Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote is about the thought that friendshipcan make a person take drastic measures in helping a friend.
The setting is NewYork City. The point of view is first person limited. Seen through the eyes ofthe narrator, called “Fred” ( the main character ), who is a startingwriter. I enjoyed the story because it was very interesting to learn andexperience life in old New York.
The story starts out, probably in the presenttime, when “Fred”, who had now been living in New York for a great deal oftime, goes into his friend Joe Bell’s bar for a drink. There he learns the hislong time friend, Holly Golightly, is still alive by the use of a photographfrom an explorer which shows a wood carving made by a tribesman which bears theuncanny resemblance to Holly. After this encounter, “Fred” begins toreminisce about his past with Holly and all of their wild adventures. “Fred’s” first meeting with Holly was through his apartment window. HollyGolightly is a nineteen year-old self-sufficient woman. Some of her personalitytraits are admirable, affectionate, while cold hearted.
She is motivated in lifeby striving for her purpose in life, which is to be rich and famous whilekeeping her ego. She believes that love is not sexual. Holly, trying to escape ahorrible date, decides to visit her new downstairs neighbor. There shepractically tells “Fred” everything about her life. Fred was a name Hollychose for “Fred” because he looked like her brother Fred, but since thepoint of view is first person, the narrator refers to himself throughout thestory as “I”, but Holly generally refers to him as “Fred”. In”Fred’s” apartment, Holly tells “Fred” about her involvement with aimprisoned drug runner name Sally Tomato, a stock mobster character who paysHolly to visit him.
“Fred” learns more about Holly’s friends when heattends a party hosted by Holly. There he meets Rusty Trawler, Holly’s currentboyfriend, Mag Wildwood, a cunning southern bell from Arkansas who wouldeventually steal away Holly’s boyfriend. “Fred” realizes that Holly’sfriends are not the usual type of people that attend parties. Which is describedwhen Mag first enters the party and says in her southern accent, ” Youb-b-boys not vexed at me for butting in on your p-p-party. ” Mag says thiseven though everybody knows she was attending. The tone of the story is funnyand sarcastic.
The action then abruptly changes when Holly, Mag, Rusty, andMag’s boyfriend, Jose` Ybarra-Jaegar, an eccentric Brazilian politician, wenton a trip to Brazil. There Mag steals Holly’s boyfriend, Rusty, and Holly doesthe same with Mag’s boyfriend, Jose`. When they get back, Holly is detected byher former husband. “Fred” then learns that Holly’s real name was LulamaeBarnes before she was married as a child bride to a southerner named DocGolightly. Also, over this period of time, Holly’s involvement with Mag’sex-boyfriend drives Mag away.
This is a very rough time for Holly. In order toease the pain and pass the time, Holly spend more and more time with “Fred”drinking in Joe Bell’s bar. Joe Bell is a shy bar owner who conceals hisfeeling about the rambunctious Holly. Even though he is in love with her, Joekeeps his feelings hidden.
Everything is fine till one day after horse-backriding. After “Fred” has a sever accident, involving a horse and an abrupttrip downtown, Holly is suddenly arrested for being involved in a drug trianglewith Sally Tomato. Apparently, Sally was using Holly to relay information fromhim to his drug empire outside the prison walls. At this same moment “Fred”finds out that Jose` is leaving Holly and he has to tell her the news.
The themeis reinforced in these chapters by the way the narrator goes out of his way todo things for his friend, Holly. They go horse back riding, even though”Fred” is uneasy about riding. They also decide to steal masks from acostume store. After all of these horrible things happen to Holly, she decidesto break out of jail and move to Brazil.
Even though “Fred” knows she isprobably never coming back, he still has hope for Holly’s return. And heshares that hope with Joe Bell at his bar. “Fred” knows that he would havedone anything to keep his and Holly’s relationship strong. Which is the themeof the story: friendship can make a person take drastic measures in helping afriend.
Holly Golightly was just a lost romantic. A surreal person living in areal word. Dealing with real people and problems in an unorthodox way. So, ifyou’re ever in Brazil and you happen to see Holly, tell her that “Fred” isdoing fine.
