Truman Capote's Childhood

Truman Capote dealt with a lot of depression, even in his childhood. Before his parents got a divorce, Capote’s greatest fear was being abandoned by his parents. He was in a constant state of fear and tension. When he was four and his parents split, that nightmare came to life. After his mother left him with her cousins in Monroeville, Alabama, he became even lonelier. He felt different then the other children he met at school. He saw himself as more sensitive and intelligent then those his age (Lapidus, Doughty). Capote didn’t feel much more comfortable with his cousins. He felt isolated and unwanted all of his childhood (Clarke, 59). He was an outsider. Even in the early years of his childhood, Truman Capote carried around a notebook and dictionary with him, writing down any new words, and when he got home from school, he’d write for hours. As an adult, Truman Capote later said that this experience forced him to create his own world and sense of identity.

New York was a world full of wonders for a young Capote. It was so different then anything he’d ever seen before in Alabama. The people and ambience of New York were completely new and overwhelming. Yet he never minded. New York inspired him. His vision of his own destiny and future as a writer intensified, and he saw a whole new world of opportunity. Truman Capote loved New York, and it loved him. He felt as though the people there were his type. They never minded his shows of flamboyance, they liked it, actually. A coworker of his once said that Truman thought of himself as a bird of prey, yet to his colleagues, he was an “exotic breed of canary” (Clarke, 71). During this time, Truman saw his new home as a place to truly live. It was place where he finally felt he could be a