Breakfast at Tiffany's Section 2: Difference between revisions

Throughout this section we begin to get a better glimpse into the life of Miss Holly Golightly.  We find that she is someone who likes to have a good time. Being the free spirit that she is, the good times she has is with different men every night. The night that she and the narrator have their first important meeting, Holly is hiding from a guy who is drunk and starts biting Holly in bed. Since the narrator does seem to have this "crush" on Holly it makes the encounter that much more interesting.  He wants to make the best impression for himself he can, but he is overtaken by Holly's always putting in random thoughts.  These random thoughts suggest that she doesn't really want to be there with the narrator.  It is the only solution to the problem of being cold and standing on a fire escape, half dressed.

Holly Golightly was Truman Capote's favorite character because "her whole life is an expression of freedom and an acceptance of human irregularities" (Clarke 313). This is obvious as she is not tied down with a career nor with a family. Her lifestyle is portrayed even through her name: Holiday "Holly" Golightly, meaning she "makes a holiday of life, through which she walks lightly" (Clarke (313). She is also very accepting and open-minded towards homosexuality, which she shows throughout the novella, whether it be through her words - ("A person ought to be able to marry a man or a woman...") (83) or her actions (for example, her friendship with the narrator).

Holly's character is like that of Capote's mother, Lillie Mae "Nina" Capote and like that of Capote himself. Both Holly and Nina grew up in the South while longing to live in New York and both changed their names to ones that they felt were more sophisticated. However, Holly seems to most resemble Capote in spirit. She shares his philosophy of freedom and acceptance, as well as his fears and anxieties, which Holly called "the mean reds" (Clarke 313).