The End

Dewey had imagined that with the deaths of Smith and Hickock, he would experience a sense of climax, release, or a design justly completed. Instead, he discovered himself recalling an incident of almost a year ago, a casual encounter in Valley View Cemetery, which, in retrospect, had somehow for him more or less ended the Clutter case. (Capote 341)

Death doesn't bring anything for the living; It can only take away. Agent Dewey learns this at the end of the story. Though the death of the two murderers is supposed to bring justice, it does not. What the participants really needed was closure.

For Dewey it "more or less ended the Clutter case," to Bobby (Nancy's boyfriend) it was marrying a girl who understood his pain. Dewey sees that the effected parties have not forgoten but simply lived through the event.

This is the main moral to the retelling of the true events. Death affects us all, but how we deal with it is the real story. This story is not about death, but rather, the living. Every person in the story had a different perspective and something to add. Seeing and feeling each person made the real story come together. Whether it be the lives of the Clutters, two murders, or the Agent who fought to find the truth.

Whats Wrong

'Know what I think?' said Perry. 'I think there must be something wrong with us. To do what we did.'

'Did what?'

'Out there' (Capote 108)

This is the smallest inclination of a conscience we have seen so far out of these men. What they did would usually eat away at their thoughts. I feel this is the beginning of the end of their master plan.

Perry is the first to question "what [they] did... out there". Could this foreshadow something in the future or of their capture? This passage stood out to me as some sort of turning point for the happy couple. If they question what they did, feelings of guilt will follow. Is that what Perry is feeling? Guilt? Later on Dick brushes off Perry's concerns as unimportant. Will those concerns eventually surface in Dick's mind?

I believe Dick had it wrong. Instead of Perry being the conscienceless killer, he is. How could there not be "something wrong with [them]?" To do such a random cruel act and feel nothing is surely the sign of a brain defect. So who is really the 'cold blooded killer'?

Perry seems to be the more emotional of the two. He has a sketchy background of abuse and hardships. Dick does not understand these issues, nor does he try to. The lack of basic knowledge about the other, hinders their relationship on many levels. Now that doubts are creeping in, the pieces will fall apart.