The Santa Ana Winds

 

  The tension storms bring input fear within people. "The Santa Ana Winds" by Joan Didion aims to warn the general audience of the threat Santa Ana storm poses. It puts its audience in a position whereas they build uneasiness from the thought of treacherous winds.  He does this through the use of imagery and a personal anecdotal. Imagery allows the audience to create a vivid image in their mind and the use of a personal anecdotal strengthens the image by making a personal connection to the reader because they’re permitted put themselves in the writer's shoes. For this reason, Didion's choice of rhetorical devices fit well together because they develop on one another creating an effective text.  

Didion begins by describing the aftermath of the Santa Ana storm by stating in paragraph 2, "The pacific turned ominously glossy during a Santa Ana period, and one woke in the night troubled not only by the peacocks screaming in the olive trees but by the eerie absence of the surf. The heat was surreal. The sky had a yellow cast, the kind of light sometimes called "earthquake weather." This quote allows the readers to understand the effects of the Santa Ana. Didion does this through words such as "eerie absence of surf," "peacocks screaming," "ominously glossy," and "yellow cast" which causes the reader to picture the changes Santa Ana brings to the environment and its surrounding. Thus provoking a feeling of anxiety within the audience about the idea of being in the range of danger. It's effective because it makes the reader question their safety. Likewise, I feel frightened because of the alarming side effects. When I was younger, I remember experiencing an earthquake in Pakistan during school hours. It was a shocking and distressing experience that could be heard from the children’s screams. To be honest, I was confused but looking back now I understand that the situation was dire. Didion continues to elaborate the crisis of the windstorm through a personal anecdotal. For instance, "My only neighbor would not come out of her house for days, and there were no lights at night, and her husband roamed the place with a machete." This anecdotal allows the reader to be in the place of the writer and live through the experience with him. Furthermore, it shows the reader that it drives people to the edge and causes them to be extreme in an attempt to protect themselves. It's effective because it presents to the audience that being caught in a storm can happen to anyone at anytime. These actions would initiate a sense of security for my family guaranteeing their safety. In 2012 hurricane sandy was the factor that caused many families to lose electricity and their homes. In order to help the community, our school organized a donation center where students sent clothes and canned food. It was a successful event, and they raised over $500 worth of items. The facility was very grateful for our school’s generosity, and I was pleased with how many people contributed to the cause. In all, Didion presented a deadly storm and how it affects human nature.