During his stint in the Garden City county jail, Perry Smith notices two gray cats prowling around the town square. The cats come out every night and pick dead birds from the grilles of automobiles. Perry realizes that his life is a lot like theirs, given that he lives on the outskirts of society and picks at whatever scraps he can find. The two cats could be seen as being analogous to Dick Hickok and Perry.
Two Gray Cats Quotes in In Cold Blood
The In Cold Blood quotes below all refer to the symbol of Two Gray Cats. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 4
Quotes
The cats, for example: the two thin gray toms who appeared with every twilight and prowled the Square, stopping to examine the cars parked around its periphery – behavior puzzling to [Perry] until Mrs. Meier explained that the cats were hunting for dead birds caught in the vehicles’ engine grilles. Thereafter it pained him to watch their maneuvers: “Because most of my life I’ve done what they’re doing. The equivalent.”
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Two Gray Cats Symbol Timeline in In Cold Blood
The timeline below shows where the symbol Two Gray Cats appears in In Cold Blood. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 3: Answer
Two gray tomcats wander the streets of Garden City, picking dead birds from the grilles of automobiles. Nearby,...
(full context)
Part 4: The Corner
Perry watches the two gray cats from his window and realizes that his life has been a lot like theirs. He...
(full context)
