Holly Harper

5th hour
11 May 2014
Nancys Bedroom Rhetorical Analysis
The novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote immortalizes the abrupt end of the lives of
the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas. The four members of the Clutter family, Herbert, Bonnie,
Nancy, and Kenyon, were murdered in their farmhouse in the middle of the night by two
strangers with no motive. In an excerpt from the novel, Capote goes into great detail describing
Nancy Clutters bedroom and simultaneously gives the reader a sense of Nancys innocence at
the time of her murder. He uses symbolism, vivid imagery, and juxtaposition to highlight this
innocence in an attempt to evoke sympathy from the reader.
The most obvious use of symbolism comes from Capotes mention of colors. Nancys
walls, ceiling, and everything else except a bureau and a writing desk were painted in shades
of pink, blue, and white. Along with the walls and furniture, there was a white and pink stuffed
bear that sat amid blue pillows on her bed. A pink bulletin board hung from the wall above a
white-skirted dressing table. The repeated mention of the same three colors over and over
emphasizes their importance symbolically - all three of these colors, white, blue, and pink,
represent innocence and childhood. White especially is a universal symbol of innocence and
purity, while pink and blue are often associated with younger children and therefore innocence.
These colors presence in Nancys bedroom is brought to the readers attention in order to draw
sympathy for Nancy Clutter in regards to her premature death.
In addition to the color of her belongings, Capote paints a vivid image of a few of the
pictures on Nancys pink corkboard. There were pictures of her nephew, her friend Susan

Kidwell, and her boyfriend Bobby Rupp, and in these pictures Bobby could be seen swinging a
bat, dribbling a basketball, driving a tractor, wading at the edge of McKinney lake. These
actions are all things that one would do during their childhood and Capote mentions them to
show the reader that Nancys murder took not only her innocence, but that of her young friends.
Another picture shows Nancy and Bobby in a leaf-dappled light looking at each other in an
unsmiling, yet amused way. This image highlights the youthful nature of Nancys relationship
with Bobby and reminds the reader that Nancy had only ever had one boyfriend and would never
grow up, get married, and start her own family. With these subtle reminders of her innocence,
Capote strengthens the readers emotional connection to Nancys tragedy.
Once this picture of innocence has been created, Capote abruptly and bluntly reminds the
reader of Nancys bleak end. He spends an entire paragraph elaborating on Nancys nightly
beauty rituals. On Saturday nights, such as it was the night she was murdered, this routine
involved washing, drying, and brushing her hair and setting out her clothes for church on Sunday
morning. That Sundays attire included nylons, black pumps, a red velveteen dress, which
Capote described as her prettiest, which she herself had made. Like the previous paragraph, all
of these details contributed to the image of Nancys innocence in the readers mind. However,
Capote quickly juxtaposes these examples of Nancys life by concluding the paragraph by stating
that the red velveteen dress Nancy had set out for church was the dress in which she was to be
buried. This juxtaposition sets details of Nancys life against a detail of her death and serves to
remind the reader of the abrupt end of Nancys life.
Ultimately, Capote creates a connection between the reader and Nancy. This connection
evokes sympathy from the reader as he paints pictures in their mind that reflect Nancys
innocence. Capote then abruptly reminds the reader of her death in order to gain shock value. All

of these responses are due to specific, intentional rhetorical strategies used by Capote. His use of
symbolism, imagery, and juxtaposition effectively portray Nancys youthful innocence and the
theft of that innocence; furthermore, they draw sympathy for Nancy Clutter from the reader
because of the connection established by the detailed writing.