Summary Of At The Dam By Didion

Didion, author of "At The Dam”, born in Sacramento in 1934 and graduated from Berkeley. She proposes the idea of the Hoover Dam to be a representative symbol of man’s awesome and frightening power, unused and forgotten, which can be described with an admirable and haunting tone. Her word choice consists of strong descriptions that create vivid imagery in my mind which assists in the purpose created in the essay, to remind the people of the ambition that we once had. This style supports the representation of the Hoover Dam as a symbol of the American dream and the curious young America, potentially untapped, left unutilized. Didion’s admirable tone sets an astounding image for the Hoover dam to represent the ambitious American Dream left unexplored.

This description of the dam compels one to seek this dam, seeing it as a role model or something to look up to and strive towards. This draws direct symbolism from the American Dream or Promise, as the dam represents what could be achieved when following this ideology of triumph through intense labor. There are strong hints to the correlation towards the American Dream, “...notion to mankind's greatest promise.” Mankind’s greatest promise can be seen as the promise of grande wealth and success. Which can be illustrated by the massive feats of engineering that resemble what really is possible when you push towards the goals you wish to achieve, giving you another reason as to why the dam should be a symbol to admire. The author even describes the dam as a “monument of faith”, leaving it as a reminder of this dream, which we all should be chasing and willing to work for. Joan’s haunting tone sets a reminder of the Dam’s unused potential looming over her mind, unable to escape, leaving her to feel unfulfilled in her passion for the dam. The phrase, “... never been entirely absent from my inner eye.” shows how she constantly has this monument at the back of her