Some great works of literature can be described as “timeless”: Pride and Prejudice, A Christmas Carol, The Divine Comedy, Beowulf. No matter who reads these books, no matter how far in the future, the themes and ideas presented in them will be pertinent and valuable to the reader. They cannot be dated or outmoded; the presentation of theme will always make sense to a modern-day reader. Other works, some just as great, some not, do in time become dated: the cautionary theme present in Orwell’s 1984 is still obvious, but the ludicrous descriptions of “future” technology distract a modern reader, and even the title itself is now outdated. The reams of “chick lit” and other modern day novels filled with brand names and the latest colloquiums will seem old and out-of-date in just a few years. The book In Cold Blood, in my opinion, is in some places dated, though the main idea is still relevant and important today.
It is obvious in reading In Cold Blood that America forty-odd years ago was a very different place than it is today. A modern, jaded reader may come to the statement that nobody ever locked doors in Holcomb (59) and wonder if the Clutters deserved what happened to them because of their stupidity. Dick and Perry’s fake-check-writing spree (97) seems fairly ridiculous, as it is doubtful they could get away with such a thing today. The description of the execution (339-41) seems barbaric and unethical to a modern reader, as hanging as a method of execution is not used today. Finally, the shock value of the murders themselves is decreased for a modern reader, because America today is simply more violent and such horrific acts are far more commonplace for us than they were for our grandparents. Although there are points of In Cold Blood that are no longer quite as effective as they might have once been, the overarching theme of violence and its myriad of causes is still today as important and understandable as it was forty years ago, perhaps even more so, because mindless violence is more widespread now. A modern reader may even gain more from reading the book, as we have forty extra years of empirical experience and we can see the evolution and growth of violence in America from the time that In Cold Blood was written to now.
Emily,
I wholeheartedly agree with you. As I read In Cold Blood, the few “era differences” bothered me slightly, but I was much more intrigued by the happenings in the book. The concept of murder, guilt, innocence, and family will never be outdated, and are presented effortlessly in this nonfiction novel. Also, the frequent debates brought up by this book, and shown on these blogs (nature vs nurture, death penalty) are still not settled, and most likely won’t be for a long time. And finally, the events in this book can still happen today. Consequently, these parts of In Cold Blood overshadowed its publishing date by far.
Great Job!
Maggie
By: maggienelson on July 31, 2007
at 7:10 pm
I have this great idea!!
Let’s trade brains!
By: alexisgrace on August 2, 2007
at 3:26 am
I totally agree with you, Emily Nelson. I also often chuckly whenever I come across such a laughable thing as “chick lit”, and wonder whether anyone will remember it, or even understand it in 10 or so years.
By: rachel91 on August 2, 2007
at 3:58 am