Elizabeth Woolford

39A

19996543

The Sounds of Home

My home has always been where my family is like Didion writes in her essay "on going home." However I, unlike Didion, still live at home. I live and grew up  in Whittier California, which is most commonly known for being the city where former President Richard Nixon grew up. In particular my house is across the street from the elementary school and middle school I attended, and has been the center of my life since I was born. I would describe my home as a place with constant noise and non-stop talking, as there’s hardly ever a moment when the tv isn't on or someone isn't saying something. These constant conversations are what I feel makes a home and it personalizes my  home to my family. Of course there are moments when the talking turns to yelling and doors are slammed, but it adds to the character of the house.

One memory of a distinct noise I can remember from growing up is my mom constantly rearranging the furniture. The first thing I'd notice when I came home was that everything would be in a new position. Sometimes I’d even hear the screeching of the furniture as it was pushed to a different area in the room. At the time I thought that my mom did it because she didn't like how everything looked, but now as I've gotten older I've noticed that the changes happened during times of pain and hardship. Whenever the rearrangements would begin, the talking in the house would decrease and sometimes the sound of crying could be heard. Although, every once in a while there was neither rhyme nor reason for the sudden change.

The distinct barks of our dogs was another constant at our house. In particular our dog Jack was the leader of the barking. As a puppy, whenever  happy birthday was sung he immediately knew it was his cue to bark along to the lyrics. Every birthday we celebrated thereafter was at home with our dogs howling and barking along to the song. Another sound Jack would make was the barking and stomping noises when he wanted to come up on the bed or couch to cuddle or lay across half of the bed like he always did. As the dogs became older and Jack was diagnosed with cancer, he soon passed away making the barking decrease, but the click clacking sound of our other dog’s nails still remained.

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. Our tv is constantly streaming  conversations of Sheldon Cooper talking to his friends about physics and Jerry Seinfeld on his show about a show about nothing. 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. However during those few moments when the silence would prevail, it makes me relive my past, all the hardships I’ve endured, and think of those who have left.

Additionally, music flows throughout our home. As the daughter of two musicians, my siblings and I have all been initiated into the world of music at young ages. Throughout my life I can remember the numerous times we held band practice at our house and listening to my Mom’s voice and Dad’s guitar echo songs from bands and singers like Fleetwood Mac and Katy Perry.  I also remember her singing about California girls, the day the music died, and brown eyed girls. Similarly, sometimes my little brother, Ethan, can be heard loudly singing songs along with his phone while showering. Meanwhile, his voice rings through the house as if he’s performing in concert, which can make it very distracting and chaotic.

 Writer's Memo

Showing and telling is very important throughout the Didion’s essays, in particular she uses it in her writing Holy Water. This stylistic element is exemplified in the quote “...A pool is, for many of us in the west, a symbol of not affluence but of order, of control over the uncontrollable.” The effect that is conveyed is again the feeling of “control over the uncontrollable.” Similarly I use the same stylistic technique in my essay The Sounds of Home. “The droaning of our plasma screen tv is also a noise that you can find ...any time during the day… growing up to this noise made me feel more comfortable whenever there is noise...However during those few moments when the silence does prevail, it makes me relive my past, all the hardships I’ve endured, and about those who have left.” I used the same technique by describing the plasma tv and then explaining its meaning to me, like Didion did with the pool. Unlike Didion my passage transmits the feeling of relief when talking about the pool, but Didion’s passage transmits comfort in the control of the pool. I achieved a similar effect by again going into detail about the plasma tv and then describing the feeling the tv and its noise gives me.

In On Going Home, Didion uses specific details to describe her feelings toward different objects or place. For example, “I drive across the river to a family graveyard. It has been vandalized since my last visit and the monuments are broken, overturned in the dry grass.” This passage brings an eerie and fearful tone to the essay. I used the same technique in the quote “In particular our dog Jack was the leader of the barking… As the dogs became older and Jack... passed away the barking decreased, but the click clacking sound of our other dog’s nails still remained.” I was able to use this same technique by going into detail about the noise of the dog’s nails. Like Didion I use the technique to give an eerie feel by discussing how jack passed away and the barking decreased.

Symbolism is also a very prevalent stylistic technique throughout Didion’s On Going Home. A great example of this is when Didion discusses dust, “We live in dusty houses (“D-U-S-T,” he once wrote with his fingers on surfaces all over the house, but no one noticed it)...” Using this quote Didion brings about a clouded and unchanging feeling towards the house. Similarly, I use the same technique in the quote “One memory I can distinctly  remember from growing up is my mom constantly rearranging the furniture. The first thing I'd notice when I came home was that everything would be in a new position.” I used this quote to display a constantly changing home. Contrary to Didion’s unchanging effect, I achieved a feeling of change by discussing the continuous change of the furniture like Didion was able to do with the dust.

Additionally, memories are also used to further the symbol within Didion’s essay, On Going Home. As can be seen in the passage “A few weeks ago in a San Francisco bar I saw a pretty young girl on crystal take off her clothes and dance for the cash prize … what could that girl possibly make of, say, Long Day’s Journey into Night?” This quote gives the effect of Didion wondering if the younger generation has the same definition of home as she does. Like Didion, I use the same technique in the quote “I can remember the numerous times we held band practice at our house and listening to my Mom’s voice and Dad’s guitar echo songs from bands and singers  I also remember her singing about California girls, the day the music died, and brown eyed girls.” In using this quote I give a reminiscent effect by listing the some of the numerous songs the band would perform. Although, Didion portrayed a different effect we both were able to successfully related the memory back to the symbol. I was able to do so by linking the songs the band played to the noise within the house.