What is Truman Capotes rhetorical purpose in writing In Cold Blood?
I am so old that I remember when the murders in Kansas were committed & when “In Cold Blood” was first published. I was so scared while reading the book that I wore the home door locks out checking to see that they were locked! I do not exactly understand the words “rhetorical purpose” regarding this novel. Yes, we all know that Mr. Capote was against the death penalty. And the book made the death penalty by hanging very vivid! However, I cannot imagine anyone reading the book and not feeling that the killers should have received the death penalty for this crime. Frankly, I don’t know that Mr. Capote had a ‘rhetorical purpose’ in writing this book. I think he wrote it for its commercial value at the time. Whatever ‘rhetorical purpose’ is assigned to it later is really moot as far as I am concerned.
