Analysis of Truman Capote and his Writing Style and Techniques.
Truman Capote's innovative and controversial techniques earned him celebrity status and fame as a professional author. He was called a pioneer of his times, even though there are supporters and critics of his unique style. His life and childhood played a major role in the development of his style and prose. Truman Capote, a pioneer in his works, mixes dark reality with a touch of his own intuition and insight in his sometimes autobiographical and other times reality based stories.
Capote's childhood was by no means easy. He grew up in the Deep South of Alabama. His father left him, and he lived with his mother, yet also lived in a foster home for a time. Capote was extremely bright, yet did not apply himself much in school, and consequently received very poor grades. Capote always knew that he was going to be a writer, so he ended his schooling at age seventeen and obtained a job at the New Yorker. He was little more than an errand boy, yet he attracted attention with his styles and manners (Dictionary 82). Capote had many cultural experiences that were also evident in his works, for example racism. He faced racism in the heart of the South, where racism was most prominent at the time. Capote's early childhood also had a very profound affect on his works, especially his early works. His early works were dark and eerie, and often had many psychotic themes. He would delve into the realm of the supernatural and unknown, and many critics find these early works disturbing.
One major event in his childhood stayed with him for the rest of Capote's life, and is found in many of his works. When Capote was only a child, his father left him. He became very distraught, and longed for a father figure in his life. He later found a father figure, and was so moved by this man that Truman Capote changed his name from Truman Strekfus Persons to Capote (after the man his mother married, Joseph Garcia Capote).