ENG 4U7-0130 March 2015Tiffany ChangComparison Essay: The Santa AnaAs 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).

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