Joan Didion On Keeping A Notebook Analysis

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A chromatic sunset of oranges, pinks, and grays surrounds a dot of a sun. After my eyes adjust to the new hue of colors, the black silhouette of a dock, an umbrella located at the far end of the dock, and a boat fastened by its whips appear. There is no writing on the white of the Polaroid, no date to mark its significance, no similar photo beside it to justify its belonging. As silent and aware as an art connoisseur walking towards the next piece in a gallery, I trace my finger down the string of lights to the next Polaroid. “New Years Eve 2014” has been scrawled in sharpie at the base of the photo. Above it is a golden retriever on a rug. Why was this photo here? How come there was no order for these photos? I move on to the next photo …show more content…

Didion heavily uses imagery in her work. For my essay, it enables the readers to see what I do when I look at the photographs, which is crucial since a photograph is by definition an image. The next technique that I used was questions because it keeps the reader engaged in the essay by making them keep reading for an answer. The third stylistic technique I worked into my paper was dialogue. The use of dialogue expands the moment that I am describing by giving insight onto what other people did and how they contributed to the event. Parallel structure and repetition were also used in order to give an idea or moment greater emphasis. For example, it made the memory of the last night of camp more meaningful. Furthermore, allusion was also added to broaden the context of my paper and avoid using simple first person descriptions of my actions. Lastly, foreign (French) words were used to make my description of my past in ballet more authentic. Didion’s style is similar to what I am working to make mine to be; therefore, this was a great experience. It wasn’t incredibly difficult, but it did create a few challenges for sentence structure and starting new paragraphs. Overall, I really enjoyed writing in the style of

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