Rhetorical Strategies

     Allusion: “Teddy… was ever ready to raise Cain” (13).

           The biblical allusion made to the story of Cain and Abel serves as a great comparison to the dog. This is due to the fact that Cain was the one with the evil intentions which led to Abel's death. This shows that the dog, in relation to Cain, will have a strong personality and be quite robust. 


Invective: “Dick, who took a dim view of Willie- Jay, and called the letter ‘Just more of Billy Grahamcracker’s hooey.’ Adding, F****** of scorn!’ He’s the f*****’” (44). 
          With the use of such explicit language, author Truman Capote is definitely writing as such in order to display the colloquial language of that particular time period. It shows how harsh and volatile these characters had been in their speech whether it had been necessary or not. 


Anaphora: "But one can... But as he... But I was... But I wasn't..." (122).
        This repetition shows hesitation in the speakers voice, in this case, the voice of Perry. When one is accused of committing a crime, their natural instinct is to dodge each of the accusations--that is what is taking place in this passage. 


Anaphora and Hyperbole: "His state of mind was bad; he was emaciated; and he was smoking sixty cigarettes a day" (165).
              Mr. Dewey, and investigator of the Clutter family case, was finding a lot of trouble searching for the answers to all of his questions regarding his case. He was to the point that he had began to sacrifice his physical health and mental health. With the use of the hyperbole, the reader understands that Capote is trying to highlight Dewey's unfortunate phase with an addition of humor by exaggerating the amount of cigarettes he goes through in order to stay calm and keep solving. 


Simile: "White as a ghost" (252). 
        During the time of confessions, once again, Perry lets the reader look into his soft side. When Perry was about to engage in the killing of innocent folks, the terror begins to hit him. That is where the simile comes into play. The use of this rhetorical device enables readers to make a visual connection to the amount of fear Perry had endured at the time. This is effective in creating a chilling mood, and for telling a story.