Summary

Truman is 29 years old when his mother dies. The Chapter opens with Truman and Jack in Paris for New Years. Jack is Truman’s partner, the love of his life. Jack is writing a play and Truman is writing fiction again, having just finished writing a Bogart picture. Truman did the picture because it allowed him to pay for Nina, his mother, and her husband, Joe. Truman is proud that he recently beat Bogie in an arm-wrestling challenge, and he is excited to tell his mother and show that he is “every inch the man his Mama wanted him to be” (199). He then reflects on how happy he is, having found Jack. His mom, even though she likes Jack, does not seem to accept Truman’s sexuality. When Truman calls his mother for Christmas, he gets no answer.

Chapter 12 then gives a few different...