This is the LAST set of questions for the class, so if you've been behind in answering them, try to at least do these (and make up any that you've missed--you can do the last two, even though they're pretty late!).
Answer TWO of the following:
Q1: While separated in prison, Perry writes in his diary, "Many thoughts of Dick," and suggests that the hardest thing for him is being separated from Dick. Does Capote suggest that Perry was in love with Dick? Is this feeling mutual? Might this also explain the "accident" that occurred at the Clutters? Is it just an irrelevant detail of a criminal's life...or an important piece of context?
Q2: What is revealing about the autobiographical sketches Dick and Perry write for the court psychiatrist? What do they reveal about their states of mind, mental competency, and general awareness of their crimes? Are they both playing at being victims? Are they enjoying their moment in the spotlight? Is this, in some sense, what both of them were waiting for?
Q3: On page 306, several people weigh in on what should happen to Dick and Perry, including the Reverend Post, who believes all criminals should have part of their brains removed to prevent further violence. What should be the just punishment for two men who killed a family for "forty dollars worth of loot"? Why do some people have problems with simply killing them, especially as the law allows it? What might some the 'gray areas' of hanging be?
Q4: In general, why do so many people feel compassion and mercy for Perry, especially if he was truly the one who committed the murders? Why do strangers such as Donald Cullivan travel all the way to Kansas in order to 'save' him? And why does even Dewey think he's an "exiled animal, a creature walking wounded, that the detective could not disregard" (341)? Is he simply good at duping people? Or is he another victim of this terrible accident in Holcomb, Kansas?
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