The American Dream and Dick and Perry's downfall Anonymous 12th Grade

Truman Capote’s ‘In Cold Blood’, highly contested for its scathing depiction of 1960’s American society is renowned for its portrayal and characterization of the permeating theme; The American Dream. It seeps into all facets of society and impedes the development of those on the barriers of society, embodied in the criminals Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. The manner in which the American Dream facilitates and even spawns the growth of mental illness and priorities the acquisition of wealth over all, and its connotations with happiness, is what leads the two aforementioned characters to fall victim to its trap and ultimately their own downfall, death.

The American Dream is only able to succeed because it capitalizes on the impetus of our own capitalist, money-hungry society, it is used as a tool by the wealthy upper-classes to manipulate and control. The American Dream, an aggressive used-car salesman, grabs society by its shoulders and showers spittle over its adoring face, screaming “You want this life! You need this life! You want to be happy, and you can be, with a little bit of money! That’s all you need, and you’re so close!” And it works, people like Dick and Perry, people on the margins of society, eat up every word and...