A_Deeper_Look

Analyzing the Work of a Great Author: Truman Capote Truman Capote was an American author whose stories, plays, non-fiction, and movies are known classics. Stories like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood are some of his pioneering works. In spite of neglect from his parents, feelings of abandonment, taunts by other children, and molestation at a young age, Capote has inspired many by his desire to achieve greatness. Truman Capote could be considered an extrovert personality; he was always energized by the people around him and a constant longing to tell his stories. Perhaps if we look deeper into Capote’s history, we can get a perspective of why he fits in the extrovert personality so well. But first we must analyze personality and how people perceive personality. If you have ever heard the phrase he has a charming personality; warm and bubbly, or the personality of a goat; ill-tempered and moody, it stands to reason that people associate personality with appearance and demeanor. Personality by definition is “characteristics making somebody appealing: the distinctive or very noticeable characteristics that make somebody socially appealing” (Bing Dictionary, n.d.). A distinguishing feature that separates us from one another or our characteristics can also be broken down into categories; extrovert is one personality characteristic that conveys Capote’s being. For instance, Capote’s behavior throughout his life indicates extrovert traits such as: “very enthusiastic -- even overenthusiastic at times -- and are always a game for any kind of social gathering” ("Extraversion Traits", 2000-2012). A person who was once an outcast as a youth was now a member of high society groups. He was “fascinated by the rich and social elite” (A&E Television Networks, 1996-2013, pp. 3, para. 6) and despite the numerous problems in his ladder years, Capote was responsible for putting together one of the grandest events in the 20th century with memorable moments. What made Capote stand out in his time is that he could transform himself as a writer. According to Jung’s theory extroverts are more directed toward objective (facts) vs. subjective (opinions) by introverted people. Capote could do both. Some of his work was based on factual events and others were non-fiction. This leads us to Jung’s theory; whether people like Capote are either introverted or extroverted, and how they deal with the world. Credit goes to Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist that created this idea of opposing attitudes: introversion and extroversion. When combining four functions with his two attitudes, this formed eight styles of personality types. The four functions are thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuitive. In other words extroverted thinkers are different than introverted thinkers and so on. Capote fell more into the lines of extroverted thinker, feeler, sensor, and intuition. Extroverted thinkers often get their ideas and concepts from factual events. In one of Capote’s stories Other Voices, Other Rooms the novel was a “semi-autobiographical refraction of Capote’s Alabama childhood” ("Other Voices, Other Rooms", 2013, pp. 1, para 2). Extroverted feelers are comfortable in social settings, while sensing relates to the world as it really exists. Capote has a habit of using his life events as part of his fictional writings; probably to tell factual stories in a narrative way. Lastly, there is the extroverted intuitive person. These are individuals who are good at analyzing situations. Capote’s writings and research that he had to perform speaks for itself. Much of his success throughout his life was due to his obsession with writing stories and the research to create his literature. In conclusion, people like Capote carry the ability to use both attitudes offered by Jung’s theory. It is a combination of subjective and objective we may use in order to solve our problems or come up with ideas, handle relationships, become great author’s, overcome our fears, and face our demons. We study personality to understand what makes people tick. Things that happen in the past the sometimes determine how we go on in the future. Psychiatrists and researchers offer us ideas or theories that aid in understanding personality. Do we all fall into some category or another when it pertains to personality' This writer believes life has a way of changing many things about a person, including personality. References "Extraversion Traits". (2000-2012). Retrieved September 6, 2012, from Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/extrovert-personality.html "Other Voices, Other Rooms". (2013, April 5). Truman Capote. Retrieved September 7, 2013, from New World Encyclopedia: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Truman_Capote A&E Television Networks. (1996-2013). Truman Capote. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from bio.com: http://biography.aestaging.com/featured-biography/truman-capote/ Bing Dictionary. (n.d.). Personality. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from bing.com: http://www.bing.com/search'setmkt=en-US&q=definition+of+personality