The General in His Labyrinth also confront the methods of official historians by using an oral style of narration . The narration can be considered an oral account in that it is woven from the verbal interactions of everyday people . Alvarez Borland explain that the advantage of this technique , as discussed by Walter Ong , is that " the orality of any given culture , residing in the unwritten tales of its peoples , possess a spontaneity and liveliness which is lost once this culture commit its tales to writing . " The oral style of narration therefore provide a truthfulness which official history lack . Alvarez Borland conclude that The General in His Labyrinth suggest new ways of writing the past ; it take account of voices that was never written down as part of official history .