The American dream is a major theme in the novel In Cold Blood. Both of the main villains, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, are pursuing their interpretation of the American dream, and the Clutters’ deaths symbolize how quickly that dream can be shattered. Truman Capote illustrates his interpretation of the American dream throughout the novel. Though the primary theme of the novel is death, Capote uses this theme to underscore some of his more subtle points about the American dream. Most of his points about the American dream are centered on the Clutter family, who seem to live the American dream.
The Clutter family is living an idyllic existence in Holcomb at the novel’s opening. Herb Clutter has risen from modest beginnings to becoming a ranch owner with a comfortable lifestyle. He encapsulates the concept of the self-made man, which is a central theme in the American dream. The Clutters’ simple, modest lifestyle shows that the American dream is simple in what it entails; being able to own your own land and live off of it, being able to provide for your family, being able to be your own person without relying on anyone else.
Capote’s idea that the American dream is simple is still true, but the media has obscured this idea in favor of the concept that bigger is better and glamour is key to a fulfilling lifestyle. Over the forty-five years since In Cold Blood was published, Americans have become more and more entitled to things that are privileges rather than necessities and simultaneously became less and less satisfied with what they had, even though what they had was more than what people in the decades before them ever had. The media has exacerbated these entitlement issues, as well as propagating that what you have isn’t enough. You need this car to be cool, you need these clothes to look attractive, and you need this cologne if you’re ever going to date. The media has led to a generation of American teenagers believing that if they are ever going to be happy, they have to be rich, famous, or powerful. Remember in kindergarten when your teacher asked you what you wanted to be? You probably said the president, or an Olympic athlete, or a superhero. When you ask teenagers the same thing, more of them will have more realistic ideas, such as engineers, doctors, or lawyers. But a significant portion will say things like rock stars, or actresses, or the next American Idol. People don’t believe in Capote’s American dream, that all you need to be happy is to settle for having a house and a job that provides for you and your family.
This growing gap between what people desire and what Capote’s American dream entails has led to fewer people than ever before achieving the American dream. The American dream hinges on the idea that you have to be happy with what you have before you can truly achieve happiness. In Cold Blood displays this with the example of the Ashidas. Mrs. Ashida says, “The farm here, the people we’re working for – Hideo thinks we could do better,” even though he appears to be living Capote’s American dream. He is dissatisfied with where he is in Holcomb, so he aspires to become wealthier, more powerful in his job, and he believes that this will make him happier. This example is still true; in the movie 500 Days of Summer, Tom, the main character, loses Capote’s American dream over the course of the movie because he is too busy chasing after a girl he believes will make him happier. Ironically, by the end of the film, she is nearly his undoing. This film illustrates Capote’s point about the American dream; by chasing after something more than what you have, you can lose the things that matter most to you. Hickock and Smith are both constantly pursuing a sensational lifestyle, believing that when they are through with the Clutters’, they will be rich, and therefore happy. However, while they are in Mexico, Smith finds that he still wants something more from life, even though he and Hickock are living exactly how they planned to. Their reckless spending brings them back to the US, leading to their arrest, and subsequent execution, ending their pursuit of the American dream the way they ended the Clutters’.
In Cold Blood reflects Capote’s pessimistic view of the American dream. The American dream leads to nothing more or less than death in his eyes, no matter how you attempt to achieve it. Whether you try to achieve the American dream through peace or violence, legal or illegal methods, it doesn’t matter, because you’re still dying. The book illustrates our own human mortality, and ultimately shows how irrelevant the pursuit of the American dream is. After all, it doesn’t matter how happy you were, who you were, or whether you were a good person or not when you’re dead.
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