Tension in In Cold Blood and the Moonstone

Compare the ways in which the writers of your two chosen works create tension in their novels. You must relate your discussion to relevant contextual factors.

As the Oxford English Dictionary states, the definition of literary tension is “anxiety or apprehension resulting from an uncertain, undecided, or mysterious situation” and “excitement felt at the approach of the climax”. In the cases of Truman Capote’s, “In Cold Blood” and Wilkie Collins’s, “The Moonstone”, these definitions are equally appropriate. As mystery novels, the use of tension to create suspense is somewhat expected in both works, however, there is a difference in the way it is created and the reasoning behind its’ use. Tension in “The Moonstone” is used to anticipate the theft of the jewel, whereas in “In Cold Blood” tension is used to build up to the murder of the Clutters and after, the fates of Dick and Perry. Both writers employ similar techniques to create tension, such as counting down to the event and the subtle foreshadowing of death. In this essay, I will be exploring these techniques and analysing their effect within the texts.

One of the more notable and indeed more powerful techniques used in both “The Moonstone” and “In Cold Blood” is the writer counting down to the event. There are frequent examples of this in “In Cold Blood”, such as, “‘And that’, he was to testify the next day, ‘was the last I seen them.’”. This refers to Mr. Helm giving evidence about the murders, while another example would be, “The following Monday, while giving evidence prior to taking a lie-detector test, young Bobby Rupp described his last visit to the Clutter home”, in which the narrator foreshadows the murders and its consequences. The effect that this has in the novel is that it serves as a constant reminder to the reader that the Clutters will die, it will be soon, and it will be violent, making the reader anticipate the murders even more and consequently increasing the suspense.

In “The Moonstone”, a similar technique is used. Chapter 9 of “The Moonstone” is the chapter in which the actual theft takes place, and it is counted down to by the novel’s narrator (in this section), Gabriel Betteredge. Chapter 8 literally counts down towards June 21st, the day of Rachel’s birthday and the day of the theft. Each paragraph begins with statements such as, “On the 17th, to all appearance, the cloud passed away again”, “On the 19th, another event happened” and “On the 20th, there came a note from Mr. Godfrey”, before finally, at the end of Chapter 8, he tells us, “Thanks to Heaven, we have arrived at the eve of the Birthday at last!”. This build up creates suspense as, like “In Cold Blood”, it also has connotations of giving evidence and testifying and emphasises the importance of the particular day, June 21st, as the crux of the mystery.

Another point of comparison in both novels is the use of foreshadowing death. In “In Cold Blood”, this is shown when Herb Clutter finally buys his life insurance after “Johnson had worked over a year to cinch this sale” on the last day of his life. This use of dramatic irony makes us pity Mr. Clutter and increases the tension because there is a sense of tragedy as the reader already knows it will not amount to anything. “It was the first payment on a forty-thousand dollar policy that in the event of death by accidental means, paid double indemnity.” This sentence concludes the description on Herb’s life insurance, a deliberate decision made by Capote to highlight its’ significance. It’s a very valuable line in the passage – it emphasises the suddenness of the Clutter’s death, how almost accidental it could seem and how their lives have been cut short.

The technique of foreshadowing death is also used in “The Moonstone”, however, in my opinion, it has a different effect to the one it has in “In Cold Blood”. Collins uses Rosanna Spearman as a device to foreshadow death with her ominous comments. For example, Betteredge recalls speaking to her at the Shivering Sands, when she confided to him, “Something draws me to it… I try to keep away from it, and I can’t… Sometimes, Mr. Betteredge, I think that my grave is waiting for me here.” These comments provide a sense of foreboding and mystery, which makes the reader curious to find out more, therefore creating anticipation and tension.

Both novels include crucial characters being kept unaware of what will happen to them when other characters do. In “The Moonstone”, the character left in the dark is Rachel, who inevitably has the Diamond stolen from her. In “In Cold Blood”, the Clutters are oblivious to the tragic murders that await them. Another interesting point is that the only characters who know what will happen are the ones who do it, however, this is where the two novels are different. In “In Cold Blood”, the only characters who know what will happen to the Clutters are Dick and Perry, who knowingly plan and commit the murders. They consider the practicalities of the murders with a cold matter-of-factness, as if they’re not planning deaths, but planning a mundane trip to do the weekly shop. This gives them a lack of humanity that makes them so frightening for the reader and subsequently builds up the tension. “But Dick had made up his mind: stockings of any shade were unnecessary, an encumbrance, a useless expense (‘I’ve already invested enough in this operation’)”, here we understand that Dick considers these murders as an ‘operation’ and that he has already spent enough on it, showing us that he has put a lot into this plot to ensure that it goes to plan. He has planned it out, and is happy to discuss it with Perry as if it was a completely mundane act – again shown here, “After all, anyone they encountered would not live to bear witness.” Here it is revealed that Dick and Perry intend to kill anyone they see, and consequently making the reader feel as though they have no humanity or morality, which builds the suspense because the reader anticipates that the deaths that the Clutters will face will be cruel and brutal. “No witnesses,’ he reminded Perry, for what seemed to Perry like the millionth time.” We also get a sense of their relationship and its’ hierarchy, in which Dick assumes the power and control in the relationship. Here, we get the sense that Dick is nagging Perry, and this bears connotations to a naughty child and its’ mother, a fairly commonplace image which links back to the idea that the way Dick and Perry go about these murders is done with such a casual, everyday approach that it is chilling. This creates tension and apprehension in the novel.