Hello. You have not informed which novel you are referring to, which makes it impossible to answer your question satisfactorily. But I can help you by showing you how to identify a primary source in this novel.
A primary source is a document that depicts a historic event. This document was built at the time that this historic event took place, being built without the interference and influence of other sources, being, therefore, a primary source. This type of document must be exposed in the novel related to your question.
An example of this would be a novel that featured a character who wrote a diary about his experiences during the discovery of gold in Georgia. In that case, the diary would be a primary source.