Beware of your wishes–they often come true. This phrase aptly characterizes the life journey of one of the brightest figures of the cultural life of twentieth-century America, the writer Truman Capote. Neglected as a child, he became dependent on it in adulthood, constantly making efforts to interest others in his person. Time after time he managed to attract surprised looks. But as he became more and more infatuated, Capote failed to notice how the constant effort to attract attention ruined his own life.
The Oddball Oscar Wilde
capote childThe would-be writer was born on September 30, 1924, in New Orleans. The boy grew up with absolutely no attention from his parents: while his father hung around looking for a new job, his mother spent her time in the local beer gardens. Soon the marriage broke up, but it had no effect on his mother’s way of life. So little Truman continued to be often left home alone, locked in the apartment. Probably, it was these years spent mostly alone, led to the fact that the future writer suffered painfully lack of flamboyance around his person, not resisting any means to once again attract attention.
When the boy turned seven, he was sent to live with relatives in the backwoods of Alabama. At first Truman was not distinguished neither talkative nor sociable – before entering school he even had to pass a special test to prove that he was not mentally retarded. The test results stunned the teachers – so brilliant Truman passed them. Moreover, at the age of eight, out of the blue, he began to write. Every day the boy devoted several hours to writing. He wrote everything: stories he heard from former slaves and war veterans, composed detective stories, adventure stories, meticulously wrote down all the events that happened to him during the day. At the same time, the boy got used to the new place, quickly made friends with his peers, and at the age of 12 was already a real source of gossip for the local provincial newspaper.
Meanwhile, Truman’s mother, who went to look for happiness in New York, got married for the second time and decided to take her son with her. Here he got a job at the New Yourker magazine – a simple “errand boy. However, it soon turned out that the courier writes better than many of the staff of the magazine. To get the attention he lacked in his childhood, Capote begins to do tricks. He comes to the editorial office in a black cape, striking everyone with his resemblance to Oscar Wilde. He appears at social receptions, presenting himself as the editor-in-chief of the magazine. For this behavior, the young man is soon fired. And it does not upset the guy, because the story “Miriam”, which he dares to print in the magazine “Mademoiselle”, brings him the prestigious literary prize O’Henry. A few years later, in 1948, Capote publishes his debut novel “Other Voices, Other Rooms”, which critics perceive with delight and amazement: where did the young man get such a talent for writing? However, there is nothing surprising in it – in fact, at the time of the release of the novel Truman had already been writing for more than sixteen years, and continued to work on himself.
The Secular Lion.
Actually, his efforts were aimed not only at perfecting his writing, but also at “getting into” the “higher circles” of society. Vanity and the constant desire to be the center of attention overshadowed all other traits of Truman’s character. And the natural spontaneity in communication, coupled with a sharp mind and a tendency to eccentric acts of a debutante writer attracted more and more gawkers of high society. So in time famous writers Tennessee Williams and Harper Lee, painter Andy Warhol, actress Marilyn Monroe and many other cream of society of the time appeared among his pals.
Over the next ten years Capote continues to produce novel after novel, his books are critically acclaimed, but none can replicate the success of his debut. So the writer decides to publish a novel in which he ruthlessly exposed the shortcomings of the lifestyle he leads and loves himself: breakfast at Tiffany’s, receptions until morning, fun, entertainment, shocking escapades, idle days spent in clubs and parties … The book entitled “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was a resounding success. There were rumors that the main character of the book – Holly Golightly – the writer wrote off himself, and he did not refute that opinion. For
all doors were open to the writer, his phone was constantly ringing off the hook with the next gossip that Capote accumulated with painful thoroughness, no party went on without him. Capote became more and more dependent on his entourage, trying more and more eagerly to consolidate his status, acquired over the years, as a social lion and the darling of the public.
The Killer’s Mate
Having used seemingly all possible ways to attract attention to his own person, Capote did not intend to stop there. He took advantage of the opportunity to create a new genre in literature, thus securing for himself several more years of attention. Capote became the “father” of the so-called “documentary novel. In fact, he did not have to reinvent the wheel – all he had to do was to record the story of the murder of a family of Kansas farmers from the lips of the murderers…
After reading in a newspaper about the terrible murder of the Clutter family: father, mother and both children, the writer went to the town of Holcomb, where the tragedy occurred. He conducted his own investigation, gaining the trust of the locals. When the two murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, were arrested, he secured permission to see them at any time. After much time and effort, he still found common ground with the detainees, and word for word he literally extracted from them the story of their lives and the motives for the murder. The trial, like the work on the book, continued for several years. During this time, a strange relationship had formed between the criminals and the writer – something like a buddy relationship – because they had spent several hours together every day for years. In order to elicit from Smith the smallest details, Capote promised him to take care of commuting the death penalty to life imprisonment. But he failed to keep his promise – after all, the book must have a logical ending, the murderers must be punished. The embittered criminal took cruel revenge on the writer: a few weeks before the execution of the sentence, he began to inundate Capote with letters, quoting from medical books about what happens to a person when he is hanged (which is the death penalty he was sentenced to). And Smith’s final wish was for Capote to be present at the execution.
A friend of the writer, who accompanied him during the execution, recalled that Capote had a real hysterical attack. The criminal died within twenty minutes, and the writer for several days could not stop weeping. Many believe that this event broke Capote. Indeed, he became depressed and began to drink and use drugs – despite the fact that the book Cold Blood was an incredible success: the royalties for the novel at the time amounted to four million dollars!
Over time, the writer’s life supposedly got better. He returned to the usual company of the rich and famous, as before, made friends with the cream of society, had fun, visited elite institutions. Around Capote formed a circle of girlfriends, whom he jokingly called “his winches. They were “style icons”, the richest women in America – for example, Jackie Kennedy’s sister Lee Radziwill. Capote appeared everywhere in their company, practically lived in their homes, knew all their secrets. And, apparently, the desire to once again draw attention to himself did not give the writer any peace.
Therefore, in one of the issues of Esquire magazine Capote published an excerpt from his new novel “Eavesdropped Prayers”, in which he revealed the intimate secrets of his girlfriends. The release of the excerpt caused a huge scandal: one of the heroines mentioned in the work committed suicide. Most of his acquaintances turned their backs on Capote, and the “girlfriends” simply hated him. Despite the fact that the writer repented and tearfully asked their forgiveness, none of them forgave him. Truman Capote despaired. He spent the last years of his life drowning his emptiness in alcohol and eventually died. By a cruel irony of fate, the writer, who was ready to do anything for everyone’s attention and love, ended up unhappy and alone.