Learn about the Clutter family murders as detailed in Truman Capote's novel "In Cold Blood." Learn about Nancy Clutter and her life, including an analysis of her character.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Nancy Clutter in In Cold Blood | Family, Analysis & Quotes
Table of Contents
- In Cold Blood
- The Clutter Family
- Nancy Clutter: In Cold Blood
- The Clutter Case: Resolution
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the Clutter sisters still alive?
Both daughters who survived the Clutter family murders have passed away. Eveanna passed away in 2019 and a date is not listed for Beverly.
Is the Clutter family home still standing?
The Clutter family home is still standing. It was preserved by a family and looks almost unchanged from the time when the Clutter family lived there.
How is Kenyon Clutter characterized?
Kenyon Clutter is characterized as a young boy who spent a lot of time alone. He did not have many friends but he enjoyed playing instruments and working on machines and tinkering with electronics.
What were Perry Smith's last words?
Perry Smith's last words were, "It's a hell of a thing to take a life in this manner. I don't believe in capital punishment, morally or legally. Maybe I had something to contribute, something- It would be meaningless to apologize for what I did. Even inappropriate. But I do. I apologize."
Table of Contents
- In Cold Blood
- The Clutter Family
- Nancy Clutter: In Cold Blood
- The Clutter Case: Resolution
- Lesson Summary
In Cold Blood is a nonfiction novel published by Truman Capote in 1966. This title is thought to be the first narrative nonfiction book in its genre, since it describes a real-life event in a narrative form. The story is told in a way that entices the reader in the same way as a fiction story but is written to describe true events. This book is often regarded as one of the first investigative journalism or true crime novels written. The book details the murders of the Clutter family in 1959, a prominent farming family living in Holcomb, Kansas. Capote introduces us to the community, the family, and each family member, helping the reader to understand more about the people individually. The story details the lives of the convicted killers as well, including their backgrounds, early lives, criminal histories, and motives for killing the Clutter family. In Cold Blood illustrates the investigation from beginning to end, letting the reader uncover new information, and leads along with the characters in the story. The book ends with the trial and execution of the men responsible for the Clutter family murders, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock.
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Truman Capote worked with Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, in researching for this book. Capote and Lee were childhood friends who both enjoyed writing and helping each other with their work. For this novel, Lee acted as Capote's research assistant. Lee primarily researched the local town and the lives of the killers, presenting Capote with organized information to help write his book. Truman's research consisted of five years of interviews and conversations with those involved in the case, including both killers Hickock and Smith. Capote became close to both suspects, who he interviewed extensively. Interestingly, Capote did not take any notes or record any of these interviews. The book was a huge success, paving the way for the investigative journalism or nonfiction narrative genre to explode on the literary scene, but Capote was heavily criticized for not keeping more accurate notes from interviews.
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In November 1959, the Clutter family lived in Holcomb, Kansas, on a large farm called River Family Farm. Holcomb was a small and quiet agricultural town with a tight-knit community. The Clutter family was led by Mr. Clutter, a husband, father, and well-respected man in the community. Herbert Clutter was modestly wealthy and was known for working at the Federal Farm Credit Board during Eisenhower's administration. Many of the men who worked for Mr. Clutter regarded him as a good employer who paid decent wages. Mr. Clutter did not drink or smoke and enjoyed cooking and spending time with his family. His wife, Bonnie Clutter, experienced significant health problems, most notably depression, and was very unwell. She was a loving mother, but spent much of her time resting, leaving the house chores up to her husband and children. The Clutters had four children, three daughters and one son. The two eldest daughters were married and did not live at home. The two youngest, Nancy and her brother Kenyon, were both teenagers and still living at home. Nancy Clutter was an average sixteen-year-old girl, with many friends and a boyfriend, Bobby Rupp. She was class president at school and regarded as the town darling. Her younger brother Kenyon was thirteen years old and enjoyed playing music and driving cars with friends.
The Road to Murder
While serving time in prison for bad checks, Dick Hickock learned of a wealthy family man, Herbert Clutter, who apparently kept a safe with money at his home. Hickock heard this from his cellmate Floyd Wells. Wells had worked for Mr. Clutter doing farm work and told Hickock stories of the wealthy Mr. Clutter, who he said paid employees fairly and kept large amounts of money in a safe at his home. Wells said that once Hickock heard about the Clutter family, he would not stop questioning him for details about the family and the property. Hickock thought that the Clutter residence would be an easy robbery job and he became obsessed with planning the crime, using details given to him by Wells. When Hickock met Perry Smith while serving time in the Kansas State Penitentiary, Hickock shared his knowledge with Smith. The two planned to meet after being released on parole and drive to Kansas, where they would rob the family and flee to Mexico to live off the stolen cash. But their plan did not go as expected.
What Happened to the Clutter Family?
The night of the murder, November 15, 1959, was an average Saturday for the Clutter family. Herbert, Kenyon, Nancy, and her boyfriend Bobby watched television together, and then the family went to bed. Unfortunately, they did not know of the impending terror that Smith and Hickock had prepared for them. After midnight, the suspects broke into the Clutter home and attempted to rob the family safe.
When they learned there was no safe, Hickock and Smith then tied up and killed the four Clutter family members. The next morning the crime scene was discovered when the family did not show up for church. At the scene, the sheriff found that each family member had been tied up and killed by a gunshot to the head. Investigators also found a bloody shoe print and a ransacked purse. Very few clues were left behind at the scene of the crime and investigators had virtually no leads to follow.
The local community was shocked. News of the murders spread through the town quickly via radio and the Sunday morning church service. The Clutter family was very well-liked and respected, and no one thought something like this could happen in their small town. With no leads for suspects, citizens grew fearful of each other, not knowing if a murderer was hiding among them. Even Nancy's boyfriend, Bobby Rupp, was briefly considered a suspect in the investigation.
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Nancy Clutter's personality is brought to life through Capote's delicately crafted excerpts and stories about her. Readers learn about Nancy through recorded diary entries, conversations with friends, and her familial relationships.
Nancy Clutter was the youngest daughter of the Clutter family and was sixteen at the time of her death. She was an excellent student, president of her class, and enjoyed many extracurricular activities, including riding horses and mentoring younger girls in the community. Nancy was mature for her age and had close relationships with both her mother and father.
During interviews with Petty Smith, Capote reports that Smith recalled talking with Nancy before killing her. Nancy was the only family member whose mouth was not taped as she was having conversations with both Smith and Perry. Smith claimed that he stopped Hickock from raping Nancy on the night of the murders. During later confessions, Hickock confirmed that his intention was to rape Nancy, but Smith would not leave him alone to give him time to do it. Smith said that he did not like that Hickock could not control himself around the girl and that is why he stopped Hickock from raping Nancy.
Nancy Clutter: Quotes
Nancy is described in In Cold Blood as the "town darling." She devoted her time to church, school, her friends, and her boyfriend Bobby. Nancy was smart, well-mannered, kind, and mature. She spent a lot of her free time helping around the house cooking and cleaning. Mrs. Clutter suffered from depression and Nancy recognized her duty to care for her brother when her mother was unable to tend to the household duties. Nancy offered her time to other girls in town who needed her help. Capote remarks in the book that "she felt it her duty to be available when younger girls came to her wanting help with their cooking, their sewing, or their music lessons or as often happened, to confide." Nancy was mature and a natural leader, always willing to pitch in and help others as required.
Nancy was also close with her father and wanted to make him proud. Her father was concerned about her relationship with her boyfriend Bobby, and Nancy was torn about what to do. In a conversation with a friend, Nancy described the trouble she was having, saying "I just want to be his daughter and do as he wishes." Ultimately, Nancy never had to end things with Bobby because Smith took that choice away from her.
Nancy Clutter was a very detailed and organized person. She kept daily diary entries, recording every day with activities or events, and sometimes included drama with friends or her boyfriend. When reviewing Nancy's diary, investigators noted that Nancy's handwriting changed in both color and style because Nancy had not yet settled on one handwriting style. She described the reason to a teacher: "Because I'm not grown-up enough to be one person with one kind of signature."
Nancy Clutter: Analysis
Throughout the book, Capote alludes to a few instances in which Nancy may have predicted her own ending, characterizing Nancy's intelligence and gut instincts. For example, Nancy told her friend that she kept smelling smoke. Readers find out later in the story that one of the suspects smelled heavily of cigarettes. Another example is the red velvet dress that Nancy set out to wear to church just hours before the murders. Capote remarks that the dress she picked out for church "is the dress in which she was to be buried." While Nancy could not have predicted or known about these events, Capote brings her personality to life through the last few personal choices she made for herself when she was alive.
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The killers were identified when Hickock's old cellmate, Floyd Wells, heard a story about the murders on the radio. Wells told investigators he knew Hickock was responsible because he had planned to rob the Clutter family while in prison with Wells. After the murders, Smith and Hickock fled to Mexico. However, they were not able to find jobs and came back to the United States. The pair made their way through several states, stealing cars, pawning stolen goods, and writing bad checks. Investigators caught up to the pair in December 1959, meeting with them over parole violations. Smith and Hickock were questioned separately, enabling investigators to poke holes in their alibis until Hickock confessed to the crime with Smith. They were also still in possession of the shoe that left a bloody print at the crime scene.
The trial for Hickock and Smith began in March 1960, and they were both found guilty and sentenced to death for their crimes. The last words Perry Smith spoke, as recounted by Capote, were "It's a hell of a thing to take a life in this manner. I don't believe in capital punishment, morally or legally. Maybe I had something to contribute, something- It would be meaningless to apologize for what I did. Even inappropriate. But I do. I apologize."
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In Cold Blood is a nonfiction narrative journalism novel that details the Clutter family murders in November 1959. Nancy Clutter, at age 16, was the youngest daughter of the Clutter family who was killed by Perry Smith and Richard Hickock. Herbert Clutter and his family were chosen as targets because of their wealth. A beloved resident of the town who served as class president, Nancy was considered the town darling. She was always willing to help her mother, who suffered from depression, and helped mentor other local girls. Nancy was very organized, detailing her daily life in diary entries. From these entries, we learn that Nancy frequently changed her handwriting in an attempt to curate her own personality and identity. Nancy's boyfriend Bobby Rupp was briefly considered a suspect before law enforcement identified Smith and Hickock as the two responsible for the Clutter family murders. The last words of Perry Smith signaled that he thought he did not accomplish what he was capable of in his life.
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Additional Info
Who Is Nancy Clutter?
Nancy Clutter is sixteen years old when she is murdered by Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Described as 'the town darling', Nancy, along with her parents and younger brother Kenyon, are killed in their home in Holcomb, Kansas, on November 15, 1959.
The narrator describes Nancy as a friendly girl. 'Nancy was a pretty girl, lean and boyishly agile, and the prettiest things about her were her short-bobbed, shining chestnut hair (brushed a hundred strokes each morning, the same number at night) and her soap-polished complexion, still faintly freckled and rose-brown from last summer's sun. But it was her eyes, wide apart, darkly translucent, like ale held to the light, that made her immediately likable, that at once announced her lack of suspicion, her considered and yet so easily triggered kindliness.'
The seemingly random nature of the murder of this well-respected family shakes the town to its core, and Nancy Clutter, in particular, represents a promising life cut short by the brutal slayings.
Nancy's Activities
Nancy fills her days with activities. She stars in the school play; she teaches a younger girl to bake a pie. She talks to her best friend on the phone, and goes out with her boyfriend, Bobby Rupp. Nancy's full schedule, perhaps, serves to distract her from problems at home. Despite the loving nature of the Clutter family, all is not perfect. Bonnie Clutter, Nancy's mother, has significant depression, and Nancy is often required to take on her mother's chores at home.
Nancy's Murder
On the night the Clutter family is murdered, Nancy's boyfriend spends the evening watching television with the family. He shudders at the thought that the killer could have been waiting for him to leave before the attack. Nancy, as usual, decides to stay up later than the rest of her family. She calls this late night time her 'time to be selfish and vain.'
Before retiring, Nancy writes in her diary. She has changed the ink color at the beginning of each year. The narrator notes, 'But as in every manifestation, she continued to tinker with her handwriting, slanting it to the right or to the left, shaping it roundly or steeply, loosely or stingily - as though she were asking, 'Is this Nancy? Or that? Or that? Which is me?' Unfortunately, Nancy would not live long enough to find the answer to those questions.
When Nancy's body is found in her room the next day, 'She'd been shot in the back of the head with a shotgun held maybe two inches away. She was lying on her side, facing the wall, and the wall was covered with blood. The bedcovers were drawn up to her shoulders.'
The observers notice that 'she was wearing a bathrobe, pajamas, socks, and slippers - like, whenever it happened, she hadn't gone to bed yet. Her hands were tied behind her, and her ankles were roped together with the kind of cord you see on Venetian blinds.'
Perry Smith reports that Dick Hickock killed Nancy. Her last words, according to Perry, were 'Oh, no! Oh, please. No! No! No! No! Don't! Oh, please don't! Please!'
Nancy turns her face to the wall, according to the killer, looking away as the murderer approaches. Nancy's life is cut short, and she dies without reaching her potential or fulfilling her dreams.
Lesson Summary
Nancy Clutter is one of the four members of the Clutter family killed in 1959 by Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Nancy is described as 'the town darling' because of her friendly and unselfish nature. Nancy's boyfriend, Bobby Rupp, narrowly escapes the murderers, and it chills him to think the killers may have been hiding nearby on the night he last saw Nancy. Nancy Clutter is a sixteen-year-old with great potential, but her killers destroy her promising future.
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Nancy Clutter in In Cold Blood | Family, Analysis & Quotes
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