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Truman Capote by Chelsea Head

Truman Capote was an author of his time. He had a style of his own and is known as one of the most controversial and colorful authors of all time. Capote was born in 1924 during the Roaring 20’s and right before the Great Depression hit. Truman lived through many different eras and different styles of living. He died in 1984 before he could finish his latest project. Capote’s writing style is ornate and is full of deep psychological themes. Most people referred to his writing style as “Southern Gothic” in his early days but he didn’t keep that same style throughout his life. In one of his more famous works, __In Cold Blood__, Capote writes about a farmer and his family being murdered and the trial afterward. The novel was based on a true story and most people viewed it as controversial. People didn’t agree with Capote writing a book based on a real murder. Some people had different views about Capote, such as Melvin Maddocks; “the flamboyant author and talk-show personality”. Capote’s first work was __A Christmas Memory__ which was loosely based on his childhood when he was sent to live with an older family relative. Capote portrayed the main character with childhood innocence and even the older relative had a childlike mentality. Capote took a picture of himself for the author picture in the back when he was in his early 20’s. The picture was viewed as suggestive and not appropriate at all. Capote eventually grew out of the picture on that book, and people viewed him as a daring author. Some of Capote’s first works show influence from authors such as Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Eudora Welty and William Faulkner. All of these authors had a “gothic tradition” style of writing. Capote’s gothic style and themes were sometimes offset by satire and his humorous tone. Capote sometimes wrote about grotesque incidents like __In Cold Blood__ and other times his characters suffered from mental and/or physical abnormalities. Capote’s later stories were written in a form such as a reporter would tell a news story. Helen S. Garson wrote an essay on Capote’s __ A Christmas Memory__ and said that “Capote’s ability to combine comedy, nostalgia, and a child’s sense of tragedy is nowhere more evident then in this book”. Some people think that Capote is responsible for inventing the new modern journalism, after he wrote __In Cold Blood.__ Capote was also known for creating the non-fiction novel. Capote wrote with an insight to the psychology of humans and there desires. Capote’s works were written with prose full of clarity and insight. Capote wanted to become a celebrity and knew that he was going to become famous one day for his writing. Capote had full dedication and fascination for the style of his writing. He put his whole being into his writing. Capote forged together different types of writing and in his later years created his own genre. So in the end, Capote didn’t live to meet anyone else’s standards but only his own.

Bloom, Harold. __Truman Capote__ Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2003

The book __Truman Capote__ by H. Bloom contains alot of info on Capote's life and his works. The book focuses on his different short stories and different author's view on Capote. The book has quotes from his different stories and I plan one of the quotes for my author trading card. I would recomend this book to anyone who is looking for quotes from his stories.

"Capote, Truman(1924-1984)". EXPLORING Short Stories. Online Ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center-Gold. Gale. FuquayVarinaHighSchool/WCPS/.21May2008 http://www.galenet.com/servlet/srcx

The biographical essay on the Gale Student Resource Center, has alot of interesting info on Capote's life. It tells you about his childhood and then it gives you other books for further reading. I used this information for my author trading card. I would recommend this article to other people.

Reed, Kenneth. __Truman Capote.__ Ed. Warren French. Miami:Twayne, 1981

The book __Truman Capote__ by K. Reed contains a variety of information on Capote.It has facts about his life, his works, and it talks about the theme and style of his writing. I plan on using this information to write my wiki entry about Capote. I would also recommend this book to others who need information on Capote and his style of writing.

Ring,Trudy. Garson,Helen. Nance, William. "Truman Capote". __Short Stories for Students Vol. 2__ Ed. Katleen Wilson. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. 20-35

The book __Short Stories for Students Vol. 2__ contains a variety of short stories and authors. The book gives a biography of each author before it talks about the selected short story. I plan on using this information to make my author trading card. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for information on an author and one of their short stories.

"Truman Capote". __Short Story Criticism.__ Ed. Sheila Fitzgerald. Detroit: Gale, 1989. 59-87

The book Short Story Criticism contains information on authors and other authors' views on their stories. It contains facts about the author and their life. It has more of the authors' views then biographical information on the specific author. I would not recommend this book to others.