Truman Capote Accomplishments

Truman Capote, an American novelist, scriptwriter, and dramatist, is one of the most fascinating literary figures in the 20th century. Beginning with Truman Capote’s childhood, his literary works, his perhaps most prominent novel, In Cold Blood, he was and will always be remembered as a remarkable individual.

Truman Capote was brought up in an unstable and neglecting household. He was born Truman Streckfus Persons on September 30, 1924 in New Orleans, Lousiana to Archulus Persons, a charming schemer, and Lillie Mae Faulk, a small-town girl (DISC). His parents emotionally neglected him often leaving him in the care of relatives (Bio). He eventually caught his parents interest during their divorce with both of them fighting for custody

as a method to hurt the other. His mother won and in 1932, moved to New York City to live with his new stepfather, Joe Capote (Bio). Truman was adopted by his stepfather and changed his name to Truman Garcia Capote (Bio). While Joe Capote was arguably a better father figure, his family situation did not improve.
When Truman’s parents were unable to care for him, they sent him to his aunt’s house in Monroeville, Alabama where he met several people who would eventually serve as inspiration for fictional characters and Harper Lee (DISC; St.

James). Truman and Lee were opposites; He was frail and Lee was a rough and tumble tomboy (Bio). Despite their differences, they became instant friends (Southern). She helped Capote combat his loneliness and unhappiness, which resulted in him developing a flamboyant, outgoing, and witty personality (DISC; EWB). His adventures in Monroeville were the highlights of his childhood as opposed to his life with his

parents.
After his parents divorced, Capote’s life spun downward. His once affectionate mother appeared different once he began to encounter her on a daily basis. Lillie Mae’s disposition would spontaneously change from cruel to caring (Bio). In school, Capote developed a gift for storytelling and entertainment (Bio). However, his performance was just mediocre and everyone believed him to be of subpar intelligence (DISC). He was forced to take a series of psychological tests that only proved that he possessed an I.Q. of above the genius level (DISC). However, Lillie Mae was unsatisfied and disappointed with Capote’s effeminate ways and from 1936-1937 thought that military academy would be the answer (Bio). However, military academy did nothing for Truman. The other cadets ridiculed him for his small size (Bio). In 1939, his family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut. This only furthered his problems. Instead of studying, he often spent his nights at clubs (EWB). His mother’s drinking began to escalate making his own life even more unstable. Capote did not do well in school and had to repeat 12th grade (EWB). He looked towards literature as an outlet and turned writing from a hobby into a career.
Truman Capote began secretly writing at a young age (EWB). He won his first literary prize when he was 10 years old in a Mobile Press Register contest for a short story, “Old Mr. Busybody” (DISC). He continued to write articles and short stories for The New Yorker in high school (EWB). He spent many of his leisure hours reading in the New York Society Library (St. James). Capote's career at The New Yorker ended after two years when he supposedly fell asleep during a reading by Robert Frost (St. James). A letter from Frost to the editor Harold Ross which resulted in Capote's dismissal, compelled Capote to return to Alabama (St. James). While he no longer was employed, his experience with The New Yorker continued to benefit his writing career.
Capote focused exclusively on writing when he moved to Alabama. From 1943 to 1946, a “steady stream of short stories flowed from his pen” including as Miriam, The Walls Are Cold, A Mink of One's Own, My Side of the Matter, Preacher's Legend, and Shut a Final Door (EWB). Capote had several magazines publish his stories and soon became a recurring guest on talk shows (DISC). He made important social contacts and the exposure led to the publication of his first book, Other Voices, Other Rooms in 1948 (EWB). The commentary to Other Voices, Other Rooms was “immediate and intense” (St. James). The homosexual theme and writing invited copious amounts of criticism. While the cover, an infamous shot of Capote sprawled on a couch, gazing with a docile manner into the camera's eye, was looked down upon contempt and scorn (St. James). Unfazed by his failure, Capote adapted his interpretation of the Haitian bordello, House of Flowers. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1954 and closed after 165 performances (Bio). In 1958, Capote scored another success with Breakfast at Tiffany's. He ventured into the life of a “New York City party girl, Holiday Golightly, who was a woman who depended on men to get by” (Bio). His immense success and sound foundation with writing lead to his most notable piece of work.
It occurred to Capote that “crime might be an excellent subject… I would half-consciously… always notice any item that had a reference to a crime" (DISC). On Nov 16, 1959, Capote stumbled across the story that would become the basis for his most famous work, In Cold Blood (DISC). Mentioned briefly in a New York Times story was the mass murder of the Clutter comprised of a wealthy farmer, his wife, and their two children murdered by Perry Smith and Dick Hickock in Halcomb, a small Kansas town. Capote knew instantly that this was the story he was hunting for (DISC). Little did he know that this was to consume Capote's life for the next six years (St. James). He set out with friend Harper Lee interview townspeople, friends and family of the deceased. However, Truman, even with his vibrant personality and style, found it difficult to get into the town’s good graces. Nonetheless, they decided to record with their minds instead of tape recorders and to write observations and notes at the end of each day and collate their findings (Bio). In addition to interviews, Capote “retraced the killers' flight, journeying south to Miami and Acapulco” and even rented rooms in the same hotels (DISC). He conducted months of research on the criminal mind and “interviewed a number of death row killers solely to get a perspective on the two boys" (EWB). Lee and Capote found a chance to interview Clutters' suspected killers, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith (Bio). He accumulated over six thousand pages of notes, and stated "eighty per cent of the research I… never used. But it gave me such a grounding that I never had any hesitation in my consideration of the subject" (DISC). Shortly thereafter, Lee and Capote returned to New York. Capote started working on his novel, which would “evolve into the non-fiction masterpiece, In Cold Blood” (EWB). In Cold Blood was published on September 25, 1965 his five years of labor would produce one of the most exceptional novels of the 20th century (EWB).
In Cold Blood was an instant best seller (Bio). Although many challenged and disagreed with his self-aggrandizing claims that he had created a new genre that combined literature with reportage, none could deny or challenge the power and quality of In Cold Blood. Any failures Capote encountered in the past were more than ameliorated by the success of In Cold Blood (St. James). However, the bestseller was a commercial success even before it appeared in book form. The New Yorker published In Cold Blood in four consecutive installments, and netted Capote a supposed $70,000 from rights. New American Library paid $700,000 for paperback rights and Columbia Pictures spent a million dollars for filming rights. In Cold Blood had earned Capote $2 million in royalties (DISC). The book was also a critical success and brought much praise from the literary community. It was described as "a masterpiece—agonizing, terrible, possessed, proof that the times… are still capable of tragedy" from a Time reviewer and that " Capote has thrust the act of violence itself before the reader as if it were happening before his very eyes" (DISC). F.W. Dupee deemed it as "the best documentary account of an American crime ever written" (DISC). The book was no doubt a success, but many questioned the veracity and accuracy of the novel.
While none could argue the incomparability and caliber of In Cold, critics were concerned with its factuality despite the book's describion as a factual novel. Some critics even argued that Capote changed facts, added scenes, and re-created dialogue to suit the story (Helliker; Mass). In 1966, Phillip Tompkins noted factual discrepancies after he traveled to Kansas and conversed with the same people interviewed by Capote. Tompkins concluded:
Capote has, in short, achieved a work of art… But, despite the brilliance of his self-publicizing efforts, he has made both a tactical and a moral error that will hurt him in the short run. By insisting that “every word” of his book is true he has made himself vulnerable to those readers who are prepared to examine seriously such a sweeping claim.
True crime writer Jack Olsen commented "I recognized it as a work of art, but I know fakery when I see it… just nobody wanted to hear about it," to which Capote replied, "Jack Olsen is just jealous" (Hood). Alvin Dewey, the investigator portrayed in In Cold Blood, later said that the final scene, in which he visits the Clutters' graves, never happened. Other Kansas residents have claimed that they were mischaracterized or misquoted (Van Jensen). This further evidence indicates that the book is not as “immaculately factual” as Capote had always claimed it to be (Helliker).
While his non-fiction masterwork brought him acclaim and a fortune, Capote was never the same (Bio).

The bestseller and witnessing the hanging of Smith and Hickock had taken a toll on him both physically and psychologically (Bio). When it was over, Capote confessed, "I would never do it again . . . If had known what that book was going to cost in every conceivable way, emotionally, I never would have started it" (DISC). Capote began drinking more, using drugs, and later developed an addiction to taking tranquilizers used to calm his nerves. His substance abuse problems escalated over the coming years (Bio; St. James). Some people attribute Capote's escalating physical and emotional problems to the acute stress he suffered during the project (St. James). H his general health deteriorated alarmingly. The once “sylphlike and youthful Mr. Capote” became sickly and paunchy. In the late 1970's he went into rehabilitation, had prostate surgery and was affected with a painful facial nerve condition (Krebs). Truman Capote died on Aug. 25, 1984 at the age of 59, and he was revealed to have overdosed on pills. His autopsy fixed the cause of death as liver disease, ”complicated by phlebitis and multiple drug intoxication.” (EW). No one disputes Capote's contribution to literature as a writer who taught reporters how to rethink what they do when they ostensibly record "just the facts." (St.

James)