A Christmas Memory Truman Capote

“A Christmas Memory”, which was written by Truman Capote and originally published in Mademoiselle Magazine in December 1956, is a meaningful and emotional story about family. In which, the characters of a family are defined especially:” Family is not only a shelter but also a safe place to care, share memories, sacrifice, and love.”
There are many definitions about family. One of them is “A family consists of two or more people (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption residing in the same housing unit “(US Census Bureau.) Its main functions are to produce and reproduce persons, biologically and/or socially; share material substances (such as food, shelter.) However, two family members (Buddy and his cousin) …show more content…
The story employs a first-person narrator who is called Buddy –a seven-year-old boy, but it is not his real name. It was given by his distant cousin who is “sixty-something” and is described as “still a child.” Though it is so sad that the more Buddy grows up, the older his friend is. His friend used to realize: “… I guess I hate to see you grow up. When you’re grown up, will we still be friends?” But, their innocence keeps them be best friends despite age. Besides, both of them are poor and lonely. They are considered outsiders by their family. “Other people inhabit the house, relatives; and though they have power over us, and frequently make us cry, we are not, on the whole, too much aware of them.” (“A Christmas Memory”, p.2) Throughout the story, other family members did not appear too much except for two occasions: One is when the Buddy’s friend let Buddy drink the leftover whiskey, the relatives yelled at her and brought up cousins and uncles who were involved in scandals and humiliated the family. This hurts Buddy’s friend and makes she cried …show more content…
Buddy and his friends have many unforgettable Christmas holidays together. They save money by selling fruits and flowers, killing flies, holding their own shows with pictures and a three-legged biddy chicken. And when the “fruitcake weather” comes, they buy ingredients to make fruitcakes and present it to their neighbors, friends or also strangers. Next, they venture into the woods and cut down a majestic tree. When a “rich mill owner’s lazy wife” offers to buy it, Buddy’s friend insists on refusing. They respect the Christmas spirit. It is much more valuable than money. Then, they decorate the tree with homemade ornaments and odds and ends found in the attic. Finally, they create gifts for their relatives. Buddy wishes he could give his friend a knife, a radio, and the chocolate-covered cherries she craves. His cousin wants to give Buddy a new bicycle. However, they embarrass to confess that they only have kites for each other like the previous Christmas. Despite that, Buddy and his friend are happy with their kites rather than what their relatives gave them. They spend Christmas day happily watching their homemade kites soar in the breeze. Buddy soon forgets disappointed gifts from his relatives and is excited “…as if we’d already won the fifty-thousand-dollar Grand Prize in that coffee-naming contest” while his friend happy as if she could see the Lord. (“A