ipl-logo

Joan Didion On Going Home Analysis

761 Words4 Pages

Analysis Joan Didion essay: On Going Home
In ‘On Going Home’, the motivation of Joan Didion is her frustration with the city life of Los Angeles and its comparison with the ‘home life’ she had in Central Valley of California. The particular occurrence which intrigued her to write her thoughts is her visit to ‘home’ and ‘family’ at her daughters’ first birthday. The motivation to write the essay resides in her personal conflict as she observes her strong sense of belonging to her family values and the meaninglessness of these values in her current life with her husband. The visit to home is a reminder of how strongly she is rooted in those values and she is exasperated at the thought that she would not be able to transfer that sense of belongingness to her daughter. Eagerness of family values and the imminent threat of her daughter being unaware of the real values appear saddening.
The reader or the audience of the ‘On Going Home’ are the generations of people born before the fragmentation of World War II. As the essay is written in …show more content…

The author particularly appears to be a person growing up in the first half of 20th century when the family values, ancestral connections, and the intimate norms were the things to be preserved. The author connects with her audience on the value and preciousness of the ‘family’ and ‘home’. She writes the essay right in the center of the setting that she is describing and possess a strong sense of connection with her surroundings. She also writes as a mother of the young daughter who wants to transmit the love and knowledge of family values to her daughter, but she knows that these values have become oblique and her daughter would never understand their true

Show More
Related

  • Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem Summary

    843 Words  | 4 Pages

    Review on Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem In her memoir titled, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion includes a collection of essays that focus on her experiences in California during the 1960’s. By combining true historical facts, with a keen eye for gothic imagery, Didion narrates a felt experience from the perspective of a participant and an observer— calling into question the values of her own generation, while simultaneously embracing them in order to create a palpable narrative. Part One, Life Styles in the Golden Land provides a both a nostalgic and geographic origin story for the following chapters. The collection opens with the essay, Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream, which tells the tale of Lucille Miller and her

    Read More

  • Sociological Imagination Is A Personal Family Issue

    1000 Words  | 4 Pages

    Introduction There are many different types of cultures in society around the world, all with their own individual accepted ways of behaviour, some cultures might be familiar and others might seem strange to us. Cultures have their own set of norms to control acceptable behaviour. If we as fellow human beings all took the initiative to understand each other’s cultures, it might not seem that strange to us anymore and it is possible that we could help others in a way that is acceptable to the society in which we live in. The aim of this essay is to discuss, using a view based on the sociological imagination, whether a unique personal family issue can be related to an issue in society.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of 'The White Album' By Joan Didion

    990 Words  | 4 Pages

    Didion was also having some psychological problems at the time, and so to her all these events seem to have a connection. Although she is aware that what she is saying may be mindless, she wants to be transparent and tell the audience exactly “how it is for her”. Although my perspective may have changed to a certain extent, using writing as therapy and as well as all the events that have occurred in the 60s. I believe that one primary and essential theme in Didion’s essay would be the relevance and significance she gives to narrative, including the forms, the purpose we give to it, and how we all create

    Read More

  • Joan Didion The White Album Analysis

    1136 Words  | 5 Pages

    The hippie movement is arguably one of the most famous culture movements from the twentieth century, made widely famous in pop-culture involving romanticized images of overly friendly people clothed in bell-bottom pants and flower-print button down shirts. The romanticization of this movement allowed for a widely accepted and skewed view of the true events that happened during this time. The reality is much darker than publicized to the ignorant generations that followed. It can be maintained by many that personal experience and firsthand knowledge provides the most accurate depiction of the true happenings of the time period. Through vivid imagery and impersonal diction, Joan Didion offers a critical unveiling the mayhem that she witnessed during her various firsthand immersions in the developing culture of the 1960s.

    Read More

  • The White Album By Joan Didion Essay

    1906 Words  | 8 Pages

    Well-known writer and essayist Joan Didion, in her essay, The White Album, shatters every preconceived notion of the late nineteen sixties. Set primarily in Los Angeles, California Didion blends reportage and personal essay to recount cultural tensions that arose during the period- protests, murder, apathy-with her own psychosis. Incorporating fragmented narrative and film technique Didion offers snapshots of the events with language that is curt yet symbolic of her unique style. “The White Album,” demonstrates that everything in life is meant to teach us something. Through Didion’s experiences behind the pen, as a news reporter, her narration attempts to understand the lesson and discovers "We Tell OURSELVES STORIES in order to live" (Didion

    Read More

  • All Quiet On The Western Front Effects Of War Essay

    1064 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the ages, wars have wreaked havoc and caused great destruction that lead to the loss of millions of lives. However, wars also have an immensely destructive effect on the individual soldier. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, one is able to see exactly to what extent soldiers suffered during World War 1 as well as the effect that war had on them. In this essay I will explain the effect that war has on young soldiers by referring to the loss of innocence of young soldiers, the disillusionment of the soldiers and the debasement of soldiers to animalistic men. Many soldiers entered World War 1 as innocent young boys, but as they experienced the full effect of the war they consequently lost their innocence.

    Read More

  • Archetypes In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

    1428 Words  | 6 Pages

    Home is where the heart is, but what if home is no longer safe? Joyce Carol Oates explores this concept in her 1966 short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”. On surface level, this story appears to discuss a rebellious young girl named Connie and her confrontation with Arnold Friend, a stalker. The ending leaves the reader to assume that Arnold Friend plans to sexually assault the young girl.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In 'Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?'

    700 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the coming of age story “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses symbolism, conflict, and the third person to foreshadow fifteen-year-old Connie’s unfortunate, yet untimely fate. While one may think that the conflict stems from Connie’s promiscuity, it is clear to see her promiscuity is only a result to a much bigger conflict, her mother’s constant nagging and disapproval, alongside the lack of attention from her father. the author paints a vivid picture of what happens when a fifteen-year-old girl such as Connie goes elsewhere to find to find the love, attention, and approval that she lacks at home. All which is vital for her growth and wellbeing as a person.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Joan Didion's Los Angeles Notebook

    814 Words  | 4 Pages

    Joan Didion’s “Los Angeles Notebook” is an essay that highlights the deeply mechanistic view of human behavior by using images that are both enticing, yet horrifying at the same time. Her audience is broader than the people of Los Angles, who she discusses in articulate detail. Being that her audience is generally aimed at people who are concerned about humanity and the way people operate together in certain scenarios. There is an eerie sense to this piece, as the subject is the hot winds known as foehn by scientists, but otherwise known as a “Santa Ana” by the people of the region. Didion claims that, in the simplest terms, “to live with the Santa Ana is to accept, consciously or unconsciously, a deeply mechanistic view of human behavior,”

    Read More

  • Us And Them By David Sedaris Analysis

    830 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although his writing can be engaged to an audience who reads the situation the boy is encountering with his neighbors ,but to analyze themselves instead of another person. Therefore the intended purpose of this writing is to not analyze or criticize how a person live, but to analyze themselves , as they could be living their life differently such as being greedy. ”You should look at yourself. I mean really look at yourself ” .Therefore the author notifies the audience of the situation he was in throughout his life,through the use of emotional appeal using personal experiences in his life and humor

    Read More

  • Child's Play Analysis

    799 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although it is not stated clearly, the texts have many evidences that point towards their fate. Moreover, with the change from a third-person narration to a bystander-style narration, it further highlights the inescapability of their situation and hence, amplifies the tragedy and arouses the reader’s pity for the characters. In short, the texts illuminate the lack of social movement, where children are doomed to follow the footsteps of their family, a tragic but unavoidable

    Read More

  • The Role Of Parents In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

    642 Words  | 3 Pages

    Essay #2 Parents play a very important role in the lives of their children. If parents do it in the right way, it positively impacts children’s mental and emotional condition. One of the main characters from the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie, does not have that kind of relationships with her parents, with who she can share her thoughts or who to get a good advice from. The main reason of all Connie’s mental and emotional problems is that her parents do not play a good role model for her and compare with the older sister. Being parents is far more than just providing children with food and clothes.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Why I Want A Wife

    557 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1970’s women were expected to stay at home and take care of the household. They were usually not expected to further their education, but instead take care of the children or tend to their husbands’ needs. In 1972 Judy Brady decided to let the readers of Ms. Magazine know how she felt about her “duties”. In her short essay, “Why I Want a Wife,” Brady uses pathos to connect and appeal to the reader’s emotions while explaining why she wants a wife.

    Read More

  • Joan Didion Why I Write Analysis

    695 Words  | 3 Pages

    “What is going on in these pictures in my mind?” (Didion 2). Joan Didion’s “Why I Write” provides an explanation to her perspective om writing and why she writes. Later on, she states that she writes as a way to discover the meaning behind what she is seeing. During this past semester as we wrote about dance, a heavy focus was on description and interpretation rather than contextualization and evaluation.

    Read More

  • What Is The Tone Of My Papa's Waltz

    531 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the poem, My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke, is known to be a controversial story about a father and son relationship. The speaker in this poem has contradicting emotions about his father and the tone told throughout the story can be ribald yet many readers find it all just a happy memory. The main subject of My Papa’s Waltz is a young son who loved his son but still feared him. In this poem the speaker will illustrate the family views using a certain word choice and the tone he uses. The specific diction will highlight the real truth between the father and son relationship and what it means.

    Read More

More about Joan Didion On Going Home Analysis

Open Document