The Santa Ana Winds: Linda Thomas And Joan Didion

The Santa Ana Winds that whip through Southern California are a seemingly natural event; however, their presence has proved to be anything but to the civilians in the area. The character of winds for years has integrated itself into the culture of Californians, creating not only an emotional but ecological footprint pressed into the lives of thousands during the fall and winter months. Two authors: Linda Thomas and Joan Didion, natives of Southern California, collectively tackle the chronicle of the Santa Ana Winds, however, both share distinct testimonies of their experiences with such a fierce and fiery phenomenon. For instance, Linda Thomas seeks to enlighten newcomers of California about the great beauties and unpredictable dangers of

the winds using a personal narrative motif. Didion’s message, in contrast to that of Thomas’, explores the “mechanics” behind such passionate winds, involving not only the accustomed hazards, but also the psychological handicaps the winds seem to produce.
Although both Thomas and Didion have diverging composition techniques, both touched upon a major downfall of the Santa Anna Winds: the palpable risks. Thomas, while possessing a rather lighthearted tone in comparison to Didion, utilizes a simile, “…fire that can rush up a canyon like a locomotive…” to acknowledge how powerful and quick paced the Santa Ana winds are and how their ignition, being the chaparral zones “make no distinction between natural assemblies and human construction.” The irony, presented by Thomas, of constructing homes in “bulldozed chaparral zones” knowing full well the surrounding consequences of this action makes the author’s point even more apparent: the Santa Ana winds are not to be messed with. Joan Didion also conveys this message of danger to human life to her readers. However, unlike Thomas, Didion chooses to employ this motif using logos, or more specifically a timeline of unfortunate events. For example, to emphasize the “violent extremes” of Southern Californian weather, Didion rehashes the winter of 1966-67 where “eleven men were killed fighting a Santa Ana fire” to demonstrate just how life threatening this natural occurrence is. This detail not only allows Didion to provide factual evidence to support her claim, but also allows her to pull on the heart strings of her readers, therefore using pathos, seeing as I for one feel the greatest amount of sympathy for those men and their families. It is evident, therefore, that both Thomas and Didion corroborate the idea that the Santa Ana winds produce a raging terror that is uncontrollable and severely damaging to the local communities of Southern California.
While both Thomas and Didion share a common concern for the dangers that the Santa Ana present, they disagree on the overwhelming effect the winds have on their general public.

For example, when one reads Thomas’ piece, she concludes with the concept that although the Santa Ana winds are a natural disaster, they are something of beauty. She has evidently switched over from the terrible dangers into the pleasantries of the wind. One way she displays this is through personification, “…watch the orange flames color the sunset” which allows Thomas’ paint a picture of the beauty of the flames and how not everything about the winds is terrible and dangerous. Thomas continues this central idea of beauty through a climax by detailing the scenery around her, “…soft drinks…camera…teenage couple” all to set the audience in a mood of happiness only to be disturbed by the antithesis “…it will be more than the chaparral that has burned…only the chaparral will return” to emphasize the reoccurring dangers of the winds and infamy of chaparral brush that lights the Southern Carolina skyline. This juxtaposition of uplifting and ominous effects of the Santa Ana winds that Thomas’ creates shines radiantly in comparison to that of Didion. Didion, instead, implies a more derogatory tone in which she seems to compare the wind’s effects on the community to that of a werewolf and a full moon. To emphasize this change in psychological behavior, Didion implements logic and other facts such as “In Switzerland the suicide rate goes up during the foehn.” These small blurbs of factual information are used to convince the reader that the Santa Ana winds are not only physically dangerous but also harm one’s mental state. To further convince the reader of Didion’s “full moon” concept, she employs scientific information as well, “the air carries an unusually high ratio of positive to negative ions.” Although this piece of information might sound confusing to the reader, it helps Didion corroborate

her claim because she can easily simplify it to, “…make[s] people unhappy.” By taking on a much more scientific and factual tone, Didion is effectively able to convince her audience of the Santa Ana wind’s menacing psychological effects. Joan Didion’s overwhelmingly negative connotation of the Santa Ana winds completely overshadows Linda Thomas’ dangerous but beautiful motif.
In conclusion, both authors, Didion and Thomas, have a very personal connection to the Santa Ana Winds. Through their pieces, both try to confront the dangers of the winds and inform incoming travelers and locals and the rest of the world about the extreme weather patterns Californians face throughout the year. Both Didion and Thomas’ successfully dictate such dangers through their usage of storytelling and logic, whether it be factual or scientific. However, although both authors share a common focus, their overall message differs from one another. Thomas’, unlike Didion, warns the readers about the dangers but also hones in on the beauty of such a natural phenomenon. On the other side of the spectrum, Didion employs logos as a way to demonstrate the totally ominous and ruthless psychological effects the winds demonstrate.