Thursday, October 15, 2009
Perry and Dick
Perry and Dick were acquaintances when they were in the penitentiary together, but they were never that good of friends, not nearly as good of friends as Perry and Willie-Jay. In Perry's mind, Willie-Jay is the only person who really understood him. If this is the case, why did Dick and Perry reunite, and why did Dick choose Perry to help him with this mission and vice versa? What is similar about these two men that allow them to get along?
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Although Willie-Jay was the only person to truly understand Perry, they did not have a chance to reconnect when both of them were released on parole. Dick, however, sends a letter to Perry requesting his help. Dick believes that Perry, "possessed unusual and valuable qualities"(55) and because of this as well as Perry's other murder, which was committed, "simply for 'the hell of it'"(54), and his rare quality of being a "natural killer", Dick believes that Perry is the right man for the job.
ReplyDeletePerry, on the other hand, likes being partners with Dick because, "all the same, Dick was full of fun, and he was shrewd, a realist, he "cut through things" there were no clouds in his head or straw in his hair"(44) and he "was not critical of Perry's exotic aspirations"(44). Although Perry regarded Willie-Jay as a great person who truly understood him, he feels as though his relationship with Dick will be not only much more interesting, but will also allow him a partner in all his aspirations.
Aside from the similar tattoos that both men have on their bodies, the men have also been physically damaged, not that this is relevant to their friendship. What is relevant is that Dick is looking to kill, and he believes that Perry is a natural killer who has rare and interesting qualities. Although these men did not even know each other until the very end of their sentence, they are perfect partners for each other. Perry is looking for fun and excitement, and Dick is looking for a person like Perry who can kill just for the hell of it to help him on his mission.
When Perry was still in the penitentiary, Willie jay was one of the only people that understood who Perry was. Even though he was a great friend with him after they both got out of jail, they lost all form of communication. Dick and Perry knew who each other were in the Penitentiary but they never got to know each other, there relationship at that point was more just “acquaintances”. The reason that Dick and Perry got back together was that they kept in touch with each other after they got out of the penitentiary and Dick liked that Perry was a natural killer and didn’t care about Perry’s future plans. He believes that Perry can do what he said he could do and that he’s the right guy to accompany him. Also Perry thinks that Dick had realistic views about things and he was fun and easy going. Perry’s underlying motive for having Dick as a partner is that he wants a partner for all his future plans. They are both men on a mission of their own that have came together to form an important friendship in killing and other things. There opinions on each other are stated on pages 44-45 an 54-55, which basically gives you the idea of their thought process in choosing each other as partners. In the end Dick and Perry pick each other as partners because they think each other is the right person for the job and it satisfies both of there needs which makes it mutual and why both are apart of it.
ReplyDeleteThroughout my reading of In Cold Blood, I have noticed that Perry tends to have a egotistical and controlling personality. This type of interaction with people is commonly looked down upon. While in the Penitentiary, Perry found that he had a loss of control over his personal fate. For people who like to be in control of how they live their lives, this can be a big shocker and/or upset. Dick, on the other hand, is seemingly very manipulative. Dick apparently wants to take control of Perry for his own future personal use, and Perry, the aforementioned murder, also wants to use Dick for a similar motive. Dick could also be characterized as a pragmatist. The partnership that Perry and Dick find themselves in after getting out of the penitentiary is one of convenience, not a partnership made out of any true liking of each other.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the first section of In Cold Blood it is obvious that Perry had a special relationship with Willie-Jay. A relationship that Dick could never fill the shoes of however, Dick and Perry share their own relationship. Capote states, “Moreover unlike Willie-Jay, he was not critical of Perry’s exotic aspirations; he was willing to listen, catch fire, share with him those visions of ‘guaranteed treasure’ lurking in Mexican seas, Brazilian jungles.” (44) Dick and Perry reunite for the pure reason that Dick feels Perry and him are more similar then he thought in jail. Dick is a natural killer and Capote states that on pages 54-55 but along with that Dick feels that Perry is a born killer also. While in the penitentiary they connected in a way that Perry and Willie-Jay never did and that was the basis for each one wanting to help the other on their missions.
ReplyDeleteWillie-Jay was one of Perry's best friends while in penitentiary. Perry believed that Willie-Jay, "understood; disheartened but not disenchanted, he had persisted in courting Perry's soul until the day of its possessor's parole and departure" (43). This shows that Perry believed that Willie-Jay truly understood why he did they things he did. He believes that Willie-Jay understood Perry as a persona and accepted him for who he was as he truly believed that Perry had a good soul. Willie-Jay wrote a letter to Perry as Perry was being released from penitentiary. It said things such as, "You are a man of extreme passion, a hungry man not quite sure where his appetite lies... You are strong but there is a flaw in your strength, and unless you learn to control it the flaw will prove stronger than your strength and defeat you" (44). This letter showed Perry that Willie-Jay truly was a good friend, and that he acted as a guiding light to Perry.
ReplyDeleteDick decided that Perry would do a good job because he "decided that Perry possessed unusual and valuable qualities" (55). As well, "Dick became convinced that Perry was that rarity, 'a natural killer'--absolutely sane, but conscienceless, and capable of dealing, with or without motive, the coldest-blooded deathblows" (55). Dick believed that Perry was born with a gift in life. That gift was that he was a really good killer. Dick thinks that Perry knows exactly the right motives in killing someone and that he can really do a good job to help him in his mission. Dick knows that he is a good killer as he killed a man for the "hell of it" (54). Dick is positive that he made a good choice with Perry.
Perry believes that, "Dick was full of fun, and he was shrewd, a realist, he 'cut through things,' there were no clouds in his head or straw in his hair. Moreover, unlike Willie-Jay, he was not critical of Perry's exotic aspirations" (44). Perry liked Dick because he thinks that he can get a lot of fun adventure with Dick. He knows that Dick always has crazy ideas such as his mission that they are on. Perry wants to be part of Dick's fun filled life.
Meeting in the penitentiary Dick took to Perry it seems more than Perry took to Dick at first. Knowing how Perry had cold bloodedly killed a man already, Dick saw an opportunity to gain a friend who would be able to handle murdering more. Dick really only likes Perry for this reason, and so he puts up with his stories to finding treasure and his liking for Willie-Jay in prison. As for Perry, his friendship is slightly false. Yes, they got along on the level of two men who share the same experiences, such as prison and murder. But, the other things, like digging for buried treasure in Mexico are similar interests just so that Dick can use Perry. As for their meeting up in Kansas, Perry only really agrees in hopes that he might run into Willie-Jay, who is due to be released from prison the same day. Dick and Perry both have their own secret motives as to why they want to meet up with each other. Dick only wants Perry there because he believes he is a natural killer who can help him execute the murders of the four family members in Holcomb. And Perry only agrees for the slight chance of skipping out on the job and moving on with his friend Willie-Jay.
ReplyDeleteThe book makes it very clear why Perry went to Kansas, Willie-Jay. Even though that was not enough to prompt Perry to return to Kansas, this event and the promise of a "big score" from Dick was enough to make him return. It would seem that Perry has never really found any he really connected with, excluding Willie-Jay, and because of this his view of a person worth being friends with might be someone less than satisfactory simply because he has never found anyone above that level. Perry is also driven to seek out his fantasizes where there seems to be no problem, and when Dick tells him flaws in his plans, he shrugs them off and doesn't lessen. As for why Dick asked Perry to help him, the book is very clear on this as well. Perry had told Dick about the cold murders he had committed. Dick knew he needed someone with the characteristics of a cold killer, and Perry was the perfect man for the job. Never the less the two men know what they are doing, and both have reasons for why they need to do it. They also both know that once they do it they need to be able to trust each other, and both appear to trust the other.
ReplyDeleteWillie Jay was very similar to Perry back when they were in the penitentiary and while this friendship was taking shape, Dick developed a liking for Perry. This is mostly because Perry killed a man, although this seems like a highly unlikely thing for Perry to do. Dick is with Perry in this part of the book because he is using Perry. He needs Perry because he felt that Perry was the right man for the job. However, neither character understands that the other one is using them. Perry only went on this “treasure hunt” because he wanted to meet up with Willie Jay. At first the treasure hunt seems like the only thing they have in common. Ironically, both of their dislikes for the treasure hunt is what they have in common. In fact, Dick and Perry are completely opposite characters and this should account for why they like each other. One is controlling and made out to be masculine while the other is made to be weak and feminine. Although they do have some things in common, like their like for the color blue, their personalities are not the same at all. Opposites attract and that’s why they like each other so much.
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ReplyDeleteDick and Perry are working together because they think they were similar, even though they truly know nothing about each other. In reality "They two men had little in common, but they did not realize it, for they shared a number of surface traits" (30). Both of them have been in an accident that physically scarred them. Dick's face is uneven and Perry can barely walk because of his leg injuries. Visibly, they are alike. They are both in the penitentiary for the same reason: murder. These facts are mainly all that they have in common. We can assume by Dick's nature and planning that that he is a cold-hard killer. He thinks that Perry is a mindless murderer, as was stated in Lexi's post. However, Willie-Jay finds a side of Perry that Dick, and even Perry himself, can't see. Willie-Jay believes that, deep down, Perry is a good person except for one flaw. "Why this unreasonable anger at the sight of others how are happy or content, the growing contempt for people and the desire to hurt them? All right, you think they're fools, you despise them because of morals, thier happiness is the sourse of your fustration and resentment"(43-44). It seems that Perry lives an unhappy life and he's angry, possible even jealous, of those who don't. He feels the need to make them miserable, even to the point of killing them. Dick doesn't like Willie-Jay for two reasons. The 1st is Dick can't understand Willie-Jay and his morals as Perry can. The 2nd is Willie-Jay's sermon makes Dick feel alone. If Willie-Jay is right, it means that the man that Dick has found a companion in is nothing like him and that he was not the man for the job. As for Perry, there is a chance that he could have changed his ways. He may not have joined Dick and the crime may not have been committed. The only reason Perry traveled towards Dick was to meet Willie-Jay again. When he discovers that Willie-Jay is already gone, Perry gives up on the idea of seeing his true friend again, which can be translated as giving up on any chance of redemption. Dick doesn't have a problem with murder because he's a natural killer, and he convinces himself that Perry is too, so he sends for him to help with the "score". Perry joins Dick because, in the end, a life of murder is all he has left.
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