This passage in In Cold Bloodprecedes the story: "Men, our brothers, who live after us, Do not harden your hearts against us, For if you take...

Among the
reasons so many were shocked and affected by the murder of the Clutter family was that the crime
seemed to be meaningless and without motive. In the 1950s, the idea that a person or people
would kill someone for the thrill was incomprehensible and a clear indication that the person
who committed the crime was a monster. In light of that, one of Capote's objectives was to
demonstrate that, despite the violent and shocking nature of the crime, the murder wasn't the
act of a monster, but of an ordinary human being. Moreover, Capote largely avoids the good/evil
binary, choosing instead to explore how the personal history and...