In Cold Blood- Using evidence to provide an analytical response to literature
This assessment is all about a close study and critical analysis of a single literary text. In order to
successfully engage with the work of others you must have a good knowledge of the text that you
are writing about. When we refer to these we talk about perspectives and representations (both in
the text and in other people’s writing about the text) of concepts, identities, times and places.
Things you may be asked to write about are (and it could be more than one of these):
 Ways readers are positioned to respond to cultural experiences related within In Cold Blood
 Particular ways Capote’s language choices represent ideas, events and people in a literary
text
 Ways cultural perceptions are challenged or supported in In Cold Blood
 The relationship between significant historical and cultural events and figures, and their
representations in In Cold Blood.
 Comparing two characters within In Cold Blood in terms of how they perceive their own and
others’ identities
 Analysing how characters’ identities within In Cold Blood are fluid and change in different
contexts
 Analysing how In Cold Blood challenges the idea that cultures and identities are stable.
Elements of close reading that will benefit you in this analysis will be:
1. Putting In Cold Blood into a historical context
2. The social and cultural role of literature in culture
A note about the role of literature in cultures:
Novels are a specific kind of literature and so you should, as a critical and discerning reader, consider
their specific role in culture. In the Western writing tradition, novels contain original stories that are
told as one long unified narrative- usually one that presents some element of a realistic human
story.
Literature, like other artforms, can both reflect culture and act on it. Some literary works are so
controversial that they get banned for periods of time in certain countries. Some are so widely
celebrated and enjoyed that their messages inform our social rules and norms.
As a cultural artefact, literature represents the available world views on the culture in which it was
created. Authors and playwrights make their stories out of the perspectives and cultural resources
available to them and so these works can tell us a great deal about the experiences and assumptions
of a culture, including:
 The attitudes held (or being questioned) by the author and/or people in that society
 The ways certain ideas and things were valued in a particular time and place
 The beliefs that were held (or being questioned) about various aspects of the world
Another reason to study a piece of literature very closely is to fully appreciate its textual integrity.
Sometimes, the beauty or profound quality of a text is not picked up at first glance. When we weigh
up the ‘integrity’ of a text, it is the closest we come to asking whether a text is any good. However,
this is a different question than discussing our own personal response or if it has cultural
significance.