How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Always certain of what he wanted from the world, Mr. Clutter had in large measure obtained it. On his left hand […] he wore a plain gold band […] which was the symbol, a quarter-century old, of his marriage to the person he had wished to marry…" (1.7)
Herb Clutter is nothing if not goal-oriented and determined, and it sounds like he was that way from Day One. You can just see the irony mounting as Capote describes Herb's continuing progress toward getting what he wanted out of life—a successful and prosperous farm, a beautiful family, and the esteem of his community.
Quote #2
[…] the son of a farmer, he had from the beginning aimed at operating a property of his own. Facing up to it, he resigned as county agent after four years and, on land leased with borrowed money, created, in embryo, River Valley Farm. (1.15)
River Valley Farm is a symbol of Herb's ability to envision his future and do what he must to make it happen, even resigning from a steady government job. The eventual selling off of the farm and its contents is a tragic symbol of the end of that dream. Nothing was left of it.
Quote #3
Since childhood, for more than half his thirty-one years, he had been sending out for literature ("FORTUNES IN SKIN DIVING! Train at Home in Your Spare Time! Make Big Money Fast in Skin and Lung Diving! FREE BOOKLETS…"), answering advertisements ("SUNKEN TREASURE! Fifty Genuine Maps! Amazing Offer!...'') that stoked a longing to realize an adventure his imagination swiftly and over and over enabled him to experience. (1.23)
We think this is another of Capote's genius moves: describing these clearly fantastic plans of Perry's just paragraphs after the story of Herb Clutter and his dreams.