she is true to her racial and cultural heritage. Being genuine has left her contented and resilient, but she has not achieved major success as a singer. On the other hand, Traynor is rich and famous. His status is based on music he has appropriated but not understood. He feels guilty and unsure of himself; he keeps turning to Gracie for help. As she says, "you talk to rich white folks and you end up reassuring them." Traynor is a professional success and a personal failure; Gracie is just the opposite.Walker's Traynor and Gracie Mae reflect Presley and Thornton as moral and cultural symbols rather than as historical figures. Gracie is authentic and viable, a good woman who can't be kept down; Traynor is bogus and vulnerable, a facade that cannot be kept up. As an artist, Walker stresses the values Elvis, Bessie, and "Big Mama" represent. She is writing fiction, not biography.Thus, the cultural types on which they are based reinforce the key characteristics of Gracie and Traynor. Gracie realizes that Traynor fails to live for himself, to find his own roots and validity. This tragedy is compounded by the fact that an American public that rejects the real thing treasures his imitation of Gracie?s art. The triumph of the artificial over the genuine, together with the racism it implies, is why Gracie observes at Traynor's death, "One day this is going to be a pitiful country.?...
