Style/Organization
The essay doesn’t always explain how ideas connect, so readers have to figure out the meaning themselves. How does this affect the way the essay is organized?
A) It makes the essay confusing because the ideas don’t flow clearly.
B) It helps readers think more and make their own connections between ideas.
B) It helps readers think more and make their own connections between ideas.
A rhetorical device which utilizes the repetition of words or phrases in a group of sentences, or clauses. One of Joan Didion's most common tools in her writing.
Example: “Of these evenings I remember...”, “I remember driving...”, “I remember watching...” (42-43)
What is: Anaphora
In this case, Anaphora serves to create a rhythm and weight to the phrases. It also mimics how trauma can affect memories, having events be remembered more as fragments or specific separate things instead of a linear chronological story.
What is the sentence type of this sentence? "Everything was to teach us something.” (Didion 45)
What is a simple sentence.
In Joan Didion's essay "The White Album," what role does her detached, observational tone play in conveying a sense of alienation?
A) It creates a sense of intimacy with the reader, making personal experiences more relatable.
B) It emphasizes the disorienting and fragmented nature of the author's experiences, reflecting the cultural and personal upheaval of the era.
C) It serves to entertain the reader with humorous anecdotes and light-hearted observations.
D) It provides a straightforward and linear narrative, guiding the reader through events with clarity.
Correct Answer: B) It emphasizes the disorienting and fragmented nature of the author's experiences, reflecting the cultural and personal upheaval of the era.
Which rhetorical strategy does Didion use when she places traumatic events from society next to her own mental health struggles to suggest a connection between the two without directly explaining it?
Rhetorical Strategy: Cause and Effect
What is the sentence type of this sentence?
"These symptoms, which might or might not appear, might or might not involve my eyes" (Didion 46)
What is a complex sentence.
Didion organizes The White Album in a series of loosely connected scenes and reflections. What effect does this fragmented structure most likely create?
A) It mirrors the fractured, chaotic culture of the late 1960s
B) It helps the reader follow a clear timeline of events
A) It mirrors the fractured, chaotic culture of the late 1960s
A rhetorical device which closely places two things that are different or contrasting in nature.
Example: Normal peaceful events like visiting Melrose Avenue against the backdrop of a high profile murder trial. (Didion 41)
What is: Juxtaposition
In this case, Juxtaposition serves to highlight the dissonance of the era. It illustrates Joan Didion’s struggle to find coherence in a society where ordinary and horrific things are able to coexist.
What is the sentence type of this sentence? "Everything was unmentionable but nothing was unimaginable.” (Didion 41)
What is a compound sentence.
In Joan Didion's essay "The White Album," how do her stylistic choices reflect the broader cultural and personal upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s?
A) By presenting a coherent and linear narrative that provides clear explanations of events.
B) By focusing solely on personal anecdotes without addressing societal issues.
C) Through fragmented and disjointed storytelling that mirrors the era's sense of disorientation and instability.
D) Through a humorous and satirical tone that downplays the seriousness of the cultural changes.
C) Through fragmented and disjointed storytelling that mirrors the era's sense of disorientation and instability.
Which rhetorical strategy does Didion use when she refers to real people like Linda Kasabian and events like the Manson trial to highlight the breakdown of social and moral order?
Rhetorical Strategy: Exemplification
What is the sentence type of this sentence?
"I remember all of the day's misinformation very clearly, and I also remember this, and wish I did not: I remember that no one was surprised." (Didion 42)
What is compound-complex
What type of structure does Joan Didion use when she tells her story in short, separate parts that each feel like their own scene?
A) Chronological structure
B) Episodic structure
Episodic structure
A rhetorical device which is a long list of things, one after the other in order to express a point.
Example: “At some point during the years I am talking about here, after a series of periodic visual disturbances, three electroencephalograms, two complete sets of skull and neck X-rays...” (Didion 46)
What is: Enumeratio
In this case, enumeration initially gives Didion the illusion of control, as if having a complete itinerary of her medical history is indicative of good health. However as the list progresses, the more overwhelming and chaotic it starts to feel, which is likely a parallel to her feelings at the time, not just about her condition, but also the chaos of the late 60s.
What is the sentence type of this sentence? “During the years when I found it necessary to revise the circuitry of my mind I discovered that I was no longer interested in whether the women on the ledge outside the window on the sixteenth floor jumped or did not jump, or in why" (Didion 46)
What is a periodic sentence