Analysis Of Brush Fire By Linda Thomas

“Brush Fire” by Linda Thomas and “Santa Ana” by Joan didion are essays written about the Santa Ana winds of southern California. These malevolent winds start as a cool high pressure front in the Great Basin east of California. As the wind from the high pressure system fall down the back side of the mountains east of southern California. As the winds fall down the west side of the mountains they are warmed by the desert and sun and increase in temperature and speed as they wind through the narrow mountain passes and canyons producing an extremely hot dry wind that torments Southern California and northern Baja Mexico. Both Thomas and Didion have different views on the wind they seem to agree on one thing, that everyone knows when the winds are

Thomas, as a native Californian has seen the ups and downs of the Santa Ana winds. She has experienced what good they bring to the deserts and canyons, as well as the bad they bring to the new developments that spring up every year. She sees how the winds blow massive natural wildfires across the deserts scorching the low lying shrubbery that grows there. Thomas knows that these fires are what keep the ecosystem turning and re-growing every year. “The padre’s staff--require the heat of a flame to crack open the seed pods.” The Santa ana winds fuel a fire that aids in the germination of plants. Also, as a native, Thomas knows that every year a new developer is going to try to industrialize the canyon and build schools and homes. She knows that in the fall the fires will make no distinction between what is man made and what is natural and will char it all just the same. Thomas feels a personal connection to the winds and for the natives it has become a leisure activity to go and watch the fires in the

Not only does she use scientific accounts, she uses very specific historical accounts to convey her ominous and anxious tone. Didion carries a theme of anxiety and dread throughout most of her literature, and “Santa Ana” is no different. Her use of a borderline apocalyptic vocabulary makes the reader question his own morals and ability to stay strong against nature. She writes, “One could drive the Harbor Freeway and see the city on fire, just as we had always known it would be in the end.” This line conveys an almost shameful tone. Didion blames the people of Los Angeles for being too immoral and too criminal. At the end of paragraph five, Didion uses anaphora to convey strength and sorrow as she lists the awful events that occurred during those fourteen days in 1957. Didion is trying to convince the reader that Los Angeles is a city just looking for excuses to catch fire and explode. It is still unknown whether there is a scientific link between increased aggression and the santa ana winds. Didion uses example from around the world to back up her thought process and quotes professionals who have seen the effects first hand. She quotes schoolteachers from Los Angeles saying children become “Unmanageable.” She explains how in Switzerland a foehn wind can be used as a mitigation in a court case. All of these references further Didion’s theory on the connection of a