How well does Truman Capote "draw together, or draw closer, the conflicting worlds of journalism and literature," as described by Ronald Weber in The Reporter As Artist? Weber says that the New Journalism is "neither exactly literature nor exactly journalism but a rough mixture of the two--and that's the heart of the critical problem. The New Journalism is vulnerable on both sides. It can be argued that it misses literary quality because it remains bound to fact, hence inhibiting the full play of artistry which the imaginative writer can bring to bear."

Do you think Capote is successful at both or does he miss the boat as either "solid journalism" or "effective, entertaining fiction"? Does In Cold Blood deserve the hype it's gotten for the last 40 years?

Write an analytical essay of about 500 words (two, double-spaced typed pages), drawing on the group presentations and your understanding of both traditional journalism and the techniques of the "New Journalism."