Motifs

= __ **Major Motifs in the Novella Breakfast at Tiffany's** __ =

__The Cage__:



A reoccurring motif through out the novella is the cage. The cage first comes up when Fred and Miss Golightly are walking by a store in New York city, she sees the cage and shows great dislike for them. "It was near the antique shop with the palace of a bird cage in it's window, so i took her to see it, and she enjoyed the point, it's fantasy: "but it's still a a cage"(Capote, 46). The reader later finds out that Miss Golightly thinks of herself as a type of wild animal that cannot be caged, she believes that all wild animals should be free not held captive by people in cages, when they are walking through central park and Holly refuses to walk by the zoo, "We at lunch at the cafeteria in the park. Afterwards, avoiding the zoo (Holly said she couldn't bear anything in a cage)"(Capote, 45) as she felt she was being held captive in at Doc's house in Tulip Texas. the cage reappears again when Miss Golightly and Fred are exchanging Christmas presents, Holly gives Fred the cage that they had passed by in the shop. She tells Fred to never put a wild thing in the cage. This cage became a symbol in there relationship and was used at the cause for there argument when Fred gave the cage back to Miss Golightly and she later through it out. But he went back and got it out of the garbage showingits true meaning to him.

__Tiffany's__:
Another Motif that constantly reoccurs throughout the novella, and is in the name of the novella, is the Jewelry store Tiffany & Co. Tiffany & Co. is Miss Golightly's favorite place in the world. she goes to the Tiffany & Co. when she gets the mean reds which her own version of angst. "But thats not why I'm mad about Tiffany's. Listen. You know those days when you've got the mean reds?" "same as the blues?" "No," she said slowly. "No, the blues are because you're getting fat or maybe it's been raining to long. You're sad, that's all. But the mean reds are horrible. You're afraid and you sweat like hell, but you don't know what you're afraid of. Except something bad is going to happen, only you know don't what it is. You've had that feeling?" "Quite often some people call it angst."(Capote, 35). Miss Golightly sees Tiffany's as being the perfect place where nothing can go wrong and everything is perfect. Even though she can't afford most of the things in Tiffany's she still spends a lot of time in there wandering.

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The nameless cat seems to be Miss Golightly's only true companion. Holly refuses to name the cat because she believes that they're both individuals and that no one should be be held captive which goes back to Holly's fear of being held captive like an wild animal. "I told you. We just met by the river one day: that's all. Independents, both of us. We never made each other any promises"(Capote, 84). This was from after Holly dropped the cat out of the car at the end of the novella,since she couldn't take him with her to Brazil she just let go of the Cat. She keeps the cat as her own symbol of freedom, that if she doesn't name cat she also will be free, and by saying that they're two individuals, only together for a little while she makes herself not feel tied down and that she doesn't owe anything to anyone. She tries to make the feeling of not being tied down real when she dumps the cat out onto the streets when she's in the cab to go to Brazil, but quickly she finds out that the cat is more that just a visitor. But, she descovers that he was more than just a visitor when she tries to let him go. Afterward, when she runs out onto the street yelling out Cat. "Oh, Jesus God. We did belong to each other. He was mine"(Capote, 84) Miss Golightly cannot find the cat though and ends up asking Fred to find him for her. He does find the cat several weeks later in the Spanish Harlem. he finds the cat wandering around, and this ends the novella as if Fred had once again found Holly.

__Christmas__:


One of the other motiffs that continously reoccurs throughout the novella is the date of Christmas. From the very beginning of the novella Fred goes to meet Joe Bell at the bar on Christmas day and hears the story of how Mr. Yunioshi found a carving of Holly Golightly while he was in Africa on Christmas day. Also Miss Golightly gives Fred a bird cage is on Christmas day. These two Christmas days revolve around finding something new about Miss Golightly. At the end of the novella it is mentioned that Sunny Tomato dies on Christmas day a few years later. All of the fairly important events in the novella happen around christmas day. For example soon after Christmas when the Fred and Miss Golightly have a fight which is one of the most important parts of the novella, and the bird cage that Fred got on that Christmas day becomes one of the most important objects and in the story.