Truman Capotes Excessive Lying :: Truman Capote Pathological Liar Essays Papers

Truman Capote's Excessive Lying Truman Capote once said, "I don't care what anybody says about me, as long as it isn't true" (Creative). Surely enough, Capote himself kept true to this statement throughout his life. According to Johnny Carson's ex-wife, Joanne Carson, whom Capote lived with near the end of his life, Capote would take her on imaginary trips to Paris, China, or Spain while in her front yard (Plimpton 422). But on a more serious note, Carson claims that Capote would lie about the simple facts about a party or an outing they had gone on (Plimpton 304). When confronted by Carson, Capote replied, "If that's not the way it happened, it's the way it should have happened" (qtd. in Plimpton 304). Eventually, Capote's lies caused his own friends to become his enemies when he published his book Answered Prayers that openly criticized them (Plimpton 338). But why did Capote lie so often? Was lying a disease or did he lie merely for entertainment purposes? Because of his lying patterns, one may easily infer that Capote was a pathological liar. But was he really? To begin, the definition of pathological actually means abnormal or grossly atypical. Therefore, a pathological liar prevaricates more frequently than the average person or tells more abnormal lies. In most cases, pathological liars tell lies that are "unplanned and impulsive" (Hausman). These lies are usually very emotional stories that tend to serve no purpose except to impress people (Ford 133). As of now, psychiatrists are unsure whether or not pathological liars are fully capable of realizing if and when they are lying, so detecting whether or not a person is a pathological liar is a very difficult task (Hausman). Since psychiatrists are not yet able to determine if pathological liars know when they are lying, Capote may or may not fit the description of a pathological liar. According to Capote's aunt Marie Rudisill, Capote was extremely aware of his dishonesty (Park). For example, Random House Publishers repeatedly called Capote about the Answered Prayers manuscript (Park). Every time, Capote would tell Random House that the manuscript was on his desk and he would bring it to them during the week (Park). But Rudisill claims that as soon as Capote talked to Random house, "[H]e'd call me on the phone and laugh like hell. He'd say: 'I haven't written a word of that thing, and I don't intend to write it'" (qtd.