Vol. 3, Issue 2, Part C (2017)

Abstract
Oral History (1983), the marvelous novel, was written by the talented novelist, Lee Smith, after Black Mountains Breakdown. It is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life. In her novel, Oral History, Smith focuses on Appalachian culture, overturning the conventional notions of mountain people. This novel revolves around a young college student whose name is Jennifer, who leaves her city, returning to her childhood home of Hoot Owl Holler, in the mountains. She has brought her tape recorder to hear the stories of her kin and make interviews with her relatives for a college project. She meets family members and learns of a mysterious curse due to the conjugal marriage between the husband, Almarine and the witch wife, Red Emmy. This curse has followed her family members for generations. Her grandfather and her great-aunt actually left their mountain cabin because of ghostly screams, and nocturnal visitations. Jennifer learns about herself as she chronicles the lives of her ancestors. The tales of murder and suicide bring vibrant story of a cursed family that still refuses to give up. The core narrative begins in the early 1900s and traces the family to the 1980s. Throughout the novel, Emmy and her curse are associated with ravens, which links Emmy to Cherokee stories about the Raven Mocker. Emmy has grown up under the Raven Cliffs, in caves, with ravens, and Granny believes that she returns to live there again after Almarine makes her leave his place.