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My side of the Matter
The short story you are about to read, is written by the American author Truman Capote (1924-1977). Capote was born in New Orleans, in the deep South, and his Southern background is very much felt in his early works. Another consideration is the social aspects that the writer chooses to emphasize, the ways in which he does this are not commonly used among American writers.
The themes in Capote’s books are mostly the confrontation and the battles between innocence and evil, the forces of good and bad are working constantly, everywhere these forces are lurking about trying to tempt Capote’s charaters.
It is obvious to Capote’s readers that nothing is as it seems to be. Everything has a dark side beneath a surface of goodness and innocence. Fasten your seat belt your are in for a ride through the battlefield of good and evil.
This task is scheduled for 3 hours.
My Side of the Matter, Truman Capote, American Scenes, red. Per Engell Christensen, Gyldendal Undervisning, 1985
1. Read the short story.
2. Use a dictionary. Look up the words that you don’t understand and cannot find in the
glossary.
3. Describe and characterize the past and the present of the family to which Eunice, Olivia-
Ann, and Marge (and Bluebell) belong.
4. What kind of person is the narrator/hero of the story?
5. What are the consequences of the hero’s confrontation with this Southern family?
6. What does Capote want to show through this confrontation?
7. Why does Capote use a first person narrator whose words obviously cannot be trusted?
8. Why is the story a series of farcical events even if the theme of the story may be
presumed to be serious?
9. Send your replies to the questions above to your teacher.