Perry Smith: The Serene Man with the Explosive Temper Perry Smith is perhaps the nicest, most gentle-hearted man I've ever met in my life. If he and I were to have met under different circumstances, I would never have hazarded a guess that this kind man could be a cold-blooded killer. He's such a gentle man that it startles me to think that a man such as he would ever so much as touch a hair on a human head. However, it is the story of his past that lends credence to the fact that he slaughtered four members of the Clutter family. Built up emotions of hatred and rejection have been bottled up inside of him for so long, that he sometimes explodes with little cause. Although he appears soft on the outside, it is the build up of emotion within that causes him to behave so irregularly and explode without warning. Perry Smith's troubled personality comes as a result of the polarities of his two sides. As an experienced psychiatrist, I have dealt with many cases such as this case involving Perry Smith. I have diagnosed personality disorders such as schizophrenia, and I believe that Perry shows several signs of this disorder. My diagnosis comes from the fact that Perry has emotional reactions that are unpredictable and inappropriate, he has disturbed relationships, and he acts withdrawn, always "a loner without any real friends." His inability to communicate with his family is a warning sign of schizophrenia. Poverty and a disorganized family life are often looked at as causes of the disorder; Perry Smith's family was not, by any means, wealthy, and they were unarguably disorganized. Perry Smith has a split personality; he's a schizophrenic.Perry's schizophrenia seems to stem from a disturbed childhood and erratic family life. Perry had a normal birth, and he remembers his childhood as "treasurable- a fragment composed of applause, glamour." His early childhood was comfortable, but having rodeo performers for parents took its toll on the li...
