Elizabeth Woolford

Professor Keeperman

I.D. 19996543

Writing 39A

May 28, 2017

Home: What It Means To Me

   I’ve learned several things through reading novels and essays from authors like John Steinbeck, Joan Didion, and David Foster Wallace that home can be described not only through the sights and sounds we constantly see, but through our experiences. In particular each author has taught me a different lesson. For example, how to describe my home using obscure settings and objects, the relationships in my life, and major life changing events. For example, these authors have also given me more perspective on how the history behind my city of Whittier is also important.

    Whittier is a large city with over 87,000 inhabitants and a rich history. This city is in Los Angeles county, bordering Orange County, and is surrounded by cities such as Pico Rivera, La Habra, and La Mirada. Whittier is also known to be the hometown of both President Richard Nixon and First lady Lou Henry Hoover. In fact, there is an elementary school named after Lou Henry Hoover. Additionally, Whittier also has historical ties to the migrating quakers. In relation to me, Whittier has been my hometown my whole life. It houses one of the many places I’ve held dear my entire life, my home. Although it's been cramped at times, my home has been the only place I’ve ever lived. It has become my place of solace, peace, and safety; a place of refuge when the world gets too tough.

Didion’s essay On Going Home is a prime example of how I’ve learned how to use obscure objects and settings to describe an overall tone in my home. In particular Didion uses imagery in her description of the dust to portray the unchanging and repetitive nature of her family. This can be seen through the quote “D-U-S-T he wrote with his finger through surface throughout the house but no one noticed” (Didion) In describing the dust, Didion seems to have a sense of dread going home because of how “once there” she “falls into their ways which are difficult, oblique, deliberately inarticulate, not my husbands ways” (Didion). I was able to replicate this style in my essay when writing, “The droaning of our plasma screen tv is also a noise that you can find pretty much at any time during the day and night… At times there are deviations in these routinely watched shows but it is quite uncommon for it to not be on at 8pm. For me growing up to this constant noise has made me feel more comfortable whenever there is noise and less when it becomes silent. It also served as an escape from the unknown, sadness, and irritants of the world.” This quote shows how I was able to effectively write in a way that describes the setting and at the same time explains the mood and feeling in the background. Also because of this style I am able to have a greater understanding on how little things can affect the surrounding environment.

John Steinbeck also uses the styles that are very influential in describing home, in particular he uses duality. For example the character Doc is a prime example of duality, as it can not only be seen through his actions, but through the description of his face as well. "He wears a beard and his face is half Christ and half satyr”(Steinbeck 25). In this quote Doc is being compared to both a god and one of the devil's creations, meaning that he could change personalities in a flip of a switch. This theme is also seen through his personality and actions. For example the narrator described Doc as very good and depicts him with a godly tone, as can be seen through the quote "He can kill anything for need but he could not even hurt a feeling for pleasure” (Steinbeck 25). Duality can be seen in my life in how it describes home, which can be seen through the many failures and successes I have gone through in high school. For example, the horrible feeling that I had when I found out I had not made it onto the cheer and song team at my high school, but in the end I joined the cross country team and made friendships that I'm still close with. The team also became part of my family, and it showed me that things happen for a reason. Duality also is a way to describe the complex opposite attitudes that people have. For example in elementary school my best friend of a few years and I stopped getting along, and suddenly she began turning all of the other girls against me. She also began going to the teachers and lying to get me in trouble to the point that I’d be in the counselor's office at least once a week wondering why I was sitting in the office yet again..

Additionally, David Foster Wallace also shows how to describe home and the different dynamics involved within a community. Foster Wallace does this by describing how his cliquish community was able to come together and mourn the loss of so many Americans during the tragic events of September 11th, which really stood out to him and showed the duality within the community. He goes into detail by not only describing the mystery appearance of the flags that appeared at every house the following morning, but also by describing how his cliquish community banded together. For example he writes "Bloomington's aren't un-friendly but do tend to be reserved. A Stranger will smile warmly at you, but there won't be any of that   strangerly chitchat in waiting areas or checkout lines. But now there's something to talk about that outweighs all reserve, like we are somehow alls tanging right there and just saw the same traffic accident” (Foster Wallace).  In writing this way, Foster Wallace is able to show this duality of how when all hope is lost his community is able to band together. He also shows the sheer shock him and all of his neighbors went through meanwhile again showing the banding of the community, as he talks about how he walks into Mrs. Thompson’s house without even thinking about it. He does so not knowing that there would be other neighbors there in search for a safe place.This writing was able to show me how to describe my home in relation to my personal traumatic experience, my Aunt’s death. This also showed a similar duality like it did in Foster Wallace’s case, as my family once divided was able to come together and support and love each other. The passing of my Aunt was sudden and unexpected. She had just come home from Ireland and my mom and I had talked to her a few hours before: Suddenly we received the phone call telling us that my mom needed to fly to Ohio to be with her. As does all traumatic experiences do, it brought panic and heartbreak, but as unexpected as it was my family was welcomed with open arms by all my Aunt friends. We had them offering to let my family stay at their homes, buy them food, and drive them anywhere they needed to go. They even stayed in the hospital for days with my mom and family. Meanwhile at home, everything seemed so sad and heavy, wherever I looked there was another reminder of what had just happened.

In the end, all the writings have taught me numerous ways of understanding my home of Whittier. In particular, Didion showed me how to describe my hometown and set a mood through an object or description. John Steinbeck also taught me how to describe the dual nature of objects by describing the complex town of Cannery Row. Lastly, Foster Wallace was able to teach me how history can also play a role in how you define your home and how it can change the fundamentals the home.

Works Cited

Didion, Joan. “On Going Home.” The Year of Magical Thinking. Vintage Books, 2006. Print. 5 Apr. 2017.

Foster Wallace, David. "9/11: The View From the Midwest." Rolling Stones. N.p., 19 Aug. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Steinbeck, John. “Cannery Row.” The Viking Press, 1945. Penguin Books, 2002. Print.