The Los Angeles Notebook Analysis

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Meaning/Main Idea The main idea or concept of Didion’s “The Los Angeles Notebook” is to portray how human behavior and thought is a result of mechanics. Didion describes the Santa Ana winds as the omnipotent force that pulls humans to their mechanical nature. Los Angeles residents feel the arrival of the “bad wind” and succumb to the paranoia. Didion pairs a story of indians committing suicide to escape the wind with descriptions of the ominous changes that occur in the atmosphere during a Santa Ana to establish a mood of foreboding. After painting a Santa Ana as a paranormal force, Didion concludes to explain the science behind its “supernatural influence” on LA residents. She states that in the case of a Santa Ana, science can prove folk wisdom. The Santa Ana appears as a hot dry wind and whenever one occurs, doctors report patients with frequent “headaches, nausea and allergies, about nervousness and depression” (Didion 3). The excessive amount of …show more content…

She describes the ominous changes that occur right before a Santa Ana struck, “eerie absence of the surf”, “surreal heat”, etc (Didion 2). This imagery provides a clear picture of the malicious change in Los Angeles. To convey disorder and corruption, Didion states one would be woken up to the sound of “peacocks screaming in the olive trees” (Didion 2). Peacocks, normally perceived as regal and elegant scream in contrast to this. Being that the olive tree is a symbol of peace, these two contrasting ideas evoke a sense of confusion. Didion describes how she will “see black smoke back in the canyons, and hear sirens in the night”. Her use of sensory words such as “hearing” and “see”, ignite the 5 senses. The reader can picture the smoke through her words. “Hearing sirens” gave us a sense of danger and this was something Didion wanted to express. The fear and anguish expressed through Didion’s imagery evokes pathos from her

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