In the past half-century Elvis has become one of the most revered icons in the world. People, in their devotion to the man, end up attributing all sorts of their own prejudices and beliefs to him, especially on the point of race. He rose to fame by combining black music with white sensibilities, something that people on both sides of the race divide have noticed. The Elvis in Alice Walker’s story seemed remarkably aware of just how much he took from African American music and how much he owed them, but history suggests that this is a little exaggerated.
There are several different interpretations of the story. Some people, such as Bertrand, view the story as the tale of a swindle, or “modern-day trickster tale” as well as “a metaphor for the dominant culture” (73). I agree with the dominant culture aspect, but the story reads like a tragedy to me. The musician realizes how much he owes African Americans, and he attempts to repay it in all sorts of unnecessary and lavish gifts to the woman who made him famous. By the time he gave her his first meaningful gift, the chance to since her own song on national television, society no longer cared about who created it; they just loved Elvis. Through all this, the Elvis in the story clearly cares about how he became famous, and he seeks to make amends for his apparent theft. This fits with what many other authors say about him, but history was not quite as extreme.
Elvis stated that he owed his success to black musicians who came before him. He said in an interview that he could not sing rock and roll as well as blacks could (Bertrand 76). In his later years, he spent a lot of time asking why he had become famous and how he had gotten where he was, so the self-reflection that Walker’s Elvis displays is not out of place (Rosenbaum 63). It is unlikely, however, that he kept in contact with the songwriters that wrote his biggest hits, and even less likely that he would maintain a relationship like the one he maintains with Gracie May. He also moved away from his rock and roll over the course of his career, eventually settling on big ballads and a Las Vegas show (Rosenbaum 57). Therefore, though he owed his rise to fame to black musicians, he ended up making a good portion of his fortune on a different style entirely.
The overarching feeling Elvis has towards blacks in the story is pity: pity that he can do the exact same thing as them and yet become millions of times wealthier. The real Elvis, while admitting to borrowing from blacks, never seemed to display this overwhelming pathos. He certainly was not a racist or elitist as history has made him appear, but his overall attitude was one of quiet ambivalence.