In Cold Blood Quotes
"You exist in a half-world suspended between two superstructures, one self-expression and the other self-destruction."
"The truth was he opposed all stimulants, however gentle."
"A town of eleven thousand, Garden City began assembling its founders soon after the Civil War."
"You are strong, but there is a flaw in your strength, and unless you learn to control it the flaw will prove stronger than your strength and defeat you."
"We all have our souls and we all have facades, and then there's something in between that makes us function as people."
"The only sure thing is every one of them has got to go."
"Why? Why this unreasonable anger at the sight of others who are happy or content, this growing contempt for people and the desire to hurt them?"
"But these are dreadful thoughts, and such thinking must be stopped."
"It's just that he lives in a world of his own."
"This other bacteria, permitted to age, does not kill a man but leaves in its wake the hulk of a creature torn and twisted."
"He may successfully accumulate, but he does not accumulate success, for he is his own enemy."
"If they ever do find out who did it, it will be a bigger surprise than the murders themselves."
"Anybody wants to play a trick on me, let ’em try."
"It’s like being told there is no God. It makes life seem pointless."
"One old man sitting here that Sunday, he put his finger right on it, the reason nobody can sleep."
"I came to the garden alone, while the dew was still on the roses."
"It’s painful for you and it’s painful for them. When it comes to murder, you can’t respect grief."
"He may be crazy anyhow. To go doing what he did."
"I’m a normal. I only dream about blond chicken."
"We were like sisters. At least, that’s how I felt about her—as though she were my sister."
"He’s a nice boy—he has a good heart—but nothing very terrible had ever happened to him before."
"Wouldn’t Nancy hate that? Wouldn’t she be furious?"
"Knowing who killed her isn’t going to bring her back. What else matters?"
"He thought himself as balanced, as sane as anyone—maybe a bit smarter than the average fellow, that’s all."
"I sympathize with that," said Perry truthfully.
"Once we’re in Mexico, once we get started down there, we’ll make money. Lots of it."
"No fooling, Dick. This is authentic. I’ve got a map. I’ve got the whole history."
"I never thought I could do it. A thing like that."
"Deep down, way, way rock-bottom, I never thought I could do it."
"The situation had improved since then; thanks to Dick, he and Dick now possessed 'a pretty fair stake.'"
"But they’re always tired of the things that are, And they want the strange and new."
"I hope there’ll always be a Clutter here, and a Helm, too."
"Their voices, massed together in a low whisper, could be heard throughout the cemetery."
"Perry was impressed. He wondered how much the funeral had cost."
"I had no cause to hurt him. But one night we went for a long drive. Drove way out in the desert."
"Freedom means everything to him you will never get him behind bars again."
"They found him wil ing to fight for his rights."
"It’s no shame to have a dirty face—the shame comes when you keep it dirty."
"Be a good boy in prison. & he promised that he would."
"There is no shame—having a dirty face—the shame comes when you keep it dirty."
"Nothing good comes easy & I’m sure you’ve heard this many times but once more won’t hurt."
"A mother is still the only one who can kiss a boo-boo and make it all well—explain that scientifically."
"You are a human being with a free will. Which puts you above the animal level."
"We are all free to speak & do as we individually will—providing this 'freedom' of Speech & Deed are not injurious to our fellow-man."
"It is almost impossible for a man who enjoys freedom with all its prerogatives, to realize what it means to be deprived of that freedom."
"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is a breath of a buffalo in the wintertime."
"My acquaintances are many, my friends are few; those who really know me fewer still."
"Heard about a new rat poison on the market. Extremely potent, odorless, tasteless."
"I can't remember what I was going to say for the life of me."
"You live until you die, and it doesn’t matter how you go; dead’s dead."
"I’m very sensitive; I usually know what people are feeling."
"The glory of having everybody at his mercy, that’s what excited him."
"I’ve always trusted my intuitions; they’ve saved my life more than once."
"I thought it was a stunt. I didn’t believe you."
"I’m not complaining. Last August, when I left The Walls, I figured I had every chance to start new."
"I’ve always behaved like a one-hundred-percent normal."
"I was just disgusted. Crawling on my belly to steal a child's silver dollar."
"It was like I was reading a story. And I had to know what was going to happen."
"I didn’t realize what I’d done till I heard the sound. Like somebody drowning. Screaming under water."
"Having somebody to talk to while I’m doing my kitchen work."
"I think they ought to be locked in the same cell for the rest of their lives."
"An eye for an eye. And even so we’re two pair short!"
"I tried to believe, but I don’t, I can’t, and there’s no use pretending."
"Seems to me like people are looking at me and thinking, 'Well, she must be to blame somehow.'"
"I don’t feel anything about it. I wish I did. But nothing about it bothers me a bit."
"It’s easy to kill—a lot easier than passing a bad check."
"The truth is, you’ve done more for me than any what you call God ever has. Or ever will."
"I don’t know why I should die among strangers."
"I’ve gained fifteen pounds since I got here."
"Soldiers don’t lose much sleep. They murder, and get medals for doing it."
"Just remember: I only knew the Clutters maybe an hour."
"He was always talking about breaking out of here and making his living as a hired gun."
"You’ve got to talk about something. Brag. Otherwise you’re nobody, nothing, a potato vegetating in your seven-by-ten limbo."
"I just want to say I hold no hard feelings. You people are sending me to a better world than this ever was."
"It might be some comfort to her to know Dick never pulled the trigger."
"If you’ve got fifty thousand dollars to spend, you could bump off half of Kansas City and just laugh haha."
"I’ve tried to quit smoking. Then I figure what difference does it make under the circumstances."
"I think it’s a helluva thing to take a life in this manner. I don’t believe in capital punishment, morally or legally."
"I remember my mother was ‘entertaining’ some sailors while my father was away."
"I had weak kidneys & wet the bed every night. This was very humiliating to me."
"I threw a Japanese policeman off a bridge into the water."
"I started to run around with a gang, all of which were older than myself."
"I never had any steady girl, just played the field."
"Priests and nuns have had their chance with me. I’m still wearing the scars to prove it."
"Those prairie boys, they’ll vote to hang fast as pigs eat slop. Look at their eyes. I’ll be damned if I’m the only killer in the courtroom."
"I was coasting along. Not knowing God is the only reality. Once you realize that, then everything falls into place. Life has meaning—and so does death."
"She’s really a terrific cook, Mrs. Meier. You ought to taste her Spanish rice."
"Murder included. When you kill a man you steal his life. I guess that makes me a pretty big thief."
"I’m human enough to feel sorry for myself. Sorry I can’t walk out of here when you walk out. But that’s all."
"I don’t know why I should die among strangers. Let a bunch of prairie boys stand around and watch me strangle."
"I don’t know how she stands it. I wonder she isn’t crazy."
"It’s not right. Many a man has killed and never seen the inside of a death cell. And I never killed anybody."
"He must be one of the most alone people there ever was. But. Aw, the hell with him. It’s mostly every bit his own fault."
"Revenge is all it is, but what’s wrong with revenge? It’s very important."
"I apologize. It would be meaningless to apologize for what I did. Even inappropriate. But I do. I apologize."
"I’m really happy. I think about it sometimes. Suddenly, when I’m very happy, I think of all the plans we made."
"Leaving behind him the big sky, the whisper of wind voices in the wind-bent wheat."