Compare And Contrast Dillard And Didion
I feel that both Dillard and Didion have a very personable narrative writing style that engages the audience in different ways. Joan Didion’s “The Santa Ana” immediately pulled me into her story with the introductory sentence: “There is something uneasy in the Los Angeles air this afternoon, some unnatural stillness, some tension” (Aaron and Kuhl 44). I was also impressed by how she was able to convey a message of severity and some chaos through her narrative of the effects the Santa Ana winds have on not only the people but in Los Angeles and other locations around the world that have similar experiences due to the nature and harshness. The closing sentence: “The wind shows us how close the edge we are” (47), sent chills down my spine and
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This was fine sport” (Aaron and Kuhl 74). My initial reaction was that it was “just okay” but as I continued to read, the narrative drew me in further as Dillard continued to describe her background story of how she was something of a tomboy and set the stage for what was about to occur in a child’s point of view. What I had considered a tolerable introduction, quickly escalated to the part where Dillard spoke of making an ice ball that carries the story back to the start where she describes how she had a “boy’s arm” when it came to throwing a baseball. The actions taken by Dillard and the Fahey boys, throwing the snowballs at vehicles landed them in an adventure when the guy in the black Buick actually stopped and pursued them on a foot chase that was extremely engaging to the reader. The summary at the end asks if Dillard learned anything or the purpose of the essay, and I feel that she learned childhood mischievous fun is both. We can see this in the sentence after they were caught and yelled at: “…I would have died happy, for nothing has required so much of me since being chased all over Pittsburgh in the middle of winter...” (78). I also felt after reading the story that the conclusion appropriately wrapped up the narrative by simply stating: “I don’t know how he found his way back to his car”
This was fine sport” (Aaron and Kuhl 74). My initial reaction was that it was “just okay” but as I continued to read, the narrative drew me in further as Dillard continued to describe her background story of how she was something of a tomboy and set the stage for what was about to occur in a child’s point of view. What I had considered a tolerable introduction, quickly escalated to the part where Dillard spoke of making an ice ball that carries the story back to the start where she describes how she had a “boy’s arm” when it came to throwing a baseball. The actions taken by Dillard and the Fahey boys, throwing the snowballs at vehicles landed them in an adventure when the guy in the black Buick actually stopped and pursued them on a foot chase that was extremely engaging to the reader. The summary at the end asks if Dillard learned anything or the purpose of the essay, and I feel that she learned childhood mischievous fun is both. We can see this in the sentence after they were caught and yelled at: “…I would have died happy, for nothing has required so much of me since being chased all over Pittsburgh in the middle of winter...” (78). I also felt after reading the story that the conclusion appropriately wrapped up the narrative by simply stating: “I don’t know how he found his way back to his car”