Question

Using "president Cleveland, where are you?" respond to the following prompt: Explain how authors use historical times or events as a basis for fiction. How do authors transform or revise history for the reader? use specific textual evidence to support your answer.
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Answer 1

"President Cleveland: Where are you?" is a story written by author Robert Cormier and it was published in 1998. Based on the historical event of the Panic of 1893 and the presidency of Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, who was elected twice (1885-1889 and 1893 to 1897), this author develops a story that in appearance has absolutely nothing to do with the historical event, but in truth derives its essence from history. This short story talks about a young boy, Jerry, who, during the presidency of Cleveland, as mentioned by the text itself, faces a hard decision; to spend his hard-earned money on buying chewing gum, or buying a present for his father. In the end, Jerry regrets his decision of not buying a present for his dad and is forced to mature through the consequences of his actions. The importance of the lesson learned by Jerry is underlined by the mention of the text of the hard economic times faced by people during the Panic of 1893 and he has to choose between what he wants, which is to help his siblings get the present, or spend the money as he wishes.

There are other historical novels in which authors do the same thing; they use historical facts and events to either give their story credibility or reinforce the ideas and messages set forth (as is the case of this story). One such example is "Grapes of Wrath" by Jonh Steinbeck, who not only uses historical data to create his fictional story, but the entire structure depends on these historical facts to lend credibility to it. Without this historical data, neither "President Cleveland, where are you", nor "Grapes of Wrath" would be able to deliver their message, which are grounded in history itself. However, because the purpose of these authors is not to make their stories a history guide, they just use certain data and intersperse it into their work, without making it the focus of the story or the main purpose.