Sometimes people commit crimes and never have a reason why they did it. There are two types of human behavior that are determined by the environment, shaped by experiences throughout a person's life or through a person's genes; also known as nature or nurture. Nature refers to the genetic material that a person inherits from their parents. Culture refers to experiences acquired throughout life. For example, have you been loved, abused, or neglected? Through the story of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood," the reader learns what kind of people Richard Hickock and Perry Smith really are. These men brutally murdered four members of the Clutter family after robbing them. This essay will discuss the nature vs. nurture debate on the example of this story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Herb, Bonnie Mae, Kenyon, and Nancy Mae were brutally murdered on November 15, 1959 by two former inmates recently paroled from the Kansas State Penitentiary. Richard Eugene "Dick" Hickock and Perry Edward Smith were in prison when they learned from another prisoner, known as Floyd Wells, that Herb Clutter (father) was very rich and had money hidden in a safe in his house. Floyd had previously worked for the Clutter family. After Hickock and Smith were released from prison on parole, they made a plan to get their hands on the hidden money. Once they arrived at the Clutters' home, just outside of Holcomb, Kansas, they realized there was no safe that contained money, so they woke Herb Clutter. Mr. Clutter gave them the money he had and told them he had no more. They woke the other three family members and ransacked the rest of the house, acquiring no more than about fifty dollars, binoculars and a small radio. Once they had everything they could find, Dick and Perry executed all four members of the family in cold blood. When officers arrived, Herb Clutter, 48, was lying on a mattress in the basement, stabbed, with his throat cut and a rifle pointed at his head. He was wearing pajamas, had his hands tied and his mouth taped shut. On a couch in an adjoining room was 15-year-old Kenyon Neal Clutter. He was tied up, gagged and hit on the head. In separate bedrooms upstairs were the bodies of Mrs. Bonnie Mae Clutter, 45, and Nancy Mae Clutter, 16. Mrs. Clutter was bound and gagged. Nancy was just tied up. Both mother and daughter were hit in the head. Dick's character is depicted as the evil motivator of crime. Since he didn't have a particularly problematic childhood, it was often referenced that Dick was a criminal because it was in his nature. His polite childhood was mentioned several times, he also made statements about how good his family was to him. Unlike Perry, there is little sympathy for Dick's character as there was little to be sympathetic about. “The glory of having everyone at his mercy, that was what excited him.” This is a statement made by Perry about Dick. He explains how Dick likes the feeling of power he gets from threatening people and committing crimes. It is Dick's nature to want to subjugate others to his will. As stated when the couple was in Florida, “Why should that big bastard get all the luck? With a knife in his hand, he, Dick, had the power. Big bastard bastards like that better watch out or he might rip them open and spill some of their nest egg all over the floor."..