Joe Bell’s Long Search

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Joe Bell’s loyalty to Holly survives years of absence and culminates in a small but decisive act of help when she leaves the city.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Shared Telephone A Shared Telephone from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The Bar Around the Corner A Useful Stop Holly and the narrator regularly use Joe Bell’s bar to make calls and leave messages.

A Shared Telephone from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The Bar Around the Corner A Useful Stop Holly and the narrator regularly use Joe Bell’s bar to make calls and leave messages.

The Bar Around the Corner A Useful Stop Holly and the narrator regularly use Joe Bell’s bar to make calls and leave messages. Joe’s willingness to help makes the bar part of their daily neighborhood life. A Friendship by Association Joe and the narrator are not especially close except through Holly. Their shared concern for her eventually gives their relationship its lasting purpose.

News from Africa News from Africa from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The Wooden Likeness Yunioshi’s Photographs Joe summons the narrator after I. Y. Yunioshi returns with photographs of a carved head resembling Holly.

News from Africa from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The Wooden Likeness Yunioshi’s Photographs Joe summons the narrator after I. Y. Yunioshi returns with photographs of a carved head resembling Holly.

The Wooden Likeness Yunioshi’s Photographs Joe summons the narrator after I. Y. Yunioshi returns with photographs of a carved head resembling Holly. The image suggests that someone matching her may have travelled through Africa. Hope Without Proof Joe treats the report as the first definite news in years, despite the uncertain story behind it. His investment in Holly makes the possibility emotionally powerful.

An Unreturned Search An Unreturned Search from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Watching the Streets Fragments of Resemblance Joe says that he walks the neighborhood looking for Holly and sees pieces of her in other women.

An Unreturned Search from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Watching the Streets Fragments of Resemblance Joe says that he walks the neighborhood looking for Holly and sees pieces of her in other women.

Watching the Streets Fragments of Resemblance Joe says that he walks the neighborhood looking for Holly and sees pieces of her in other women. No one he encounters is actually the person he wants to find. Love at a Distance He insists he loved Holly without wanting to possess her. The distinction defines an affection based on keeping her a stranger who is also a friend.

A Refusal to Toast A Refusal to Toast from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Anger and Concern Against Her Choice Joe refuses to toast Holly’s departure and says he will not assist her escape.

A Refusal to Toast from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Anger and Concern Against Her Choice Joe refuses to toast Holly’s departure and says he will not assist her escape.

Anger and Concern Against Her Choice Joe refuses to toast Holly’s departure and says he will not assist her escape. He believes she should be protected from a choice that could make her life worse. Help Despite Protest He has hired a limousine to take her to the airport. His anger cannot outweigh his concern, and his practical support becomes a final expression of friendship.

Flowers at the Door Flowers at the Door from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". A Painful Farewell The Unspoken Goodbye Joe cannot face Holly’s request to look at him.

Flowers at the Door from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". A Painful Farewell The Unspoken Goodbye Joe cannot face Holly’s request to look at him.

A Painful Farewell The Unspoken Goodbye Joe cannot face Holly’s request to look at him. He throws his flowers toward her, misses, and retreats to the men’s room. Feeling Beneath Bluster His failed gesture is more revealing than a speech. Joe has helped her leave while knowing that he may never see her again.

During Holly and the narrator’s years in the brownstone

Late one rainy Tuesday afternoon years later

During the years Holly is absent from New York

During the stormy hour before Holly’s airport ride

Just before Holly gets into the limousine