joan didion slouching towards bethlehem essay

We don’t truly know whether everything in the text is true unless we put faith in the accuracy of her notebook. On top of this, she provides little analysis and explanation of the significance of each of the experiences and conversations she had. Didion does not give a reason as to how the transitions reflect or foreshadow what is to come in her narrative written ahead. His transitions are smooth, relevant, and meaningful. Capote was disproportionately better at this.

However, Didion jumped among her short stories, with the only transitions coming through radio broadcasts, street signage, music lyrics, newspapers, and a local psychiatrist. 128, Didion).ĭidion’s assessment is reflected only in her description of the difficulty in asking her question. “I start to ask if any of the other children in High Kindergarten get stoned, but I falter at the keywords,” (p. This objectively horrifying situation technically leads Didion to question the girl, as any reporter would. “The five-year-old’s name is Susan, and she tells me she is in High Kindergarten,” (p. For example, Didion is introduced to a 5-year-old who consistently takes acid that her mother gives to her. Knowing this, I still feel most of the text was detached. Thompson, she does not give the reader her own thoughts of an individual character without sufficient context. She describes what she sees and allows readers to draw their own conclusions. Simultaneously, Didion writes with great restraint. Didion reports more than facts, she captures the wild environment she’s thrown herself into.

She focused her articles on the experiences she personally went through while in San Francisco. Didion does more than illustrate a general report of what is taking place in front of her, or what she’s hearing from the characters she interacts with. New Journalism of the 1960s seems best described as non-fiction storytelling. “If I didn’t finish my ironing my shirts for the week I couldn’t go out for the weekend. Didion presents her observations with seeming objectivity however, one can assume she holds a disapproving view of certain encounters, such as the runaway teenagers rebelling from their allegedly disapproving parents. This text feels similar to other New Journalism we’ve read already, considering they provide commentary on life as seen through the writer’s eyes.

Joan didion slouching towards bethlehem essay