Santa Ana

The Santa Ana Winds The Santa Ana Winds, seen through of the eyes of Joan Didion, is perceived as frightening, powerful, and mysterious. The arrival of the dry, incendiary Santa Ana wind’s creates an unknown uneasiness for the people of Los Angeles. The unearthly atmosphere is shown through the issues created by the winds before even arriving. Joan Didion explains through diction and meticulous details the change in atmosphere created by the Santa Ana wind. Didion begins by using creative diction and imagery to create tension. Words such as “uneasy”, “unnatural”, “ominous” and “mechanistic” gives the audience a clear idea that the wind is not welcomed. Through Didion’s diction the audience can feel something bad waiting to happen. All these words help prove to the audience the uneasiness and uncertainty regarding these winds. The imagery used is evoked by the diction. The Pacific turning “ominously glossy” shows the reader how nature can affect the mood of the people. Peacocks screaming, ungodly heats, sirens, smoke. These appeal to senses and helps audiences imagine the mystery of what arrives with the winds. Readers begin to understand the dangers and un-predictableness of the Santa Ana winds through through Didion. Diction and imagery accompany the appropriately selected details used in creating an unearthly atmosphere. The suspicious and dangerous attitudes of the Los Angeles community provide insight into the negative effect of the winds. Examples of neighbors roaming around with machetes and parties ending in fights prove to the audience that dangerous and mysterious things occur regarding the arrival of the wind. Alluding to Raymond Chandler, a crime fiction novelist, adds to the un-predictableness when describing meek little wives staring at their husband’s necks while holding a carving knife. Didion ended off Chandler’s quote with “Anything can happen” providing a cliffhanger to what the winds and nature could do next.
Didion continues to address