Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

We are writing an essay in my english class, and we just were given the topic today (due tommorrow!!!)

This is addressed to anyone who has read this book. The essay is supposed to offer 5 contrasting points between Perry and Nancy.

Please proffread my rough copy, (lots of errors), Please be brutally honest...

Thanks,


Perry and Nancy were two very different individuals who happened to come together at the wrong place at the wrong time. Through the course of this essay, I will go over some of the differences between the two and come to some conclusions.

The first contrasting point I would like to talk about the religious differences between Perry and Nancy. Since her childhood, Nancy had been brought up in a god-fearing, orthodox-Methodist family. Perry, however, never had an aversion towards religion; the reason being that he was forced to live in religious orphanages, where he was physically abused. This prompted his fear of nuns and religion in general.

Nancy had very strong family ties. Although her mother was depressed, Nancy and her father, Herb Clutter worked together to keep the family a cohesive, running unit. In addition, Herb and his wife got along very well. Perry had never really any close family ties. He remembered that his parents started quarreling in his childhood, and soon he had to go through his parents’ divorce and later, physical abuse. As Perry grew older, his sister Fern had “fallen” out of the window, and Perry’s brother committed suicide, adding to his suspicion of the world.

Nancy was a champion pie baker, and loved to teach other kids such crafts. She also participated in plays and attended the 4H club. Nancy was very outgoing, loved to make, and had many friends. Perry was more of an introvert. He was very suspicious of others, and did not make friends easily. Perry preferred to write poetry and dream of his future in Mexico.

Nancy had received a decent education at the nearby school, and was planning to complete high school, and go on to attend Kansas State University, along with Susan Kidwell. Perry, however, had only completed the third grade and could never would never in his wildest dreams hope to go to college, much less finish high school. After Tex John’s and Flo’s divorce, Perry, after a few years of physical abuse in orphanages, was reclaimed by his father who took him out of school. (Perry had always considered himself as an intellectual; however, the major difference between the two was that Perry had never been given an opportunity to develop his talents….

Finally, Nancy is the daughter of one of the richest farmers in all of western Kansas. She has lived a cushioned life, and has all the luxuries that one could desire. Perry, however, has always lived in poverty. His parents, originally a pair of rodeo riders, divorced when Perry was young, and Tex John Smith never could obtain a steady job. Perry and Tex spent much time trying to build a roadside lodge, but even that went wrong!

Through these 5 examples, I hope to have shown that Perry and Nancy are two very different people, with respect to religion, family, hobbies, education, and social status.

By Futuredoctor (Futuredoctor) on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 07:50 pm: Edit

Perry and Nancy were two very different individuals who happened to come together at the wrong place at the wrong time. Through the course of this essay, I will go over some of the differences between the two and come to some conclusions.

The first contrasting point I would like to talk about the religious differences between Perry and Nancy. Since her childhood, Nancy had been brought up in a god-fearing, orthodox-Methodist family. She is involved in the 4H club and religion played a large part of her daily life. Perry, however, never had an aversion towards religion; the reason being that he was forced to live in religious orphanages, where he was physically abused. This prompted his fear of nuns and religion in general.

Nancy had very strong family ties. Although her mother was depressed, Nancy and her father, Herb Clutter worked together to keep the family a cohesive, running unit. In addition, Herb and his wife got along very well, and Nancy had loving parents to turn to when growing up. Perry, on the other hand, never had any close family ties. Perry’s parents started quarreling when he was very young, and soon they divorced. Perry, all of a sudden, was sent to live in a orphanages, where he was physically abused, until his father took him back. As Perry grew older, his sister Fern had “fallen” out of the window, and Perry’s brother committed suicide, adding to his alienation from society/family. When Perry started committing crimes, he even alienated Barbara, and his father, both of whom he once liked. Perry’s childhood is a tragic one and was a principal factor in the hideous crime that he committed.

Nancy was a champion pie baker, and loved to teach other kids such crafts. She also participated in plays and attended the 4H club. Nancy was very outgoing, loved to make, and had many friends. Perry was more of an introvert. He was very suspicious of others, and did not make friends easily. Perry preferred to write poetry and dream of his future in Mexico.

At the time of her death, Nancy was a very good student and was receiveing a decent education at the Holcomb school. After graduating from high school, Nancy planned on attending Kansas State University, along with Susan Kidwell, her close friend. Perry, however, had only completed the third grade and could never would never in his wildest dreams hope to go to college, much less finish high school. After Tex John’s and Flo’s divorce, Perry, after a few years of physical abuse in orphanages, was reclaimed by his father who took him out of school. (Perry had always considered himself as an intellectual; however, the major difference between the two was that Perry had never been given an opportunity to develop his talents….

Finally, Nancy is the daughter of one of the richest farmers in all of western Kansas. She has lived a cushioned life, and has all the luxuries that one could desire. Perry, however, has always lived in poverty. His parents, originally a pair of rodeo riders, divorced when Perry was young, and Tex John Smith never could obtain a steady job. Perry and Tex spent much time trying to build a roadside lodge, but even that went wrong!

Through these five examples, I hope to have shown that Perry and Nancy are two very different people, with respect to religion, family, hobbies, education, and social status.

By Sabzevarian (Sabzevarian) on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 08:35 pm: Edit

Get rid of this type of narration:

Through the course of this essay, I will go over some of the differences between the two and come to some conclusions.

The first contrasting point I would like to talk about the religious differences between Perry and Nancy


Through these five examples, I hope to have shown that Perry and Nancy are two very different people, with respect to religion, family, hobbies, education, and social status.

..........

By Big_City_Boy (Big_City_Boy) on Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - 01:49 pm: Edit

Agreed. No one cares about your opinion or what you hope you have proven (no offense)
first rule of essay writing never use the first person unless you are writing a response to something where it is less formal and asks for it.

By Futuredoctor (Futuredoctor) on Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - 02:51 pm: Edit

This is the revised copy, please evaluate!

Perry and Nancy were two very different individuals who happened to come together at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Through the course of this essay, we will explore some differences between the two, including their families’ origin, societal influences, the important decisions that Perry made and the ironic twist of fate arising from the combination of these elements.

There were significant religious differences between Perry and Nancy. Since her childhood, Nancy was brought up in a god-fearing, orthodox-Methodist family. She was involved in the 4H club and religion played a large part of her daily life. Perry, on the other hand, never cared for religion. His disdain for such practices stemmed from the years of abuse that he suffered from the nuns of the orphanages where he stayed. The continued abuse led to a life-long distrust of religion.

Nancy had very strong family ties. Although her mother was depressed, Nancy and her father, Herb Clutter, worked together to keep the family a cohesive, running unit. In addition, Herb and his wife got along very well, always acting as loving parents and treating Nancy with compassion. Perry, on the other hand, never had any close family ties. When he was very young, Perry’s parents started quarreling, and were soon divorced. Perry, stayed with his mother, but soon ran off because his mother, an alcoholic, physically abused him. After some time in the orphanage, he was introduced to even more acute physical abuse, as well as some sexual abuse. After a while, Perry was reunited with his father who took him to Alaska. As Perry accompanied his father in his daily rounds, his sister and brother, who were originally living with their drug-addicted mother, committed suicide. This was an additional blow to Perry that left a deep emotional impact. When Perry started committing crimes, he even alienated his other sister Barbara, and his father, both of whom he once liked. Perry’s childhood is a tragic one and was a principal factor in the murder of the Clutter family in Cold Blood.

Nancy was a champion pie baker, and loved to teach other kids such crafts. She also participated in plays and attended the 4H club. Nancy was very outgoing, and loved to make friends. Perry was more of an introvert. He was very suspicious of others and did not make friends easily. Perry preferred to spend his free time writing poetry.

At the time of her death, Nancy was a very good student and was receiving a decent education at the Holcomb School. After graduating from high school, Nancy planned to attend Kansas State University, along with Susan Kidwell, her close friend. Perry, however, had only completed the third grade and would never in his wildest dreams hope to finish high school, much less go to college. Perry had always considered himself as an intellectual; however, the major difference between the two was that Perry had never been given an opportunity to develop his talents.

Finally, Nancy is the daughter of one of the richest farmers in all of western Kansas. She has lived a cushioned life, and has all the luxuries that one could desire. Perry, however, has always lived in poverty. His parents, originally a pair of rodeo riders, divorced when Perry was young, and Tex John Smith never could obtain a steady job. Perry and Tex spent much time trying to build a roadside lodge, but even that was a debacle!
Perry’s childhood and the other factors played an important role in the bad decisions that he made. He, unlike Nancy had no support to fall back on, no education to drive him forward, and no religion to turn to in times of desperate need. Perhaps if Perry’s life had not been such a disaster, he would not have made the fatal mistake of murdering an innocent, young girl as Nancy.

By Callmecollege (Callmecollege) on Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - 09:35 pm: Edit

no seriously, no we's or I's! you make ur writing sound juvenile

By Big_City_Boy (Big_City_Boy) on Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - 11:01 pm: Edit

"Through the course of this essay, we will explore some differences between the two, including their families’ origin, societal influences, the important decisions that Perry made and the ironic twist of fate arising from the combination of these elements."

Get rid of the explaination of what you are going to write about, turn that idea into a few more sentences that include a well developed thesis

By Incognito (Incognito) on Thursday, March 13, 2003 - 05:49 pm: Edit

bump...I like literary commentary.