The Arts in NYC

4

Broken Beauty

I didnt expect to be so mesmerized by the short novella Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. From the moment that I opened the book until I read the closing words, the life of Holly Golightly became alive to me. Capote's words jumped off the pages and formed a live imagery in my head and I was entertained for the duration of my reading.

"So," he said, "what do you think: is she or ain't she?"

"Ain't she what?"

"A phony."

"I wouldn't have thought so."

"You're wrong. She is a phony. But on the other hand you're right. She isn't a phony because she's a real phony. She believes all this crap she believes. You can't talk her out of it" (30). This is a conversation between O.J. Berman, Holly's former Hollywood agent, and the narrator. Berman says this to the narrator, whom Holly calls "Fred," although his actual name is never mentioned throughout the book, upon meeting him for the first time. This brief conversation sums up the entire personality of Holly Golightly. O.J. Berman understands that even though Holly is living this "phony" lifestyle by courting men who are obnoxious and disrespectful for money, she truly believes (or makes herself believe) that she really is in love with them, perhaps to mask the pain and shame. Upon reading this passage, I saw that Berman viewed Holly as a broken beauty; she hid a plethora of complex emotions gone awry beneath her beautiful complexion.

Another part of the novel that I thoroughly enjoyed was the parallel that Capote drew between Holly and the cat. Holly didn't name her tabby orange cat because they don't "belong to each other." Her refusal to claim ownership over the cat is symbolic of how out of place she feels. Throughout the novella, the readers get a sense that Holly believes that she doesn't really belong in this world, which explains her lack of deep social connections, with the exception of the narrator. Towards the end of the book, Holly lets her cat go in the middle of Spanish Harlem because she claimed that they were both independent and never made each other any promises. After the car pulls away, however, Holly is overcome with grief and realizes that they "did belong to each other. He was mine." She frantically traces back her steps to try and find the cat, but to no avail. The narrator then promises her that he will look for the cat and will take care of it if he should find it. Holly's realization of her dependence on the cat is indicative of the anchor and hope that she has in this world. She still has a desire to make a connection. The ending describes the narrator finding the cat behind the window of a cozy-looking home. Through the closing words, Capote gives the readers a ray of hope that perhaps Holly has found her home as well.

This novella was such an interesting read for me because Capote was able to characterize Holly in such few words. He wanted his readers to look past the facade and analyze the person below. I usually assess the quality of a work of fiction by how emotionally involved I am with the plot and the characters; so for me, Breakfast at Tiffany's is excellent. Capote had such a good manipulation with words and imagery and it's no wonder his works have become so celebrated in the literary field.

-Cherry H.