"Children on Their Birthdays" is a short story by

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

, published serially in the late 1940s and appearing in ''

A Tree of Night and Other Stories ''A Tree of Night and Other Stories'' is a short story collection by the American author Truman Capote published in early 1949. The title story, "A Tree of Night", was first published in ''Harper’s Bazaar'' in October 1945. Contents The book c ...

'' in 1949; it is noted as one of his better quality early short stories.

Conception

Capote wrote "Children on Their Birthdays" in the summer of 1948 while traveling in Europe, from London to Paris, and on to Venice, where he worked alongside

Donald Windham Donald Windham (July 2, 1920 – May 31, 2010) was an American novelist and memoirist. He is perhaps best known for his close friendships with Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Windham moved with his then-boyfriend F ...

Synopsis

The story is set in rural Alabama, where Miss Lily Jane Bobbit, a precocious 10-year-old girl, moves to town with her mother. The young girl is pretty and attracts the positive attention of the town boys, and the negative attentions of the town girls. The narrator's younger cousin Billy-Bob and his best friend Preacher fight for Miss Bobbit's affections. She befriends a black girl named Rosalba after the town boys bully her. She enters a talent show being put on by a con man and does a provocative and patriotic dance routine that everyone in the town loves. At the end, she gets the con man's money back for all the people in the town who were cheated out of it, and as she is setting off to leave and go to Hollywood to become a movie star, she gets run over by a bus.

Characters

Miss Lily Jane Bobbit: the 10-year-old protagonist of the story who always goes by Miss Bobbit. Her character is said to be the inspiration for the young socialite Holly Golightly in Capote's novella '' Breakfast at Tiffany's''. Truman Capote's aunt

Marie Rudisill Marie Rudisill (March 13, 1911 – November 3, 2006), also known as the Fruitcake Lady, was a writer and television personality, best known as the nonagenarian woman who appeared in the "Ask the Fruitcake Lady" segments on ''The Tonight Show'' o ...

notes that both characters are "unattached, unconventional wanderers, dreamers in pursuit of some ideal of happiness." Billy Bob: one of the local town boys who is lovesick for Miss Bobbit. Aunt El: the narrator's aunt who is a model of traditional values in the community. Manny Fox: a

con artist A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...

Critical reception and analysis

The short story has been described as resembling less complete writing by

Eudora Welty Eudora Alice Welty (April 13, 1909 – July 23, 2001) was an American short story writer, novelist and photographer who wrote about the American South. Her novel ''The Optimist's Daughter'' won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty received numero ...

. It has been praised as "the jewel" of the collection ''A Tree of Night and Other Stories'' and is said to be a "perfect illustration of Capote's blending of Southern Folk writing with Jamesian classicism."

Adaptations

As early as 1980, Capote's estranged friend Alan Schwartz asked for permission to sell a television script, which he had adapted with Capote's encouragement. Capote refused, saying he had written a television script himself.Clarke, Gerald. ''Capote: A Biography'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988), page 175. In 2002, the short story was adapted to ''

Children on Their Birthdays ''Children on Their Birthdays'' is a 2002 American independent drama film directed by Mark Medoff, and starring Sheryl Lee, Jesse Plemons, Joe Pichler, Tania Raymonde, Christopher McDonald, and Tom Arnold. The screenplay written by Douglas Sloan i ...

'', an American independent film by director

Mark Medoff Mark Medoff (March 18, 1940 – April 23, 2019) was an American playwright, screenwriter, film and theatre director, actor, and professor. His play '' Children of a Lesser God'' received both the Tony Award and the Olivier Award. He was nominat ...

. The screenplay written by Douglas Sloan.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Children on Their Birthdays 1948 short stories Short stories by Truman Capote Short stories adapted into films