Blog Assignment #2: Joan Didion's "Letter from Los Angeles"

In Joan Didion's "Letter from Los Angeles" she begins her work by describing a favorable day in Los Angeles, stating that "There can be about these hours spent in transit a seductive unconnectedness." She begins her work evoking the desolate, everyday nature of Los Angeles which is considered to be a "good" day in this city. This phrase is effective since it  uses irony to describe a good day in L.A., which is actually depicted as a place of misconnection. Didion successfully uses description to display the lackluster attributes of the Los Angeles she finds herself in. " Such tranced hours are for many people who live in Los Angeles, the dead center of being there, but there is nothing about them to encourage the normal impulse toward recognition, or narrative connection." Didion uses description to administer a reference to the reader of what it is like to live in a place where an unknown absence is present. She then goes on to talk about crime in LA, and a 1983 murder case. This crime reference shows Didion's curiosity as well as interest in this field since it is an element ultimately creates a personality of her city. Didion’s main intent in her work is to showcase the "genre"of L.A. to her readers. “There is a definite narrative here, but not a sentimental one, and not one that many people outside Los Angeles seem to hear.” By using description as well as a transition of simple word choice to an elaborate style in her writing, Didion is able to effectively characterize her city. I chose to write about Joan Didion’s “Letter from Los Angeles” because I was intrigued to read more of her work as her style of writing appeals to me. Her descriptive writing is able to conduct her reader through a vast amount of realistic tones, which makes her technique favorable.