Slouching Towards Bethlehem

1053 Words3 Pages

In Joan Didion’s essay “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” Didion recounts her numerous experiences and observations with people of multiple ideals and personalities within San Francisco, California during the 1960’s. During this time period, San Francisco arose as a renowned counterculture center. It attracted specifically young people from all over the United States who were seeking to detract themselves from the conventional society that took place in households throughout America. Didion decides to take part in this counterculture movement as well, however not as a participant but rather as an observer. The result is an essay documenting a rather harsh, disturbing society contrary to the popular image being portrayed by those in support of the movement taking America by storm. Rather than promoting the movement within San Francisco similar to what other media figures were doing, Didion uses syntax and diction to portray a straightforward view of the events occurring in addition to creating detail through her interpretation of people’s thoughts. Didion uniquely frames tension throughout the essay around instances of people exemplifying hypocrisy to further emphasize her contrary observations of the movement taking place within San Francisco, California.
Joan Didion portrays a stark contrasting view of the counterculture movement through her experiences and interpretation for why things have become the way they are. Didion made the trip to Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco, California looking to motivate her self to start writing again. She intended to explore what was taking place and see what the phenomenon was about. According to Muggli, “many people misread 'Slouching Towards Bethlehem' because they fixed on particulars rather th...

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...ne, allowing for the reader to reflect upon each scene without too much immediate interpretation to follow about the scene itself from Didion. Without interpretation and an appropriate transition, the reader will look to make his or her own interpretation, which is truly what journalism is about, allowing for more of an interaction between the reader and the text. In regards to Muggli, Heilker makes the point that “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” is not your traditional newspaper article of today. It may cause confusion at first and some may not get the point of Didion’s literary techniques. However, this is because Didion challenges the reader to make assumptions of their own instead of simply giving the reader her own assumptions. Her use of “short interpretive statements” give the reader as clear of an image as the one she was able to see through her own eyes.

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