The Narrator’s Becoming a Writer

Breakfast at Tiffany's

The narrator’s uncertain artistic beginnings are tested by first publication, criticism, and a growing understanding of what his writing means to him.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The First Room The First Room from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". A Place to Write An Unpromising Apartment The narrator begins in a small, gloomy room crowded with old furniture.

The First Room from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". A Place to Write An Unpromising Apartment The narrator begins in a small, gloomy room crowded with old furniture.

A Place to Write An Unpromising Apartment The narrator begins in a small, gloomy room crowded with old furniture. Despite its discomfort, he values it because it is his first independent home. A Writer’s Possibility Books and sharpened pencils make the room feel like the beginning of a vocation. His faith in writing precedes any evidence that the work will be published.

An Unfinished Story An Unfinished Story from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Reading Aloud The Schoolteacher Tale The narrator reads Holly a story about two schoolteachers and a broken engagement.

An Unfinished Story from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Reading Aloud The Schoolteacher Tale The narrator reads Holly a story about two schoolteachers and a broken engagement.

Reading Aloud The Schoolteacher Tale The narrator reads Holly a story about two schoolteachers and a broken engagement. His excitement reveals how personally he invests in the work. A Failed Audience Holly misunderstands its subject and says she is bored. The response wounds him and exposes the distance between his literary hopes and her tastes.

The First Acceptance The First Acceptance from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". A Story Accepted News in the Mail A small university review accepts the narrator’s story, although it cannot pay him.

The First Acceptance from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". A Story Accepted News in the Mail A small university review accepts the narrator’s story, although it cannot pay him.

A Story Accepted News in the Mail A small university review accepts the narrator’s story, although it cannot pay him. He rushes to tell Holly because the possibility of print feels like a personal triumph. Celebration Together Holly first thinks he wants advice, then understands and celebrates. Their outing makes his modest success part of their emerging friendship.

The Birdcage Argument The Birdcage Argument from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Artistic Judgment A Story Criticized Holly calls the narrator’s published work insignificant and dismisses its subject matter.

The Birdcage Argument from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Artistic Judgment A Story Criticized Holly calls the narrator’s published work insignificant and dismisses its subject matter.

Artistic Judgment A Story Criticized Holly calls the narrator’s published work insignificant and dismisses its subject matter. Her blunt response turns a generous friendship into a confrontation about art and value. A Mismatched Measure The narrator resents her judgment and nearly strikes her, then recognizes how deeply it unsettles him. They want different forms of success, and neither can persuade the other to change.

A Small Literary Future A Small Literary Future from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Work Continues Stories Sold The narrator later has sold two stories, evidence that his writing has advanced beyond its uncertain beginning.

A Small Literary Future from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Work Continues Stories Sold The narrator later has sold two stories, evidence that his writing has advanced beyond its uncertain beginning.

Work Continues Stories Sold The narrator later has sold two stories, evidence that his writing has advanced beyond its uncertain beginning. He wishes he could share this news with Holly. An Absent Reader Holly’s silence leaves his success without the audience he hoped for. The continuing work becomes part of a life moving forward without the friendship that first inspired his confidence.

During the early years of the war

On the night Holly first takes refuge in his room

Monday morning in October 1943

In February, after Holly returns from her winter trip

In the months after Holly leaves New York