In In Cold Blood, what is the significance of Perry singing the song 'In the Garden'?

The
decidedly unreligious Perry Smith is depicted as singing the popular religious song, €˜In the
Garden on the night when he is to commit a shocking multiple murder. Capote has his reasons for
including this particular detail at this point in the story.

Throughout the
text Capote portrays Perry as a complex character who does not deserve to be written off purely
as a cold and callous killer. Without making any direct attempt to excuse Perrys actions, Capote
confronts the reader with a picture of a sensitive and even sympathetic character to some
extent. We are frequently referred to Perrys grim background of poverty and abuse and extreme
neglect, a factor that cannot be ignored in any discussion of his crimes. Along with this,
Capote makes a point of stressing Perrys better qualities, most of all his highly creative
abilities. He is often shown playing his guitar and singing, but all his talents go to
waste.

Capote implicitly condemns society for neglecting individuals like
Perry. The murder of the Clutters is figured, at least in part, as Perrys revenge on society for
his past deprivation: €˜Maybe it's just that the Clutters were the ones who had to pay for it,
he remarks.

Perrys rendition of an uplifting song like €˜In the Garden on the
eve of committing a ghastly crime at once tantalises and baffles the reader, thus evoking the
kind of complex response to Perrys character intended by Capote. It is also a narrative device
used for heightened dramatic and ironic effect.

It is noteworthy that the
song Perry sings is a religious one. Perry is generally shown to be anything but religious, at
least in the conventional sense. A lot of this has to do with his ill-treatment as a child in
orphanages run by nuns. Yet he responds emotionally to religion; he weeps when hearing Christmas
carols and paints pictures of Jesus in prison, prompting the Rev. Post to exclaim that anyone
who can produce such pictures €˜cant be a hundred per cent bad.  It is undoubtedly Capotes aim
to show that Perry, in spite of his terrible actions and lack of real repentance, is not a
hundred percent bad.

Finally, we can note that music is of itself a kind of
religious activity for Perry. His most treasured possession is his old Gibson guitar, and when
it is stolen he grieves its loss, for, as he says:

You
have a guitar long enough, like I had that one €¦ it gets to be kind of holy.

Music could have been Perrys salvation; instead, he ends up a
notorious murderer.