Oral History Quiz-Question 3

The main character in Oral History is Jennifer. She is the person that asked the questions and brought the tape recorder that caused everyone to tell here their stories. Also, the book begins with her first arriving at the house and ends when she leaves the house. At the same time, however, she is also only mentioned in the beginning and the end of the book. Some may see this as a reason to suggest that Jennifer is not, in fact, the main character of the story. On the other hand, it is necessary to notice that the only reason that this story is told is because Jennifer had to do an oral history project. Some of the sections are even specifically directed at Jennifer, especially Granny Younger’s section. When Granny Younger says things like, “I know moren I want to tell you, and moren you want to know,” (27). There are other characters that people might say are the main characters of Oral History, but there are certain aspects of each that disprove this point. The main reason that Granny Younger is not the main character is because she dies during the story. Even though she is still mentioned throughout, she no longer significantly affects the direction of the book. This is basically the same reason why the other characters are not the main characters of the story. They have parts, some of them are relatively significant, but none are as important as Jennifer’s.