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Teaching Breakfast at Tiffany's

And Shmoop said, what about Breakfast at Tiffany's?

  • Activities: 13
  • Quiz Questions: 95

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Breakfast at Tiffany's is the story of a young woman in World War II-era New York who hobnobs with famous people, gets into a lot of trouble, and breaks many hearts along the way, all while struggling to find her place in the world. And it's one of Truman Capote's most famous works, due in large part to the iconic film adaptation of it.

But here at Shmoop, we think the novel is even more fascinating—because for all the glitz and glamour, it's a pretty dark tale. Our guide checks out how the novel looks seriously at themes of identity, isolation, and despair, deepening a lot of what's shown in the famous film version. When it comes down to it, Holly Golightly's trying to find herself. She's nineteen years old and she's trying to figure out who she is, what she wants in her life, what her place in the world is, and what will make her happy. And aren't these things that all high school students can relate to?

In this guide, you'll find

  • an opportunity to become dating gurus for the troubled characters, exploring why things are so tough and how to put them right.
  • an analysis of what Tiffany's means via a comparison with the film adaptation.
  • a look at what might really be motivating some of these shady characters and how this affects the novel's conclusion.

So get to it. Last one into the Teaching Guide can't go to Truman Capote's flashy society rager.

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13 – 18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students
  • A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles

Want more help teaching Teaching Breakfast at Tiffany's?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: Breakfast at Tiffany's is a deceptive text, making it difficult for anyone short of a private detective to discern the true state of affairs. That's why in this sixty-minute activity, students will put on their private investigator hats and attempt to figure out the truth behind several characters in the text and to elaborate on the novella's conclusion.

Step 1: Divide the students into groups, with each group acting as a team of investigators. They've just got their first case: the narrator has hired them to ferret out the truth about Rusty. There's a lot of speculation about this celebrity, and the investigators' task is to figure out what's the truth. They should consider:

  • Whether Rusty is really in love with Holly
  • What actually happened with his godfather's arrest
  • Whether he asked Unity Mitford to marry him

The investigators have to figure out a way to investigate the truth of these rumors within reason—how would they go about it?

See what they come up with by having them create a list of how they would proceed in their investigation. They could interview key characters, read tabloid reports, comb the internet, or pose theories of their own. We want students to realize that what is presented in the text isn't always indicative of reality. Things can often be distorted: this activity will get the class even more settled into their P.I. roles.

Step 2: The student-investigators' next case is to determine if Holly is really telling the truth about her childhood, or if she's distorting reality.

The student investigation teams should set about trying to identify if Holly is being truthful. They should consider each part of her childhood (which she described to the narrator) and write a field report to the narrator based on the following aspects of the novel:

  • What is she telling us?
  • Do we think it's the truth? Why or why not?
  • Does what she is saying seem likely, considering her character?
  • What do we think actually happened in her childhood?

The report should be addressed to the narrator in memo form, and should state the conclusions each investigative team has drawn about Holly's childhood, based on their collective nose for truth.

Step 3: The final case for the student detectives? The investigator groups should brainstorm what they make of the bed in Holly's apartment. They should write out a detailed report about its significance, considering the following:

  • The real reason for the bed being the prominent item in the apartment
  • How this came about
  • What this represents

They should send the report back to the narrator when finished, similar in format to their report on Holly's childhood.

Step 4: The narrator has come to the private investigators at the end of the novel, wanting to learn more about what has become of Holly in South America. Have students review the Holly timeline provided by Shmoop to remind them about the novella's inconclusive conclusion.

Then ask them do some private eye "research" (that is, speculation) about what happened to Holly in Brazil and Argentina and write up a final report of her activities to send to the narrator.

Instructions for Your Students

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a deceptive text, making it difficult for anyone short of a private detective to discern the true state of affairs. In this activity, you and your fellow students will become private investigators to get to the heart of what's actually going on in the novel. You'll figure out whether Holly actually was telling the truth about her childhood and what has gone down in Rusty's life. You'll speculate about Holly's wild South American adventures. Ready to make your way through appearance to find reality? Let's go.

Step 1: Your teacher will divide you into groups, and you and your fellow gumshoes (that's an old-school name for detective) will act as a team of investigators. You've just got your first case: the narrator has hired you to ferret out the truth about Rusty.

There's a lot of speculation about Rusty, as he is quite the celebrity, and your task is to figure out what's the truth. You should be thinking about:

  • Whether Rusty is really in love with Holly
  • What actually happened with his godfather's arrest
  • Whether he asked Unity Mitford to marry him

Your job is to figure out a way to investigate the truth of these rumors within reason—how would you go about it?

See what you can come up with. Create a list of how you would proceed in this investigation. You could interview key characters, read tabloid reports, comb the internet, or pose theories of your own.

Step 2: As student-investigators, your next case is to determine if Holly is really telling the truth about her childhood, or if she's distorting reality. You should consider each part of her childhood (which she described to the narrator) and write a report based on the following:

  • What is she telling us?
  • Do we think it's the truth? Why or why not?
  • Does what she is saying seem likely, considering her character?
  • What do we think actually happened in her childhood?

You might want to refer to the Shmoop timeline about Holly Golightly to refresh your knowledge of her character's past.

Your report should be addressed to the narrator, in memo form, and should state the conclusions your investigative team has drawn about Holly's childhood, based on your collective nose for truth.

Step 3: The final case for student investigators? The narrator was in Holly's apartment recently and saw that the bed was the only real piece of furniture in her place. This has puzzled him for a while, and he wants to know what you investigators think of it. Obviously you won't get to the exact heart of the matter: he doesn't want you to question Holly because otherwise she'll know what he's up to.

Your group should brainstorm what to make of the bed in Holly's apartment. You should write out a detailed report of what you think is the significance of this item, considering the following:

  • The real reason for the bed being the prominent item in the apartment
  • How this came about
  • What this represents

You should send the report back to the narrator when finished, making it similar in format to the one you wrote about Holly's childhood.

Step 4: The narrator has come to you wanting to learn more about what has become of Holly in South America. Review the Holly timeline provided by Shmoop, if necessary, to remind yourselves about the novella's inconclusive conclusion.

Do some private eye "research" (that is, speculation) about what happened to Holly in Brazil and Argentina. Then write up a final report (like the others) of what you imagine her activities were to send to the narrator.