Joan Didion Essay "Los Angeles Notebook"The Santa Ana winds cause people to act more violently or undisciplined and make others irritable and unhappy to a large extent . Joan Didion explains to the reader how the Santa Ana affects human behavior in her essay “Los Angeles Notebook.” Through the use of imagery, diction, and selection of details, Didion expresses her vision of the Santa Ana winds. Didion paints uneasy and gloomy images when she describes the Santa Ana winds. “There is something uneasy in the air of Los Angeles…an unnatural stillness, a certain tension,” the essay begins with the image of Los Angeles residents in a feeling of stillness or voltage. She further adds, “By blasting sandstorms along Route 66…we will see smoke in the canyons and hear sirens in the night,” propagating the foreboding and dour image of Los Angeles. “The baby is worried. The housekeeper is sulking,” she adds, giving a depressing insight into the effects of Santa Ana winds on people. Didion, in an attempt to show the madness associated with the Santa Ana winds, points to the Indians who throw themselves into the sea when violent winds occur. Regardless, Didion attempts to show the negative effects of the Santa Ana winds through images of calm, unease, and sobriety. In her tone, Didion remains clear, coherent and lively. His choice of words remains simple as if to not alienate the readers of his essay. His tone for the first half of the overture, mainly the first and second ...