Analyze the use of diction and syntax in "On Going Home" by Joan Didion

Didion uses words like “lassitude”(Didion) and “aimless”(Didion) to emphasize the slow, weary nature with which she is looking at the past. The meanings as well as the sound of these words, create a sense of soft tiredness throughout the passage. Didion’s diction carries this attitude as she describes the memories of her past. Didion also uses very simplistic language to depicts the objects that she finds. The lack of complex descriptive words and focus on basic nouns contributes to the detached tone felt in the passage. The use of the present tense furthermore builds upon the feeling of detachment prevalent in this narration. Words like “I smooth”(Didion) and “I close”(Didion) create a picture of her doing the things right at the moment we are reading it, and lends to the notion of Didion being an outside observer of events she is experiencing. Some of the words, like “lassitude”(Didion) come from Latin, and others, such as “aimlessly”(Didion) originate from Old English.Didion employs a variety of sentence types, including periodic and short, however short balanced sentences are most present in the bulk of her writing. The periodic sentence seen at the beginning of the passage sets the tone of the work and builds anticipation for what is to follow. It is in this sentence that Didion utilizes the most descriptive words, giving us a peek into the emotion she is feeling. Through the periodic sentence, Didion keeps the reader’s attention and provides a few details that give insight to her state of mind. The use of short, balanced sentences to describe her discovery of the actions of her past makes the paragraph feel like a list. This list-like sense the short sentences create highlights the detached tone Didion employs. Moreover, the short sentences create a very cold, calculated feel to the work, as they seem to be devised very methodically. Didion’s tone in the passage is detached, weary and cool. Even though this passage is narration and Didion is describing objects and memories that are part of her past, she seems very removed from what she is chronicling. Through her simple, weary diction and her short sentences, Didion removes a lot of emotion from her narration. Writing like this implies that Didion either has no care for this part of her past, or that she is attempting to distant herself from those memories on purpose (perhaps because they hurt too much).