In Cold Blood, All the President's Men, and Midnight in the Garden of Good Evil all deal with real-life crimes. Each of the authors takes a different approach to point of view, depending on their unique relationship to the setting in which the books are set. Furthermore, all three books combine some elements of journalism and fiction to create works that go beyond simple crime reporting to bring the characters to life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay In 1959, the Clutter family was murdered in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. Shortly thereafter, Truman Capote arrived to research the case for an article. Six years later, however, what Truman Capote produced was a groundbreaking new book titled In Cold Blood. Capote's intention was to create a new literary genre that told a true story, but read like a novel. Thus, In Cold Blood reconstructs the gruesome murders of several members of the Clutter family, written more as a novel of realism than as an example of a journalistic book like All the President's Men. Both books, however, deal primarily with a real-life murder case. Yet, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil differs substantially from the other two works, making the murder simply the central piece of a much larger mosaic. Furthermore, much of the interest in Midnight centers on the location, not the plot. Indeed, one might well suggest that the book's most important character is not Jim Williams, but rather the city of Savannah, the description of which - "this is a city where gentlemen own their own white tie and tails" - is intended as a tribute to the particularity of its citizens. The setting of In Cold Blood is also important, but the small town of Holcomb, Kansas is portrayed as if it hadn't changed since the Depression. Where Berendt makes Savannah seem as peculiar as its inhabitants, Capote is much more sentimental, using images such as "the beloved patch of prairie where he had always hoped to build a home." In contrast to both of these depictions of the setting is Woodward and Bernstein's Washington, D.C. As with the rest of this book's narrative style, the nation's center of power is presented simply, but with a sinister tone: the shadows of its tall monuments and gleaming federal structures seem to contain unknown depths of suspicious activity. that the crimes committed in these three books are important, to varying degrees, in determining the attitudes of the authors. Each locale differs from each other in time and place. The small agricultural town of Capote in Kansas is almost the model of a taciturn community where no one goes out of their way to appear unique; consequently Capote writes in a bare and essential style. Berendt's Savannah is the exact opposite, a city that revels in its unusual people, and her fiction reflects that open-ended style, too. Meanwhile, Washington, DC is a city known for presenting a facade that suggests strength and reliability, but which hides colorful corruption taking place. Again, the author's style reflects that theme. Therefore, the time and place in which these books are found are important elements in determining how narrators write their stories. Equally important, however, is the authors' relationship with these settings. For example, on the surface, Truman Capote appears to be one of the most unlikely perpetrators of the era capable of psychologically penetrating the minds of both victims and murderers in an isolated townof the Midwest. Capote was already famous not only for his writings, but for his conspicuously homosexual lifestyle. He couldn't have been further from the humble citizens of Holcomb or the sociopathic alienation of the killers. Before he became famous, however, Capote lived in a small Southern village that probably had a lot in common with Holcomb; his connection undoubtedly gave him insight. Indeed, of the authors who wrote these three books, it is likely that Capote had the easiest time translating his vision to the general public. Capote is then successful in using small details that many readers might recognize in their own hometown, such as the description of the abandoned building where the "Dance" sign was no longer lit. The simplicity of his description is also indicative of Capote's empathy for his characters. The Clutter family is presented as a mid-century American ideal, almost like something out of a sitcom. Capote depicts Mr. Clutter, for example, as both a determined farmer and a respected citizen. Her daughter presents herself as the living embodiment of one of those characters played by Sandra Dee or Annette Funicello: "a successful student, the president of her class, a leader of the 4-H program and of the Young Methodists League, an expert knight, an excellent musician (piano, clarinet), annual winner of the village fair (pastry, preserves, embroidery, floral arrangements)..." (18). Only the fact that these people will be brutally murdered separates them from a thousand other families. While Truman Capote came to Kansas from a small Southern town by way of New York, John Berendt arrived in one of the iconic towns of old-world Southern politeness as none other than the traditional enemy: a New York Yankee. Not only was he from New York, but he wrote for a magazine called the New Yorker. However, he may have been lucky in choosing Savannah as a Southern city: "We're famously hospitable, in fact, even by Southern standards. Savannah is called the 'Host City of the South,' you know." However, it is precisely Berendt's condition as an outsider that gives strength to his book. Berendt's fame and charm give him access to Savannah venues like the Married Women's Club, the Black Debutantes' Ball, and Williams' legendary Christmas party. Berendt's mission differs substantially from both that of Capote and that of Woodward and Bernstein. The focus of these two books is the crime itself; how and why it happened in the first and learn exactly what happened in the second. Berendt, by contrast, spends a lot of time giving the reader a sense of place before the murder even occurs. The goal seems to be to introduce the elements that could conceivably lead to such a crime and the tortuous path to justice that follows. The suspected murderer in the book is himself something of a charming outsider, and it is possible that Berendt identifies more closely with Williams. Berendt clearly enjoys his cast of outlandish characters, and the intent of the structure seems to be to create the sense that in Savannah society such a scandal is bound to occur. Thus, the book stands alongside All the President's Men, but in stark contrast to In Cold Blood, in terms of how the setting might inform – and even create – the crime. Where Woodward and Bernstein differ from Berendt is in their attitude towards the characters in their book, although the attitude is shaped by their relationship to the city. The attitude is also reflected in the surprising point of view that the two authors use. Each of these crime exams is written using a different perspective. Capote triesto impose omniscience in his narrative, describing not only the events, but also the thoughts of his characters. Berendt uses first-person narration, thus becoming one more character in the vast landscape that is Savannah. Yet the most singular choice was made by Woodward and Bernstein. Since the two investigative reporters are the main characters, one might have expected them to use the first person, perhaps with Woodward writing one chapter and Bernstein the next. Instead, they treat their book the same way they wrote their newspaper articles. Although it is initially disconcerting to read the book's authors referring to themselves in the third person detached from analytical intuition, eventually the purpose becomes clear. Writing in the third person comes closest to objectivity and journalistic integrity. The reader is better able to make their own decisions about the techniques and tricks journalists use to tell their story. The writing style is matter-of-fact and gives it an authoritative weight that could be damaged by the intrusions of the characters' opinions. Furthermore, by distancing themselves from their characters, Woodward and Bernstein transform themselves into actors within a larger drama rather than simply reporting on it. This is important because the attitude they take towards the people they write about is left entirely up to the reader, including the attitude they have towards themselves. All the President's Men is therefore ultimately not a book about politics, but a book about journalism. As the two recent films on the subject indicate, even Truman Capote could have inserted himself into his narrative and transformed In Cold Blood into something closer to the Watergate book. Equally true is that Woodward and Bernstein could have written their book using Capote's, using all the copious notes they had collected to try to get into the heads of those involved in the Watergate scandal. Instead, they wisely chose the journalistic approach of reporting only what can be verified. The result is that of the three books, All the President's Men is the one that invests the reader with the greatest responsibility to understand which side the two authors are on. Ultimately, any analysis of the narrator's attitude in a book about crime boils down to how the author feels about the criminal, and each of these books takes different paths. Clearly, the criminal in a book about crime, especially if convicted and proven guilty, will not look as good as his victims. It is also true, however, that the criminal tends to be presented with greater complexity than the victims. This may be due in part, when dealing with murder, to the fact that the writer often does not have access to the victim's mind. It is precisely this element that makes In Cold Blood the most controversial of the three books. There is no doubt that Capote used dramatic license in presenting the thoughts of the assassins. It may be easier to sympathize with them than otherwise. It is clear that Capote does not judge the two murderers as harshly as one would expect. Whether you can say they like them or not can be difficult, but there is definitely an attempt to present them as human beings rather than bloodthirsty animals. While many readers may be disgusted by this idea, it serves the purpose of pointing out that killing them actually makes the state somewhat inhumane. Berendt takes a different and similar approach to that of Capote. Berendt's suspect is not an ignorant, lower-class drifter who committed multiple cold-blooded murders, and the fact that Joe Williams is a rich and charming man makes all the difference. Which Williams indeed has.