to say that he, Smith, killed all four Clutters. The reason for this, he "claims", is to give Hickock's mother peace. Dewey refuses this request. Smith and Hickock continue their mutual love-hate relationship,each annoys and disgusts the other, but they are tied by this act of murder and their own insecurities.
ReplyDeleteTaylor Smith
ReplyDeleteQuote #2: "I wasn't kidding him. I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat" (244).
I agree with alex on this quote. I think this quote means that everyone was created the same, meant to be loved the same, and so on, and that what happened to them could have happened to anyone, as no one is loved more than anyone else.
"I wasn't kidding him. I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat"
ReplyDeleteI think this quote means that god made everyone eaual and to have there on personalitys. that everyone is love in there on and special way. It could happen to anyone with someone loved more but thats not right, you should love everyone equal.
"And most of the ministers are opposed to capital punishment, say it's immoral, unchristian; even the Reverend Cowan, the Clutters' own minister and a close friend of the family, he's been preaching against the death penalty in this very case. Remember, all we can hope is to save your lives. I think we stand as good a chance here as anywhere" (266).
ReplyDeleteI agree with the ministers. What Perry and Dick did was truly horrible but I think everyone deserves redemption. The Clutters were good people that I think would not want to kill Perry and Dick. They were religious people who went to church and followed god. And god forgives. So I think that the Clutters would want to give Perry and Dick their chance at redemption.
Quote 6
ReplyDeleteI find that this was a smart tactic of the defense attorney. Many can be lost in inhumane acts and forget that the people who committed them are human. It was an indirect way of saying capital punishment is not a godly way of sanctioning, especially for such a religious town. That alone might have saved their necks.