'Feeling wouldn't run half so high if this had happened to anyone except the Clutters. Anyone less admired. Prosperous. Secure. But that family represented everything people hereabouts really value and respect, and that such a thing could happen to them--well, it's like being told there is no God. It makes life seem pointless. I don't think people are so much frightened as they are deeply depressed' (Capote 88)
The Clutter's influence on the community is so extensive that their loss damages it beyond repair. The Clutter's represent everything you want in small town USA. They are the 'perfect' family in a sense. They were the glue to the community by being so active in it.
Their sudden and tragic death left citizens feeling that "life [seemed] pointless." All of their friends "are deeply depressed" for good reason. The Clutter family "represented everything people [there] really value and respect" and all of that was lost with their death. Such a loss in a community can ruin life for a long period of time.
The mourning of the Clutters is a public matter, for they were public people. This simple fact is what made their deaths so notable. It also made every person with a connection to them feel unsure. The safety they always felt with the Clutters was just as brutally murdered. If something like this could happen to such a loved family, it surely could happen to anyone. The people of Holcomb are not just scared. The loss of a dear friend is a heartache to anybody. Since the Clutters were friends to almost everyone in town, everybody shares the general loss felt.
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