Analysis Of Joan Didion's Santa Ana Winds

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Author Joan Didion’s strategical diction used in his essay Santa Ana Winds creates a strange new tone causing the reader to feel uncomfortable and scared. Words such as “unnatural stillness” (Didion, par 1) and “surreal” (Didion, par 2) connote concern and apprehensiveness. These words reveal Didion’s own fear and astonishment toward the winds in order to convince the reader that the winds create are violent, unpredictable, and affect the entire quality of life in Los Angeles. The somber imagery construct the scene and uses sense to convey the foreboding tone to the audience. This majestic imagery is projected through phrases like “the edge of the carving knife” (Didion, par 3) and “the sky had a yellow cast” (Didion, par 2). Additionally,

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