Crime and Immortality:
Both Perry Smith and Dick Hickock leave prison ready to commit another crime, with no sense of wrongdoing or evil. The overriding theme Dick Hickock embodies is crime and immorality. He manipulates and takes advantage of anyone—even his parents, who gave him a loving and stable childhood, and friends whom he cheats out of money—without guilt. He only does things that benefit him, lies easily to cover his tracks, and uses people to get what he wants, whether money, alcohol, or women. He masterminds the plan to rob and kill the Clutters, which includes manipulating Perry to carry out the actual murders.
Capote contrasts Dick with the gentler yet more violent Perry Smith, whose anger and antisocial tendencies run deep. He did not want to kill anyone, but once in the Clutter home he lost touch with reality. He believes Herb Clutter to be a nice, soft- spoken man even as he slits his throat. After the Clutter killings, Perry is bothered to some extent by what he'd done and keeps trying to understand it. He tells Dick there must be something wrong with them. But Dick replies he is normal, doesn't want to talk or think about it, and wants to move on with things. Capote repeatedly presents Perry as the more "moral" of the two murderers, and forces readers to reflect on the relationship between his upbringing, his mental illness, and his behavior.
