Question

The author of the passage would be most likely to make which of the following recommendations to scholars of women's history ?

• A. They should take into account their own life experiences when interpreting the oral accounts of women's historical experiences.
• B. They should assume that the observations made in women's oral narratives are believed by the intended audience of the story.
• C. They should treat skeptically observations reported in oral narratives unless the observations can be confirmed in standard histories.
• D. They should consider the cultural and historical context in which an oral narrative was created before arriving at an interpretation of such a narrative.
• E. They should rely on information gathered from oral narratives only when equivalent information is not available in standard histories.

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

"Oral narratives are no more likely than are written narratives to provide a disinterested commentary on events or people. Moreover, the stories people tell to explain themselves are shaped by narrative devices and storytelling conventions, as well as by other cultural and historical factors, in ways that the storytellers may be unaware of." These sentences support option D as the answer. The other choices do not fit the context.