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I. Y. Yunioshi
Fred, who never actually appears in the novel, is Holly Golightly’s brother. By leaving Doc Golightly’s house to live her own life, Holly was forced to leave Fred behind—something that caused her great pain, since she cared for him so much. When Holly first meets the narrator, she says that he looks somewhat like her brother, so she decides to call him Fred. Later, Holly receives a telegram from Doc telling her that Fred died in World War II, and this news devastates her.
Fred Quotes in Breakfast at Tiffany’s
The Breakfast at Tiffany’s quotes below are all either spoken by Fred or refer to Fred. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Breakfast at Tiffany’s Quotes
“Fred’s that boy upstairs? I didn’t realize he was a soldier. But he does look stupid.”
“Yearning. Not stupid. He wants awfully to be on the inside staring out: anybody with their nose pressed against a glass is liable to look stupid. Anyhow, he’s a different Fred. Fred’s my brother.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Fred Character Timeline in Breakfast at Tiffany’s
The timeline below shows where the character Fred appears in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
...wait until he falls asleep. She also notes that the narrator looks like her brother, Fred, and decides to call him by that name. Going on, she says that she and...
(full context)
...why he hears her when she starts crying in her sleeping, saying, “Where are you, Fred?” When Holly awakes, the narrator asks why she was crying, but she only gets up...
(full context)
...her cat. Saying this, Holly adds that perhaps after World War II ends she and Fred will be able to—but she cuts herself off, instantly changing the subject.
(full context)
...to Holly, who says she’ll leave America as soon as the war ends, adding that Fred is a soldier. This confuses Mag, who thinks that the narrator is Fred. Accordingly, she...
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...girls. Pointing to this girl, the man identifies her as Holly, then shows the narrator Fred. Beginning to understand, the narrator says that the man is Holly’s father, but this stops...
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...that he’s been searching for Holly for five years. He recently received a letter from Fred informing him that she’s been living in New York, and he immediately came on a...
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Doc Golightly tells the narrator that he found Holly and Fred raiding his farm after they ran away from their cruel foster parents. Apparently, he says,...
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...her and scare her off. On the way to the apartment, the narrator asks about Fred, and Doc says that Fred stayed with him until joining the Army, at which point...
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...still around tomorrow.” Shocked, she looks at him for a moment before rushing downstairs, calling Fred’s name as she goes. When she sees Doc, she halts and retreats in disappointment, but...
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...them. Instead, Holly is upset because she received a telegram from Doc informing her that Fred was killed in action.
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Holly stops calling the narrator Fred. In the coming months, Holly stays inside and isn’t as social as normal. During this...
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...Moving on, she speaks somewhat nonsensically about a “fat woman” she’s been seeing ever since Fred died. As soon as she heard the news of her brother’s death, this woman appeared....
(full context)
