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Breakfast at Tiffany's Section 8: Difference between revisions
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== Commentary == | == Commentary == | ||
Capote seems to have known someone in his life that he loved as much as the narrator loves Holly. On the other hand, he may have intended to spark a female movement of freedom to do what they want."''Breakfast at Tiffany's'' inspired women to pack their bags and seek their fortunes in New York all over the country."(Cash)If this was his goal, then he certainly achieved it! In any case, he portrays very well his anguish upon "learning" that Holly has married Rusty. These emotions of desire, love, jealousy, and lonliness really seem to resonate throughout this section. The narrator, despite knowing that Holly is not yet married, watches mournfully as Holly is converted into an expecting mother of six weeks by Jose. Holly also mentions Jose in almost every conversation. The once beautiful, flamboyant woman that he knew becomes a mostly content stay-at-home-wife. | |||
The main turning point, it seems, in Holly's rebellious ways is the death of her brother, Fred. Fred represented her willingness to run up to this point in the novella. His death, like the death of Holly's freedom, is violent and sudden as Jose converts her into a house wife. Furthermore, Holly mourns her brother's death as much as she seems to subconsiously pine for her old ways of travel. In her conversations with the narrator, she seems unresolved with the idea of spending the rest of her life with Jose. Yes, she wishes to spend time with him, but she finds so many faults in him. She even tells the narrator that she would not choose to be with Jose if she had the ability to go back in time. Obviously she is trying to convince herself that she ''is'' in love with Jose because now she is pregnant. She continues to repeat over and over again that she loves him. QQQQQQQQQQQQQ | |||
This stage of the story is one of the narrator's last chances to tell Holly how he really feels. So why dosen't he? More than likely, he has noticed the pattern that Holly has presented with her other relationships. Every time a man tries to keep her for himself,Holly simply runs away. The narrator, knowing that trying to tie her down will end in failure, assumes that acting indifferent will result in Holly staying as close to him as possible for a longer period of time. Though his "plan" seems to work for a time, the narrator could not forsee Holly's drastic change into a housewife resulting from pregnancy. The narrator's reaction to Holly's new condition is easily pitiful. He simply sinks into a pool and drowns in his own self pity. This self pity may even be the result of future events with Holly. After all, ''he'' has never tried to sweep Holly off her feet. She may have simply been testing the narrator to see whether or not he really loved her. | |||
Regardless of her true intentions, this section ends with the narrator giving a wonderful metaphore." So the days, the last days, blow about in memory...all alike as leaves..."(84-85) The narrator's final days with Holly are described as falling leaves before winter. One has seen leaves before, but they all seem the same. Rarely does any one leaf stand out in memory. One can only remember falling leaves look like. The narrator feels the same way about his final days with Holly. He can tell little difference between them, and he spent most of the time with her worrying about the time that she would be away from him. Also like falling leaves, these memories seemed to blow away, unable to be caught to hold on to as a keepsake. | |||
== Study Questions == | == Study Questions == | ||