Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Does the fact that Capote likely altered some of the dialogue and characterization in the book affect its merit as an example of the nonfiction novel? Does it affect your enjoyment of the work?
- If the murder victims weren't as white, prosperous, or well-liked as the Clutter family, do you think Capote would have written this book?
- What's the effect on the reader of the author's technique of alternating between stories of the killers and the stories of the rest of the characters?
- What techniques does the author use to make this a nonfiction novel rather than just a history or work of journalism?
- Even though we know immediately that the Clutters were murdered, the author doesn't give us the eyewitness details until 264 pages in. What's up with that?
- What would this story have looked like if it had appeared as a journalistic article in the New York Times or your local newspaper? (You can ask your parents what a newspaper is.)
- Would the story have been told differently if the author hadn't been an outsider to Kansas?
- If you lived in a small town where there were killers presumed to be on the loose, would you stick around?
- Why do you think Capote became a raving alcoholic after writing this book?