Breakfast at Tiffany's Analysis

Literary Devices in Breakfast at Tiffany's

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

Holly's cat is a constant reminder of the lack of connection she feels to those around her. For much of the story, he represents her unwillingness (or maybe her inability) to feel tied down to anyo...

Setting

Breakfast at Tiffany's is set in New York during World War II. The war doesn't figure prominently in the story in that we don't see the main characters in combat and most of them seem untouched by...

Narrator Point of View

Breakfast at Tiffany's is told in the first person from the point of view of an unnamed narrator. And the narrator in this story is interesting since he is telling us his story but, in the end, the...

Genre

As a genre, literary fiction depends a lot on characters, and there's no denying that Holly is pretty central to Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's true that a lot happens in the story, and the events th...

Tone

This might sound a little complicated, but Capote's attitude toward Holly can be different than our reactions to her (and we think this is part of his talent). Some of us might not like her or feel...

Writing Style

Capote isn't afraid to be blunt, and he doesn't shy away from using language that many readers might find shocking or offensive. But since so much of the writing in the novel is dialogue from Holly...

What's Up With the Title?

Although Holly actually mentions Tiffany's (and having breakfast there) just a few times in the short novel, we think her reference to it is a pretty important element of the text, and it tells us...

What's Up With the Ending?

There isn't a lot we can say for certain about the ending of the novel, but isn't that what makes it worth thinking about? We do know that Holly has ended up in Argentina (at least according to her...

Tough-o-Meter

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a little deceptive since it seems like a pretty easy read. It's short, there aren't a lot of characters in the story, and the action pretty much takes place in one setting...

Plot Analysis

Holly and the narrator meet.This meeting sets off the action in the rest of the novel, and the relationship between the two profoundly affects the narrator's life. It's also through the narrator'...

Three Act Plot Analysis

Holly and the narrator meet and become friends, and he then finds himself quickly entrenched in her chaotic life. When Holly decides to leave New York with José, there is no going back for her...

Trivia

Truman Capote's given name was Truman Streckfus Persons. Capote was his stepfather's last name. (Source)Capote was originally going to name Holly's character Connie Gustafson. (Source)A woman named...

Steaminess Rating

There isn't any explicit sex in Breakfast at Tiffany's, but we do get some frank sexual talk. Holly tells the narrator that she has sex with Doc before he heads back to Texas, we know that she has...

Allusions

William Saroyan (3.14)Ernest Hemingway (3.14)W. Somerset Maugham (3.16)Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights (8.20)Sigmund Freud (4.16)Unity Mitford, a supporter and friend of Hitler's (4.41)Adolf Hitle...