|
The story ‘Nineteen-Fifty Five’ is based on the story of Elvis Presley and how he achieved fame and fortune singing a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for Willie Mae Thornton, and was a hit when Elvis, a white singer, sang it in July 1956. The title ‘Nineteen-Fifty Five’ refers to 1955 in the story, when Traynor and his record label buy the rights to one of Gracie Mae Still’s songs. ... Since the times of slavery, which started about 400 years ago when African people were ‘imported’ into America, black and white people have been segregated not just socially, but up until the last few decades, legally as well. Black revolutionaries, such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. helped to change this so that black people and white people can live together, go to the same school etc.
The story is written from the viewpoint of Gracie Mae, and starts with the car pulling up to her house. It’s a red Thunderbird Convertible. Red is the colour of warning, and in the day and age they live in, a black person doesn’t drive a red Thunderbird Convertible, so the opening of the story sets up a sense of conflict – what is this car doing in a black area? ...
The writer makes the difference between Traynor and Gracie Mae.
Approximate Word count = 1115
Approximate Pages = 4.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
|
|
