Breakfast at Tiffany's Section 9

Summary

The narrator awaits the morning mail on September 30th, expecting to receive birthday cards from his family. While waiting, Holly shows up and invites him to go horseback riding in Central Park and give farewell to her favorite horse, Mabel Minerva. The narrator,then learns that Holly intends to move to Brazil with Jose. While riding through the park, a group of boys jump from behind the bushes and spook their horses. Thus, the narrator's horse bolts out of control and he falls off when the horse comes to a halt.

The narrator soaks in his tub after the horse accident while Holly waits to rub liniment on him. After a brief period, Madame Spanella and two detectives burst into his apartment to arrest Holly for her connection with Sally Tomato's drug ring. Holly insults the lady detective by calling her a bull-dyke and the detective slaps her. That evening, Holly and Oliver O'Shaughnessy, Sally Tomato's attorney,get arrested and it make the front page of the newspaper.

Notes

Ambush(87)- An act or instance of lying concealed so as to attack by surprise.

Bull-dyke (93)- A term for a lesbian that usually exhibits masculine traits.

Fedora (90)- A hat that is creased lengthwise down the crown and pinched in the front on both sides. It is often worn by people associated with the mafia.

Heir (85)- A person who inherits the estate of a deceased person. Property left to a person in a will is not an heir but a legatee.

Mabel Minerva(85)- A horse that Holly had to say good-bye to.

Pincer(88)- A maneuver in which an enemy force is attacked from two flanks and the front.

Stable(87)- A building for the lodging and feeding of animals, especially horses or cattle.

Vestibule (85)- An entrance hall or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.

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Commentary

The section begins with the narrator's birthday and he's looking for some money or a card from his family. Other than that, it's just another ordinary day for him. Holly appears and asks him to go horseback riding with her. The narrator is not skilled at riding horses but agrees to it. He enjoys spending time with Holly and is very shocked when she tells him that she's going to Brazil. The narrator tells her that she "can expect a present from me" (86). Holly is a free spirited woman who doesn't like to stay in one place to long. Also, as a result of the narrator's inexperience with horses, it causes him to be fall off the horse once it comes to a halt.

Study Questions

When is the narrator's birthday?
What is Mabel Minerva?
What does O'Shaughnessy send Holly as a wedding present from Sally Tomato?
How does Holly save the narrator's life?
What is Holly arrested for? Where does her arrest take place?
O'Shaughnessy has two nicknames in the crimeland cirles. Name one of the two.
What is the last thing Holly instructs the narrator to do in this section?

Works Cited

Capote, Truman Breakfast at Tiffany's. New York; Random House Publishing. 1958