Truman Capote Quotes

““This hitherto peaceful congregation of neighbors and old friends had suddenly to endure the unique experience of distrusting each other; understandably, they believed that the murderer was among themselves.”

“A belief in God and the rituals surrounding that belief—church every Sunday, grace before meals, prayers before bed—were an important part of the Deweys’ existence.”

“Strong character, high courage, hard work—it seemed that none of these were a determining factor in the fates of Tex John’s children. They shared a doom against which virtue was no defense.”

“He did not smoke, and of course he did not drink; indeed, he had never tasted spirits, and was inclined to avoid people who had—a circumstance that did not shrink his social circle as much as might be supposed, for the center of that circle was supplied by the members of Garden City’s First Methodist Church, […] most of whom were as abstemious as Mr. Clutter could desire.”

“The deed is done and taking another life cannot change it. Instead, let us forgive as God would have us do. It is not right that we hold a grudge in our hearts. The doer of the act is going to find it difficult indeed to live with himself. His only peace of mind will be when he goes to God for forgiveness.” Let us not stand in the way but instead give prayers that he may find his peace. ”

“I can’t accept overnight what I’ve always denied. The truth is, you’ve done more for me than anyway what you call God ever has. Or ever will. By writing to me, by signing yourself ‘friend’. ”

“For, feeling it their duty, a Christian task, these men had volunteered to clean certain of the fourteen rooms in the main house.”

“Of course, Dick was very literal-minded, very—he had no understanding of music, poetry—and yet when you got right down to it, Dick’s literalness, his pragmatic approach to every subject, was the primary reason Perry had been attracted to him, for it made Dick seem, compared to himself, so authentically tough, invulnerable, “totally masculine.”

“I am, or try to be, a fairly religious [Catholic]. I wasn’t always. I used to just drift along […] I never considered death or the possibility of a life hereafter. And this is why I’m writing to you: because God made you as well as me and He loves you just as He loves me .”

“We went around to the kitchen door, and of course it wasn’t locked; the only person who locked doors around there was Mrs. Helm—the family never did.”

“All the same, he was “a real man.” He did things, did them easily. He could make a tree fall precisely where he wished. He could skin a bear, repair a watch, build a house, bake a cake, darn a sock, or catch a trout with a bent pin and a piece of string.”

“In general, a prosperous people. Farm ranchers, most of them, they are outdoor folk of very varied stock—German, Irish, Norwegian, Mexican, Japanese.”

“And a tough, strutty little man said, “I believe in capital punishment. It’s like the Bible says—an eye for an eye. And even so we’re two pair short!”

“Yet to this day she regretted not having completed the course and received her diploma—“just to prove”—as she had told a friend, “that I once succeeded at something.” Instead, she had met and married Herb […].”

“If [the killer] wasn’t him, maybe it was you. Or somebody across the street. All the neighbors are rattlesnakes. Varmints looking for a chance to slam the door in your face. It’s the same the whole world over. You know that.”

“Look all over the world and you won’t find friendlier people or fresher air or sweeter drinking water.” […] “I could go to Denver at triple the salary, but I’ve got five kids and I figure there’s no better place to raise kids than right here.”

“For the majority of Holcomb’s population, having lived for seven weeks amid unwholesome rumors, general mistrust, and suspicion, appeared to feel disappointed at being told that the murderer was not someone among themselves.”

“I started drinking, and was drunk for almost a month. I neglected my business, spent more money than I earned, wrote bad checks, and in the end became a thief. For this last I was sent to the penitentiary.”

“But that’s impossible. Can you imagine Mr. Clutter missing church? Just to sleep?”

“She was ‘nervous,’ she suffered ‘little spells’—such were the sheltering expressions used by those close to her. Not that the truth concerning ‘poor Bonnie’s afflictions’ was in the least a secret; everyone knew she had been an on-and-off psychiatric patient the last half-dozen years.”

“It may be normal, darling; but I’d rather be natural.”

“I don’t want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together.”

“We don’t belong to each other: he’s an independent, and so am I.”

“It calms me down right away, the quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there, not with those kind men in their nice suits, and that lovely smell of silver and alligator wallets. If I could find a real-life place that made me feel like Tiffany’s, then I’d buy some furniture and give the cat a name.”

“Everybody has to feel superior to somebody,” she said. “But it’s customary to present a little proof before you take the privilege.”

“Reading dreams. That’s what started her walking down the road. Every day she’d walk a little further: a mile, and come home. Two miles, and come home. One day she just kept on.”

“Love should be allowed. I’m all for it. Now that I’ve got a pretty good idea what it is.”

“Leave it to me: I’m always top banana in the shock department.”

“The answer is good things only happen to you if you’re good. Good? Honest is more what I mean... Be anything but a coward, a pretender.”

“Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot.”

“I told you: you can make yourself love anybody.”

“What I’ve found does the most good is just to get into a taxi and go to Tiffany’s.”

“‘Darling,’ she instructed me, ‘would you reach in the drawer there and give me my purse. A girl doesn’t read this sort of thing without her lipstick.‘”

“If you let yourself love a wild thing. You’ll end up looking at the sky.”

“I’m very scared, Buster. Yes, at last. Because it could go on forever. Not knowing what’s yours until you’ve thrown it away.”

“You’re wrong. She is a phony. But on the other hand you’re right. She isn’t a phony because she’s a real phony. She believes all this crap she believes. You can’t talk her out of it.”

“I’ll never get used to anything. Anybody that does they might as well be dead.”

“But it’s Sunday, Mr. Bell. Clocks are slow on Sundays.”

“Papa, I got two wild yunguns locked in the kitchen.”

“Papa, I got two wild yunguns locked in the kitchen.”

“You call yourself a free spirit, a wild thing, and you’re terrified somebody’s gonna stick you in a cage--well, baby you’re already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it’s not bounded in the West by Tulip, Texas, or on the East by Somaliland--it’s wherever you go, because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.”

“Aprils have never meant much to me, autumns seem that season of beginning, spring.”

“It’s better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague. Just a country where the thunder goes and things disappear.”

“It should take you about four seconds to walk from here to the door. I’ll give you two.”

“You’re wonderful. Unique. I love you.”