Many novels include some amount of violence, even if it’s
just a miniscule amount. What if that small violent act could be an overarching
plot point for the novel in question? In my opinion, it’s hard to believe that
every stabbing, gunshot, or car accident could mean something. Foster however,
points out that even the routine killing off of a character can mean something.
In Truman Capote’s novel, In cold blood, the violence of the
murders isn’t described until the very end. The long, drawn out chapter serves
as the climax to the book. Perry, one of the book’s main antagonists, gives a
very detailed confession to the murders in this chapter, bringing the mystery
of what happened to the Clutter family to a close. So what does this violence
symbolize? It’s hard to find the meaning behind a murder that only happened out
of poor planning. (Seriously, you don’t find a safe so you decide to murder an
entire family?) Foster explains that
mystery novels are exceptions to the symbolism of murder because authors tend
to litter the pages with bodies simply to move the story along, but does In
Cold Blood fall into this category? Foster explains that the murder victims of
mystery novels are usually despicable and hard to feel sorry for. That’s why we
hardly notice their deaths.
So where does the Clutter family fit into this theme? They
don’t. Their death, in my best assumption, was to show the ruthlessness of the
murderers. Dick and Perry are after all the main focus of the novel so their
development is needed. This hidden meaning is harder to grasp than Foster’s
example from the book Beloved. Or maybe it’s just easier to understand with the
step-by-step analysis help Foster offers. Symbolic deaths are commonplace among
books, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest features one of these deaths. McMurphy’s
death could be thought of as his defeat at the hands of nurse Ratched. Instead,
it proves to be more of a victory. It’s similar to Foster’s analysis of
Beloved. He explains that the act of Sethe killing her daughter is unforgivable
on the surface. However, if you were to be in the same position as her you
would somehow agree with the decision. That she felt her only method of escape
from slavery was death. McMurphy’s death is presented in a similar way.
Although the symbolism of his death is presented as a sacrifice akin to Jesus,
his sacrifice is symbolic in another way. He had another method of escape but
he chose instead to become a sort of martyr. Bibbit’s death also serves this
purpose. His suicide was, in a way, his triumph over nurse Ratched and her
authority. It is also considered a major cause for the chain of events that
follow his death. It could be assumed (or at least I assume) McMurphy would’ve
escaped with everyone else instead of lash out against Ratched. His attack on
her is another mentioned act of violence that has deeper meaning. He may have
been trying to go against the force that was constantly shattering his
confidence throughout the book. Then again, I may be trying to find symbolism
where there isn’t any.
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