Didion's Counter Culture

1960s California was the hub for the anti-establishment cultural phenomenon, the fermenter for counterculture. An unprecedented number of unsatisfied youth was generated. They began rethinking the American dream, possibly yearning for an almost totalitarian rule, for sameness. However, as post-war trauma preoccupied their parents and other social authorities, these young people were perhaps never taught the correct way of rebellion. People in the 21st century are now most interested in 1960s’ fashion trends, musical legacy, free love, free speech, and civil rights. They are not interested, or informed, about the war, segregation, racial violence, riots, and drugs, and ultimately, the educated youth in the 60s.

Didion characterizes contemporary life as a false representation of the true counterculture. Through writing, she argues that the observers of the century neglected the younger generation. She is also arguing that the contemporary life people enjoyed living was hopeless because the future generation was not educated. To achieve her purpose, Didion adopts an unique essay structure and a carefully varied narrative voice. With her seemingly journalistic lens, she guides her readers through

First, the general movement of the text mimics the lack of center, which Didion expresses in the very first line: “The center was not holding” (84). The “center”, interpreted as a metaphor of the 20th century values of society, is also reflected through the structure. The entire essay is composed of short stories of different people who are primarily associated with drugs, sex, violence, and a misunderstanding of rebellion. The order of these stories do not seem to matter, as there were no prefaces of characters or continued narrations, providing further evidence that the entire society was a jumble that was not held together. She is arguing that the young people did not have a central ideal to rely