Any event that happened as a child can have a positive or negative impact. Children often learn to deal with certain circumstances differently than adults. Truman Capote's childhood insecurities are conveyed psychologically through the tragic events of In Cold Blood. According to William L. Nance, associate professor of English, "Some knowledge of Capote's early life is essential to understanding his work, for that work, even through In Cold Blood, bears the clear marks of his childhood" ( 133) . Capote's parents divorced when he was very young. Throughout his childhood, he passed from one relative to another, each of whom lived in small Southern towns. Capote himself even stated that it was “the most insecure childhood I know” (133). He often misbehaved at school, even though “ . . .Psychological tests showed that his intelligence quotient (IQ) was above the level of genius” (np). Truman Capote's In Cold Blood begins by describing a wonderfully organized and well-put-together family called the Clutter. Mr. Herbert Clutter goes about his daily business by tending to the ranch and planning the family's activities for the day. On the opposite side of Kansas, the reader learns of two men named Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. As Capote describes the two men and the business they are taking care of, it seems like they are preparing the car for a long journey. The next morning, Susan Kidwell, Nancy Herbert's friend, discovers that Nancy and the rest of her family have been brutally murdered. Police have no idea who could have committed such a crime in a peaceful community like Holcomb, Kansas. With only a bloody shoe print as evidence, Alvin Dewey, the KBI agent responsible for... medium of paper... one: In Cold Blood retains deep traces of the early stories, and of the intellectual the hardness so evident in the non-fiction novel it was truly always present” (133). Capote puts himself in the shoes of these characters. However, he not only puts himself in their shoes and portrays his own point of view and story through them, but also constructs their stories from himself. By doing this, he can easily relate to the characters and write about them. Capote was able to use his quirky personality to his advantage. Even though it was his shield to cover his loneliness as a child, it helped him as an adult and in his life as a celebrity. She has turned her tragic background into a story that is an amazing read. There aren't many authors who manage to put so much of their life into a story like In Cold Blood, without being there themselves..