"Children on Their Birthdays" is a short story by Truman Capote

Truman Capote

Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...

, published serially in the late 1940s and appearing in A Tree of Night and Other Stories

A Tree of Night and Other Stories

A Tree of Night and Other Stories is a short story collection by the American author Truman Capote published in early 1949. The titular short story, "A Tree of Night", was first published by Harper’s Bazaar in October of 1945.-Contents:...

in 1949; it is noted as one of his better quality early short stories.

Conception

Capote wrote "Children on Their Birthdays" in the Summer of 1948 while traveling in Europe, from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, and on to Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, where he worked alongside Donald Windham

Donald Windham

Donald Windham 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 Fred Melton, an artist, to New York City in 1939. Windham collaborated with Williams...

.

Plot summary

The story is set in rural Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 where a precocious 10 year old girl, Miss Lily Jane Bobbit, moves to town with her mother. The young girl is pretty and attracts the positive attention of the town boys, and the negative attentions of the town girls.

Characters

Miss Lily Jane Bobbit: the 10 year old protagonist of the story who always goes by Miss Bobbit. Her character is said to be the inspiration for the young socialite Holly GoLightly in Capote's novella Breakfast at Tiffany's

Breakfast at Tiffany's (novella)

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a novella by Truman Capote published in 1958. The main character, Holly Golightly, is one of Capote's best-known creations and an American cultural icon.-Plot:...

. Truman Capote's aunt, Marie Rudisill

Marie Rudisill

Marie Rudisill , also known as the Fruitcake Lady, was a writer and television personality, best known as the nonagenarian woman who appeared in the "Ask the Fruitcake Lady" segments on The Tonight Show on American television. She was an aunt to novelist Truman Capote...

 notes that both characters are "unattached, unconventional wanderers, dreamers in pursuit of some ideal of happiness."

Billy Bob: one of the local town boys who is lovesick for Miss Bobbit.

Aunt El: the narrator's aunt who is a model of traditional values in the community.

Manny Fox: a Con Man.

Critical reception and analysis

The short story has been described as resembling less complete writing by Eudora Welty

Eudora Welty

Eudora Alice Welty was an American author of short stories and novels about the American South. Her novel The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous awards. She was the first living author to have her works published...

.

It has been praised as "the jewel" of the collection A Tree of Night and Other Stories and is said to be a "perfect illustation of Capote's blending of Southern Folk writing with Jamesian

Henry James

Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....

 classicism."

Adaptations

As early as 1980 Capote's estranged friend Alan Schwartz asked for permission to sell a television script, which he had adapted with Capote's encouragement. Capote refused, saying he had written a television script himself.
In 2002 "Children on Their Birthdays" was made into an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 independent film

Independent film

An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...

 by director Mark Medoff

Mark Medoff

Mark Medoff is an American playwright, screenwriter, film and theatre director, actor, and professor. His play Children of a Lesser God received both the Tony Award and the Olivier Award...

.