Breakfast at Tiffany's Section 7: Difference between revisions
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== Summary == | == Summary == | ||
Holly and the protangist are in Joe Bell's | [[Image:Images.jpg|thumb|A Martini]] Holly and the protangist are in Joe Bell's bar drinking martini's and discussing Holly's marriage. Holly never divorced Doc. "Divorce him? Of course I never divorced him. I was only fourteen, for God's sake. It couldn't have been legal" (Capote 72). Holly explains that she has not been to bed, to sleep that is, and for the first time feels the need to justify her actions. "Well, I had to. Doc really loves me, you know. And I love him. He may have looked old and tacky to ''you''. But you don't know the sweetness of him, the confidence he can give to birds and brats and fragile things like that. Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot" (Capote 73). She is telling the protangist and Joe that she feels that Doc's mistake was his "love" for wild things. Holly offers a toast to Doc, believeing that he has made it to the Blue Mountains. | ||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
* '''rounds''' (72)- a set of drinks bought by and individual for another person or a group of people. "It was not yet noon...and he'd already served us three rounds" (Capote 72). | * '''rounds''' (72)- a set of drinks bought by and individual for another person or a group of people. "It was not yet noon...and he'd already served us three rounds" (Capote 72). | ||
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* '''Blue Mountains''' (74)- [http://www.peakbagger.com/range.aspx?rid=164 Map] Holly must have been talking about the Blue Ridge Mountains when she said,"He must be in the Blue Mountains by now" (Capote 74). | * '''Blue Mountains''' (74)- [http://www.peakbagger.com/range.aspx?rid=164 Map] Holly must have been talking about the Blue Ridge Mountains when she said,"He must be in the Blue Mountains by now" (Capote 74). | ||
* '''Hawk''' (74)- A [http://www.desertusa.com/aug96/du_hawk.html bird of prey] that thrives throughout the United States. | |||
* '''Bobcat''' (74)- A wild cousin to the American [http://www.agarman.dial.pipex.com/bobcat.htm housecat] that lives in the United States | |||
== Commentary == | == Commentary == | ||
[[Image:Bus.jpg|thumb|Doc leaves]] "Capote uses some of his best dramatic irony in the novel with the characterization of Doc Golightly. Up until the last minute when he is ready to board a bus bound for Tulip, he truly believes that he has convinced Lulamae to come home with him. But as the reader and the narrator both know, she can't, it would be a total contradiction to everything she believes in" (Cash 4). It seems Holly has a fear of commitment, or of being tied down that has been implanted in her from her young days. Holly has, "a wild and homeless love of freedom" (Hassan). | |||
When Holly says, "never love a wild thing Mr. Bell", she is breaking it to him as softly as she can that she will not be around for long. She is a wild thing and sees that Joe is in love with her. She wants him to know that it is nothing personal when she leaves, it is only that she is wild and wants to "fly into a tree" and that Mr. Bell will end up "looking at the sky" (Capote 74). | |||
Throughout the entire novella one theme keeps popping up. The theme is love. "''Breakfast at Tiffany's'' is a love story-of a different nature. it is concerned with all forms of love: sexual, homosexual, asexual, perhaps even spirital" (Levine 352). Almost every other page contains an expression of a different type of love or a definition of what love should be. Section seven deals mostly with the pain and regret that love can cause. Doc is a character that can break a reader's heart. Even Holly Golightly felt bad for Doc, "Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot. I've always remembered Doc in my prayers..." (Capote 73). Truman Capote created a masterpiece that everyone can relate to. | |||
The entire scene in section seven takes place in Joe Bell's bar. Holly is drinking a little, and she is giving up some personal information about the previous evening. Why did Holly feel comfortable with Joe Bell and the narrator? What ties them together? Tison Pugh writes, "Critics have long recognized that Holly's friendships with the narrator and Joe Bell are asexual, but it is imperative to note the queer reasons for the platonic nature of these relationships" (2). The reason Holly is comfortable with Joe Bell and the narrator is because they are both gay. Joe Bell's bar is also a gay bar. Readers know this by the descriptions given in the novella. The bar is hidden from view and has mirrored windows (Capote 5). "Gay bars did not advertise themselves...in the 1950's...Mirror windows allow patrons to see outside but do not allow passersby to look in; to this day many gay bars have such mirror windows to protect the privacy of their patrons" (Pugh 2). | |||
== Study Questions == | == Study Questions == | ||
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*Cash, Matthew. [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bcash/criticalanalysis.html A Travelin' Through the Pastures of the Sky: A Critical Analysis of <i>Breakfast at Tiffany's</i>]. 1996. | *Cash, Matthew. [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bcash/criticalanalysis.html A Travelin' Through the Pastures of the Sky: A Critical Analysis of <i>Breakfast at Tiffany's</i>]. 1996. | ||
== Works Cited == | |||
*Capote, Truman. Breakfast at Tiffany's. New York: Vintage Books - A division of Random House, 1993. | |||
*Cash, Matthew. "A Travelin Through the Pastures of the Sky: A Critical Analysis of Breakfast at Tiffany's". Cash, 1996 | |||
*Hassan, Ihab H. "Wisconsin Studies in Contemporary Literature". Vol.1, No.2. Spring, 1960. pp.5-21 | |||
*Levine, Paul. ''Book Review of Breakfast at Tiffany's/Levine''. ''The Georgia Review'' / 3 (1959): 350-352 | |||
*Pugh, Tison. ''Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's''. ''The Explicator'' 6 /(2002): 51-53 | |||
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[[Breakfast at Tiffany's Section 6|Section six]] | [[Breakfast at Tiffany's]] | [[Breakfast at Tiffany's Section 8|Section eight]] | |||
[[Category:Literature]] | |||
Latest revision as of 21:12, 22 March 2006
Summary
Holly and the protangist are in Joe Bell's bar drinking martini's and discussing Holly's marriage. Holly never divorced Doc. "Divorce him? Of course I never divorced him. I was only fourteen, for God's sake. It couldn't have been legal" (Capote 72). Holly explains that she has not been to bed, to sleep that is, and for the first time feels the need to justify her actions. "Well, I had to. Doc really loves me, you know. And I love him. He may have looked old and tacky to you. But you don't know the sweetness of him, the confidence he can give to birds and brats and fragile things like that. Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot" (Capote 73). She is telling the protangist and Joe that she feels that Doc's mistake was his "love" for wild things. Holly offers a toast to Doc, believeing that he has made it to the Blue Mountains.
Notes
- rounds (72)- a set of drinks bought by and individual for another person or a group of people. "It was not yet noon...and he'd already served us three rounds" (Capote 72).
- Lulamae (73)- Holly Golightly's name was Lulamae Barnes before she married Doc Golightly. "Her name's not Holly. She was a Lulamae Barnes. Was..."(Capote 66).
- Blue Mountains (74)- Map Holly must have been talking about the Blue Ridge Mountains when she said,"He must be in the Blue Mountains by now" (Capote 74).
- Hawk (74)- A bird of prey that thrives throughout the United States.
- Bobcat (74)- A wild cousin to the American housecat that lives in the United States
Commentary
"Capote uses some of his best dramatic irony in the novel with the characterization of Doc Golightly. Up until the last minute when he is ready to board a bus bound for Tulip, he truly believes that he has convinced Lulamae to come home with him. But as the reader and the narrator both know, she can't, it would be a total contradiction to everything she believes in" (Cash 4). It seems Holly has a fear of commitment, or of being tied down that has been implanted in her from her young days. Holly has, "a wild and homeless love of freedom" (Hassan).
When Holly says, "never love a wild thing Mr. Bell", she is breaking it to him as softly as she can that she will not be around for long. She is a wild thing and sees that Joe is in love with her. She wants him to know that it is nothing personal when she leaves, it is only that she is wild and wants to "fly into a tree" and that Mr. Bell will end up "looking at the sky" (Capote 74).
Throughout the entire novella one theme keeps popping up. The theme is love. "Breakfast at Tiffany's is a love story-of a different nature. it is concerned with all forms of love: sexual, homosexual, asexual, perhaps even spirital" (Levine 352). Almost every other page contains an expression of a different type of love or a definition of what love should be. Section seven deals mostly with the pain and regret that love can cause. Doc is a character that can break a reader's heart. Even Holly Golightly felt bad for Doc, "Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot. I've always remembered Doc in my prayers..." (Capote 73). Truman Capote created a masterpiece that everyone can relate to.
The entire scene in section seven takes place in Joe Bell's bar. Holly is drinking a little, and she is giving up some personal information about the previous evening. Why did Holly feel comfortable with Joe Bell and the narrator? What ties them together? Tison Pugh writes, "Critics have long recognized that Holly's friendships with the narrator and Joe Bell are asexual, but it is imperative to note the queer reasons for the platonic nature of these relationships" (2). The reason Holly is comfortable with Joe Bell and the narrator is because they are both gay. Joe Bell's bar is also a gay bar. Readers know this by the descriptions given in the novella. The bar is hidden from view and has mirrored windows (Capote 5). "Gay bars did not advertise themselves...in the 1950's...Mirror windows allow patrons to see outside but do not allow passersby to look in; to this day many gay bars have such mirror windows to protect the privacy of their patrons" (Pugh 2).
Study Questions
- What time are Holly and the protangist at Joe Bell's bar? How many rounds have they already had?
- What mistake did Holly believe Doc was making?
- Why did Holly need to explain or justify herself to Mr. Bell?
- What does Holly mean by the statement "the mean reds"?
- What was Holly Golightly's name before she married Doc?
- What does Holly realize about herself on page 73?
- How old was Holly when she married Doc?
- Why does Holly believe she didn't have to divorce Doc?
External Resources
- Cash, Matthew. A Travelin' Through the Pastures of the Sky: A Critical Analysis of Breakfast at Tiffany's. 1996.
Works Cited
- Capote, Truman. Breakfast at Tiffany's. New York: Vintage Books - A division of Random House, 1993.
- Cash, Matthew. "A Travelin Through the Pastures of the Sky: A Critical Analysis of Breakfast at Tiffany's". Cash, 1996
- Hassan, Ihab H. "Wisconsin Studies in Contemporary Literature". Vol.1, No.2. Spring, 1960. pp.5-21
- Levine, Paul. Book Review of Breakfast at Tiffany's/Levine. The Georgia Review / 3 (1959): 350-352
- Pugh, Tison. Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's. The Explicator 6 /(2002): 51-53