L'auteur - The author
Zora Neale Hurston est née au début du 20ème siècle à Eatonville, en Floride, où se situe l'action du 'Demi-Dollar Doré'. Première Noire diplômée en anthropologie, elle a su à merveille transcrire l'art populaire noir et les dialectes du Sud. A New York, en plein Age d'Or du Jazz, elle a participé à l'Harlem Renaissance, mouvement littéraire et artistique des années 20 qui, contre les stéréotypes à la "Oncle Tom", préconisait une nouvelle littérature noire américaine. Romancière et nouvelliste, Hurston dut travailler tantôt comme enseignante, tantôt comme bibliothécaire ou domestique, sans jamais cesser d'écrire. Morte dans la misère en 1960, elle a eu l'enterrement d'une anonyme. En 1972, Alice Walker, l'auteur de 'La Couleur Pourpre', érige une pierre à l'emplacement approximatif de sa tombe, avec l'inscription " Zora Neale Hurston : un génie du Sud." La fin du 20ème siècle voue un regain d'intérêt à cette grande figure de la littérature féminine noire américaine.
Zora Neale Hurston was born in the early part of the 20th century in Eatonville, Florida, where 'The Gilded Six-Bits' is set. Hurston was a graduate anthropologist and a folklorist who celebrated the African American culture and dialect of the rural South. In New York, at the time of the Golden Age of Jazz, she joined the Harlem Renaissance , a literary and artistic movement of the 1920s, which changed the character of Black American literature and strove to eradicate the "Uncle Tom" stereotype. Author of many short stories and novels, Zora Neale Hurston worked as a teacher, a librarian and a domestic, but wrote throughout her life. She died in poverty in 1960 and was buried in an unmarked grave. The late 20th century saw a revival of interest in her work and Alice Walker, author of 'The Color Purple' placed a stone near where Hurston lay, in honour of "A Genius of the South".
Le site web officiel (?) de Zora NEALE HURSTON.The official (?) web site of Zora NEALE HURSTON.
Sa biographie ou
celle-là ou encore
celle-là,
son festival,
et de nombreux liens
là
et là.
Her biography or
this one or
this one,
her festival,
and a lot of links
here
and here.
L'oeuvre - The work
A reader's opinion and a student's opinion.
The full text and some comments. Things to consider after having read the story.
About the "dialect" used in the text.
Le titre - The title
Le titre 'Le Demi-Dollar Doré' fait référence à deux objets tape-à-l'oeil qu'Otis D. Slemmons, pour faire croire aux gens qu'il est riche, étale complaisamment : une épingle de cravate faite d'une pièce de 25 cents et, sur sa chaîne de montre, une pièce de 50 cents en forme de porte-bonheur; ces 75 cents sont en plaqué or. Le terme "bit" provient d'une division du peso espagnol et équivaut à 12,5 cents - deux bits égalent un quarter, quatre bits un demi-dollar, six bits 75 cents... |
The title 'The Gilded Six-Bits' refers to two items Otis D. Slemmons wears in an ostentatious ploy to make the townspeople believe he is rich: a tie pin in the form of a gold-plated quarter and a charm on his watch chain in the form of a gold-plated half-dollar. A bit (the term comes from a division of the Spanish peso) equals 12,5 cents, so two bits equals a quarter, four bits equals a half-dollar and six bits equals 75 cents. V.E.D. |
Le résumé - The summary
Le Demi-Dollar Doré (1933) est l'histoire de l'amour entre Joe et Missy May. Leur idylle est ponctuée par les retours de Joe de son travail à l'usine d'engrais (notamment le samedi, jour où il revient avec sa paie) et le soin que Missy May apporte à l'entretien de la maison et du jardinet. Survient Otis D. Slemmons, nouveau venu tapageur qui ouvre un bar à glaces dans le centre ville et se plaît à exhiber sa richesse présumée. L'innocence parfaite de Joe et Missy May est sérieusement secouée et leur amour mis à rude épreuve. |
The Gilded Six-Bits (1933) is the story of Joe and Missy May. Their seemingly idyllic love is punctuated by Joe's return from work at the local fertilizer plant (especially on Saturdays when he brings with him his weekly pay) and the care Missy May lavishes on their home and garden. Along comes Otis D. Slemmons, a flashy newcomer who opens an ice cream parlor in town and struts around showing off his assumed wealth. Joe and Missy May's perfect innocence is severely shaken and their love put to the test. V.E.D. |
La troupe - The Company
The official web site of Word for Word .
Word For Word: 1999 Best Ensemble Award from Bay Area Critics Circle.
Word for Word: 1998 Special Achievement Award from Bay Area Critics Circle.
Margo Hall: 1998 Black Box Award for Direction, Word for Word's Joy Ride.
(also "Friend of My Youth" Director)
Word for Word is a professional theatre company that stages short stories, performing every word the author has written. Their goals are to excite audiences about the written word, to create new ones for the theatre, and to share the world's diverse cultures and stories. As one of our company members says: "It's like being read to. While it's fully literary in content, it's completely theatrical in form."
They bring literature to life !
Director : L. Peter Callender
Founders and Artistic Directors : Susan Harloe & JoAnne Winter.
- Margo HALL * .............. Missie May
- Colman DOMINGO * .......... Joe
- L. Peter CALLENDER * ...... Slemmons
- Casey Jones BASTIAANS ..... Ida Armstrong, Mother, etc.
- Robert Earl WEBB * ........ Candy store shopkeeper
Stage Manager : David A. YOUNG *
Assistant Stage Manager : Robert Earl WEBB *
Costume Design/Wardrobe Mistress : A. Rene WALKER
Set Design : Leigh HENDERSON
* Denotes member of Actors Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.
Leur tour de France
est financé par la Florence Gould Foundation et Air France pour le
transport.
This production is funded by the Florence Gould Foundation; travel support by Air France.
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