| Description |
Written autobiographies are often fragmentary and certainly subjective narratives, highlighting those things the individual feels to be praiseworthy characteristics and events, while stepping around those things which humility, shame, embarrassment, etc. will not allow them to mention. An oral narrative tends to be more candid and, perhaps, more indicative of the true and everyday traits of a person. In this work I use the example of my grandfather, Thomas Quentin Cannon, and his personally written history to illustrate how oral narratives, given by family members through interview, can and do supplement, echo and sometimes contradict his own written sentiments and assertions. I found it to be the case that although the basic values and governing principles discussed by his wife, sister, daughter, and son were much the same as those he alluded to in his own record, my grandfather chooses to emphasize his well known connections and offers somewhat impersonal, yet impressive trivia about himself and others. Certainly, the oral narratives along with the memories of a loving grandaughter (and the author of this work) reveal a more human, caring side to Quentin Cannon. |
