A Diamond Guitar
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"A Diamond Guitar" 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, ...
, first published in ''
Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the ...
'' in 1950; it is noted as one of his better quality early short stories. The title refers to the prize possession of the younger man, a
rhinestone A rhinestone, paste or diamante is a diamond simulant originally made from rock crystal but since the 19th century from crystal glass or polymers such as acrylic. Original Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river ...
-studded guitar; the guitar serves as the key image of the story. Capote wrote "A Diamond Guitar" in April 1950 during a three-week-long transatlantic freighter crossing from New York to Italy. It is one of three short stories normally published in the same volume as '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', first released in 1958.


Plot summary

The story is set in a prison in a rural area near
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama ...
where convicts perform road work and farm
turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially) turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Mainly used as a special ...
from nearby pine forests. The two main characters are both convicts, Mr. Schaeffer, an older man serving a ninety-nine year sentence for murder, and Tico Feo, a newly arrived young man sentenced to serve two years for
stabbing A stabbing is penetration or rough contact with a sharp or pointed object at close range. ''Stab'' connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others. Stabbing differs from ...
two men. Mr. Schaeffer and Tico form a fast bond that is simultaneously intimate and
platonic Plato's influence on Western culture was so profound that several different concepts are linked by being called Platonic or Platonist, for accepting some assumptions of Platonism, but which do not imply acceptance of that philosophy as a whole. It ...
. On
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...
they agree to attempt an escape during the following day's
work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal t ...
. Tico succeeds in getting away, but Mr. Schaeffer breaks his ankle in a shallow creek. Tico betrays Mr. Schaeffer's affections by not coming to his aid, but Mr. Schaeffer is given credit for trying to capture Tico and takes possession of the prized guitar.


Characters

Armstrong: the youngest prison guard. He is overweight, but surprisingly quick. Mr. Schaeffer: a fifty-year-old man who is one of the few literate prisoners, as such he is looked up to and feared by other prisoners. He has graying red hair and is lean in build. He is comparable to Holly Golightly in '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'' because, like Holly, he is a dreamer. Tico Feo: a lively eighteen-year-old man from Cuba, who has blonde hair and blue eyes. At times he is lazy, and known for being a terrible liar. His character has been compared to the murderer Perry Smith from Capote's famous later novel '' In Cold Blood'' who possesses a
Gibson guitar Gibson Brands, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation) is an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was former ...
.


Critical reception and analysis

The short story's literary style has been studied for its clear use of literary devices, most notably those of heightened language, metaphorical descriptions and its ''
in medias res A narrative work beginning ''in medias res'' (, "into the middle of things") opens in the midst of the plot (cf. ''ab ovo'', ''ab initio''). Often, exposition is bypassed and filled in gradually, through dialogue, flashbacks or description of pa ...
'' opening. The story has been noted as having "faint echoes" of
Carson McCullers Carson McCullers (February 19, 1917 – September 29, 1967) was an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist, and poet. Her first novel, '' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1940), explores the spiritual isolation of misfits ...
' work. Another contemporary of Capote's,
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 ...
, gave Capote a copy of his 1950 novel ''The Dog Star'' and believes it influenced elements of "A Diamond Guitar", excluding the events and characters. A modern short story scholar notes that many of Capote's early short stories, including "A Diamond Guitar" place him among a cadre of notable mid-century writers well-versed in the southern gothic genre, including
William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...
, Carson McCullers,
Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
and
Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern literature, Southe ...
. Readers have noticed the undercurrent of homosexuality in two main characters' relationship. Helen Garson, a scholar, notes that this type of love is one that Capote treats very carefully, "find ngno room for humor, sexual or otherwise". Emmanuel S. Nelson notes that "A Diamond Guitar" is Capote's most openly gay short story and it is his only short story that "has a gay male relationship at its heart."Nelson, Emmanuel ''Contemporary Gay American Novelists: a Bio-bibliographical Critical Sourcebook'' (Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1993), pages 52&56.


References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond Guitar, A 1950 short stories Short stories by Truman Capote Works originally published in Harper's Bazaar