''The Thanksgiving Visitor'' 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, ...

originally published in the November 1967 issue of ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-f ...

'' magazine, and later published as a book by Random House, Inc. in 1968. The story takes the form of a childhood tale about a boy and his bully problem. The story has a strong moral lesson related to revenge. It is a sequel to Capote's ''

A Christmas Memory ''"A Christmas Memory"'' is a short story by Truman Capote. Originally published in '' Mademoiselle'' magazine in December 1956, it was reprinted in ''The Selected Writings of Truman Capote'' in 1963. It was issued in a stand-alone hardcover edit ...

''.

Conception

''The Thanksgiving Visitor'' was inspired by Truman Capote's childhood growing up in Alabama. One of the main characters, Miss Sook Faulk is based directly on Truman's older cousin, Nanny Rumbley Faulk, whom Truman called "Sook".

Plot summary

The story is

narrated A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional ( fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc.). N ...

by nine-year-old Buddy, whose older cousin is his best friend. Buddy gets stopped on the way to school every day by a bully named Odd Henderson, who pins him to the ground and rubs burrs into Buddy's head because "he's a

sissy ''Sissy'' (derived from '' sister''), also ''sissy baby'', ''sissy boy'', ''sissy man'', ''sissy pants'', etc., is a pejorative term for a boy or man who does not demonstrate masculine, and shows possible signs of fragility. Generally, ''sissy'' ...

", an

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

to which Buddy admits. To stop this problem, his cousin, Miss Sook, invites Odd to her big

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

dinner. During the party, when Buddy is sulking in his

bathroom A bathroom or washroom is a room, typically in a home or other residential building, that contains either a bathtub or a shower (or both). The inclusion of a wash basin is common. In some parts of the world e.g. India, a toilet is typically ...

cupboard, he spots Odd stealing a precious cameo. When Odd leaves the bathroom, Buddy leaves and claims in front of everyone at the family dinner that Odd has stolen the cameo. Miss Sook goes to check, and she claims that the cameo is in its place, but then Odd admits to stealing the cameo, lays it on a table, and walks out. Buddy then runs out and sulks in the barn, until the afternoon, when Miss Sook teaches him that he shouldn't have publicly humiliated Odd.

Reception and critical analysis

An aunt of Truman Capote's was hurt by the tale because she felt Capote had invented a troubled childhood. She said "I just can't believe what Truman has made us out to be and the way he's talked about his childhood. We were a very decent, well-off family, and he's made it to be quite another story."

Adaptation

The story was adapted for television and filmed in Alabama with Capote and many of his friends and family present as observers. The 1967 television production of ''The Thanksgiving Visitor'' earned Geraldine Page a second Emmy Award.Geraldine Page – Awards
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thanksgiving Visitor, The 1967 short stories Short stories by Truman Capote Thanksgiving fiction Works originally published in McCall's