“A Christmas Memory” is a short story written by Truman Capote. The main characters, a seven-year-old boy and his old female cousin, are making fruitcakes together as a tradition during Christmas. This unique relationship between the two characters creates tension, joy, and the last memory since this would be their last Christmas together before the boy was sent to a military school and several camps. By using particular diction, figurative language, and repetition or parallel structure, Capote tries to convey a sense of contradicting attributes of the isolation and intimacy involved in the characters.

Diction is arguably the most important and influential element in the story, creating an atmosphere of inclusion and seclusion. In the first paragraph of “A Christmas Memory,” the author uses “Imagine” to initiate the whole passage. This word quickly draws the readers’ attention and vividly depicts the scene and settings. The ordinary homely environment sets a cozy tone for the introduction. Truman Capote’s choice to describe the “two rocking chairs” foreshadows to demonstrate to the reader a special relationship between the two people. Throughout the passage, both main characters are unnamed; instead, the narrator is referred to as “Buddy” by the older cousin, and the older woman is purely referred to as “my friend” by the narrator. The readers are affected by this particular choice of language unknowingly. In the reader’s mind, a close link is drawn between the two characters, but a wall is also created between the characters and the outside world since they are not using the standard address for a person. In the second paragraph, Capote describes the physical appearance of the old cousin, and “she exclaims… ‘it’s fruitcake weather!’.” The choice of using fruitcake, a traditional and religious food for Christmas, to describe the weather is unique. This description is old-fashioned and creates a distant feeling, even confusion, as the readers read through the sentence. This diction reveals the age of the character. It leads the reader to think whether this word choice is due to the limitation of knowledge of the older cousin. Does the woman know how to pronounce Christmas or even the word Christmas? If not, she may only be able to describe Christmas using fruitcakes, which she knows. Also, the author uses “buggy” to refer to a baby carriage. These details show how derailed they are from the world and modern diction.

Another way that Capote emphasizes the closeness of the characters and their distance from the rest of society is through figurative language such as personification and symbols. For example, during the climax of the story, two of their relatives found out that the narrator drank whiskey. Using personification, Capote describes: “Very angry. Potent with eyes that scold, tongues that scald”. They vividly describe the relatives’ anger by making their eyes and tongues to individuals who can “scorn” and “scold.” This figurative language impacts the reader’s view of the relatives. Readers can detect an inherent inferiority during this confrontation between the relatives and the older cousin. This may also create sympathy toward the older cousin with her childish mental state and irresponsible behavior of letting a child drink alcohol, which readers are more likely to understand from all the given background information. In addition to personification, symbolism also stresses the isolation and closeness between different characters. On Christmas, the cousins usually give each other a gift. Since both characters aren’t financially stable and luxurious, the older cousin can only provide a kite to her Buddy on Christmas instead of the bicycle the narrator wants. The kite not only represents the friendship between the two and embodies their memories. In the end, the author refers to the kite when the narrator receives a message about the older cousin’s death. Capote describes his feeling as “a kite on a broken string,” showing that even though the kite, which symbolizes the memory, remains, the connection between them is ultimately disconnected. This realization reminds the reader of the happy memory and creates a grievous tone compared to the joy. Queenie symbolizes the small isolated world that the narrator and his cousin creates. This world is odd when other people, especially the relatives, look at it because of the huge age gap, but it is rational when we figure out that the older cousin might have some mental problems that affect her which cause her to act juvenile. As Queennie dies, their relationship simultaneously subdues. The death of Queenie brings to the climax of the older cousin’s isolation to a situation where she has no companion and no one who can understand her. 

Furthermore, using the rhetorical strategy of parallel structure, the author effectively describes the segregation of the older cousin from the rest of the world, contrasting the closeness between the cousins. On page 62, the author uses a parallel structure to list several things the old cousin has never done. Capote says, “She has never eaten in a restaurant, traveled more than five miles from home, received or sent a telegram..” These details reveal the limited worldview the cousin obtained from her sparse experience. These details give the reader a more vivid picture of the character and explain some of the outdated demeanors that the older cousin took. The reader is now aware of the limitation and can better understand each character, leading one to feel connected to or sympathetic toward such a person. Right after that, the author presents another list of things the old cousin has done. Capote lists: “killed with a hoe the biggest rattlesnake ever seen in this county, dip snuff, tame hummingbirds till they balance on her finger….” These actions create a childish mental state for the older cousin, which is obvious evidence of her isolation from the outside world and norm. Even though Capote states the repetition in a denotative language, the author successfully informs the reader of the older cousin’s background, which explains her personality and behaviors. After the narrator leaves his home, he receives several letters from his friend. When the narrator lists things the older cousins were doing without Buddy, Capote uses parallel structure: “she continues to bake her fruitcakes single-handed; not as many, but some; and of course she always sends me ‘best of the batch.’” These things bring up the memory and life experience, allowing the reader to retrace and be aware of the repetition in the older cousin’s life. The repetition and lack of deviation from the same procedure show the reader the lack of variability caused by the seclusion of the older cousin from society. 

In the end of the story, the author leaves us with a growing sense of isolation where the boy was sent to a military school, and his older cousin is sending him letters about random stuff that she can’t share with others because she has no one who will listen to her. Despite the fact that the story has a sentimental ending with the death of the old cousin who cannot unite with her only friend again, we can still argue that these distant cousins have had a uniquely close relationship. Using diction, figurative language, and parallel structure, Capote wisely planted this closeness, isolation, and solicitude of the older cousin after the narrator’s departure in the readers’ hearts, bringing great sorrow when they separate and when one dies.