Character Names and Symbolism in Breakfast at Tiffany's
This paper examines Truman Capote's use of character names as a literary device in his novella Breakfast at Tiffany's. Through close reading, it explores how names such as Holly Golightly, Lulamae Barnes, Joe Bell, Mag Wildwood, Rusty Trawler, and Sally Tomato function to establish personality, suggest backstory, create irony, and engage readers. The analysis argues that Capote deliberately crafts names that are either in harmony with or sharply at odds with their characters, using this technique to evoke the World War II-era New York setting and to reveal the gap between surface appearances and hidden realities.
- Introduction: Names as a Literary Device: Capote uses names to evoke setting and character
- Holly Golightly: A Name That Sings: Layers of meaning in the protagonist's name
- Lulamae Barnes: The Identity Left Behind: Holly's birth name reveals her hidden past
- Fred and Joe Bell: Supporting Characters and Their Meanings: Minor names reflect roles and relationships
- Mag Wildwood, Rusty Trawler, and Sally Tomato: Irony in Naming: Names that contrast sharply with their bearers
- Conclusion: The Lasting Power of Capote's Names: Naming device engages and surprises readers
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper applies a single, focused analytical lens — character naming — consistently across multiple figures in the text, producing a coherent argument rather than a scattered survey.
- It balances close reading with broader thematic insight, connecting individual names to larger ideas such as identity, concealment, and irony.
- Direct quotations from the primary source are well-integrated and used to ground interpretive claims in textual evidence.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates close reading through onomastic analysis — the careful interpretation of proper names as carriers of meaning. The writer moves methodically from phonetic associations (the musical "l" sounds in Holly Golightly) to etymological and cultural connotations (Bell Telephone, the woodsy resonance of Wildwood), showing how literary names operate on multiple levels simultaneously.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief framing of the novella and its central device, then devotes its longest section to the protagonist Holly Golightly before pivoting to the revelation of her birth name as a counterpoint. It then moves outward to supporting characters, treating each name in a dedicated analytical moment. The conclusion ties the device back to Capote's craft and the reader's lasting experience of the text. The structure mirrors the story's own movement from surface to hidden truth.
Introduction: Names as a Literary Device
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a novella — a short work of fiction of little more than one hundred pages. One of the devices used by author Truman Capote is the choice of unique and interesting character names. This device allows him to create a sense of time and place as well as to portray his characters more vividly. Capote's considerable skill as a writer brings World War II-era New York alive, despite the economy of words required by the novella format.
Work Cited
Capote, Truman. Breakfast at Tiffany's. New York: Random House, 1958. Print.
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