ENG 4U7-01

30 March 2015

Tiffany Chang

Comparison Essay: The Santa Ana

As Los Angeles natives, Joan Didion and Linda Thomas both have the ethos to discuss the Santa
Ana winds. Coming from the same understanding of what the Santa Ana is, a hot wind from
the northeast (Didion, 1) one would expect that they interpret the phenomenon in a similar
manner. However, that is not the case, for Didion interprets the Santa Ana as an adverse,
supernatural phenomenon while Thomas perceives it as a natural phenomenon that occurs for the
greater good of Mother Nature.
Didion and Thomas come from two different ethnic backgrounds; this changes their ethos about
the Santa Ana. On one hand, Didion recall[s] being told [] that the Indians would throw
themselves into the sea when the bad wind blew when she first moved to Los Angeles (2).
Being Caucasian, she would have never received a formal education about the Santa Ana. On
top of her ignorance about the subject, hearing this anecdote from her neighbour would have
raised her paranoia, causing her to think of the Santa Ana in an irrational manner even before she
experienced it for herself. On the other hand, Thomas, an Aboriginal, would have learned all
about the Santa Ana from her elders. This explains why she know[s] that within six weeks of
one of these brush fires [fueled by the Santa Ana], [she] can walk in the blackened path of the
fire and find new shoots already pushing up from the burl of the chamise (5). Her knowledge of
the Santa Ana allows her to experience the phenomenon without fear, which opens her mind to
accept the good that can come out of the aftermath how the brush fire germinates new seeds
instantaneously. In this manner, Didion asserts her negative stance on the Santa Ana, whereas
Thomas affirms her positive attitude.
Using causal analysis, Didion and Thomas further explore their differing viewpoints of the Santa
Ana. Didion remarks that a prominent Pasadena attorney, depressed about money, shot and
killed his wife, their two sons and himself (5) during the Santa Ana period in 1957. Not only
does the Santa Ana provide the ideal backdrop for this attorney to annihilate his family then
commit suicide, but the attitudes of southern Californians who hear about this crime in the media
towards the natural spectacle that is the Santa Ana are further alienated. Such a domino effect on
the psyche of the mass public gives the wind additional psychological power on top of the
already eerie, unnatural atmosphere. However, Thomas would disagree with Didions attitude
towards the Santa Ana wholeheartedly, for she observes that most of the plants store water in
their root systems, and the roots undamaged by fast-moving, wind-driven brush fires send out
new growth in the spring (3). Because the brush fire only harms whatever lies in its path above

ground, the fundamental parts of plants the roots are left intact. At the surface, nature appears
to be doing more harm than good by having the Santa Ana spark the raging flames. Yet, just
enough of the chaparral survives for it to flourish come next spring. These two contrasting
effects one of destruction and one of creation reflect Didion and Thomas contrary
perceptions of the Santa Ana.
With respect to the Santa Ana wind, Didion and Thomas may share the same knowledge of its
formal definition, but they undoubtedly would agree to disagree on whether or not it does more
harm than good. Regardless of whos right, what matters most is that humans must find a way to
live in harmony with the Santa Ana and the inevitable damage left in its wake, such as the land
developers who refuse to be deterred from building in [] canyons and ridges that have a
history of burning down in October (Thomas, 7).