Joan Didion

In, both J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye and Dead Poets Society, the theme of conformity is present in the main character’s journeys in very similar ways. In Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden Caulfield struggles with conformity throughout the novel as he is often pressured to do things he is opposed to but society deems acceptable and expected of someone his age, many of which he conforms to. Throughout the novel, Holden is characterized as a very hypocritical character…

In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the readers are challenged to analyze what is wrong with the main character, Holden Caulfield. There are several contributing factors to Holden's illness. Possible conditions that Holden could have are, Clinical Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Borderline Personality disorder. Clinical Depression, also known as Major Depressive Disorder is the most severe form of depression. Holden shows feelings of deep sadness that come out…

Sometimes, traumatic events in a young person’s life can force them to grow up faster than others. For Holden Caulfield, however, innocence and childhood is something to be cherished, since the world of adults is filled with “phonies” and people he doesn’t agree with. After the death of his little brother Allie, Holden struggles to retain his childish nature while growing into an adult. J. D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is a unique coming-of-age story that presents a theme of…

Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye and the film Dead Poets Society, both of the main characters Holden and Neil have strained relationships with their parents. For Holden Caulfield, he struggles with the fear of telling his parents that he was expelled from boarding school due to the expectations of his parents. Then, for Neil, he struggles with finding his own path that is separate from his father’s ideas, but cannot confront the strictness of his father. Within these two sources are…

For many teenagers, the thought of growing up and navigating the responsibilities of adulthood is a troubling thought. It is a time where maturity is tested, and autonomy is necessity. A time when some of us feel most alone. Unfortunately, this reality is no different for Holden Caulfield as his rejection of adultness leaves him wandering the streets of New York City alone. Throughout the novel “the Catcher in the Rye”, J.D Salinger plays off many aspects of Holden’s quirky and immature…

In the classic novel Puddn 'head Wilson, Mark Twain balances humor with some serious subject matter while weaving an involved tale concerning a slave who replaces her master 's child with her own son. Roxana, a slave belonging to the brother of the eminent Judge Driscoll, replaces his son Tom with her nearly identical son, Chambers. Although no one notices for many years, the truth is discovered by “Puddn 'head” Wilson, an underestimated scholar, and is eventually revealed when Roxana 's “Tom”…

destruction to the areas that they affect. In the passages “The Santa Ana” By Joan Didion and “Brush Fire” by Linda Thomas real life experience of the Santa Ana are revealed. Joan Didion and Lina Thomas both use imagery in their passages to express what the Santa Anas were like. “For a few days now we will see smoke back in the canyons, and hear sirens in the night” (Didion, Paragraph 1). Lina Thomas view of the wind…

incredibly hard to answer when life is viewed through a prism of loss. Visualize spending every day of your life with someone for decades and then suddenly they are gone. How do you go on when life as you know it has changed forever? The sudden loss of Joan Didion’s husband, John Gregory Dunne, altered her life forever. “Magical thinking” in the anthropological sense, means that…

The piece, “On Going Home” by Joan Didion, is about what Didion’s meaning of home is. The writing begins with Didion going home to visit family she had not seen in quite a long time. Didion clarified in the first paragraph what home meant to her. She explained, “By “home” I do not mean the house in Los Angeles where my husband and I and the baby live, but the place where my family is…” Throughout the writing Didion gives the reader insight into her family near and far and what she wants for her…

In the opening paragraphs of the Los Angeles Notebook Joan Didion characterizes the Santa Ana winds using various stylistic elements. Her essay characterizes the Santa Ana winds as Controversial, Theoretic, and Catalytic. The stylistic elements Didion uses to convey these views are Diction, Logos, and Metaphors. Joan Didion exemplifies diction conveying the controversial characterization early on in the first paragraph of the essay with the following quote. “We know it because we feel it. The…