Morality or Murder in In Cold Blood
Parents directly influence a child's morals and values through emulation of parental conduct (Lickona 21). The moral guidance we offer to them is added up and imitated by what they see (Coles 7). I believe that morality is the result of a triad of developmental qualities. Our emotional development makes us feel guilty when we do wrong. We experience social development that results in specific actions toward others and, finally, we gain cognitive development that permits us to empathize. Our morality comes to the forefront early in childhood. In elementary school, "a child becomes an intensely moral creature" (Coles 98).We develop a moral imagination, a capacity to reflect upon what is right and wrong with all the emotional and intellectual resources of the human mind (Coles 3). This is where we decide what we ought to do or not to do and why (Coles 7). Our moral thinking is also shaped by influences outside the home, by class and race, by social events, by cultural forces, and the assumptions that are fostered as a result of these influences (Coles 3). And we cultivate a moral intelligence from our imagination and our thinking. Our moral intelligence is a consequence of learning to be with others (Coles 5). Children
Although Perry was portrayed as an "amateur psychoanalyst" (Capote 302), he is viewed as introspective. He did not seem willing to face his imperfections openly. Even viewing his bodily imperfections was performed within small closed places (like a cheap hotel room and a men's room at the gas station). He did not like even his close friend Dick to discuss his disability with him. He frequently swallowed aspirin, more out of habit than out of need (Capote 53-55), as though the aspirin would cure that which ailed him internally. We can deduce that his twisted, mangled legs represented a part of his inner psyche that also was twisted and mangled. Although premeditated, he, when paired with Dick, could have murdered anyone. Perry needed Dick because he was the planner, the con artist that could defy circumstances, but Perry actually slashed Herb Clutter's throat and shot all four of the family members in their heads. He resented the "all American family", the morality that they represented. The rage of his inability to measure up to this level, to achieve this type of morality is what permitted him to kill. Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. New York: Vintage International, Vintage Books, A will absorb what they observe (Coles 7). Morality is not a subject; it is a life put to the test in hundreds of moments. August Aicchorn, a noted psychoanalyst, believed "waywardness of 'antisocial adolescents' is in direct proportion to the peculiarities of their moral education" (Coles 32).
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Approximate Word count = 1263
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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