Joan Didion utilizes reporting techniques such as quotes and descriptive story telling to persuade the reader that what is happening in Vegas is a real threat to marriage. By acting as a reporter, she gives the illusion that she is giving facts to the readers so they can draw their own conclusion. In reality, the reader will most likely come to the same conclusion as her, since we, as readers, are easily manipulated by her eloquent descriptions. Didion probably assumes that most of her readers view the wedding as a sacred ritual and that takes a much planning and a lifetime commitment by couples. Cleverly, Didion shows that marriage is not taken seriously by attending several chapel weddings and by quoting a preacher named Mr. Brennan who says, “I’ve got it down from five to three minutes…I could have married them en masse, but they’re people, not cattle. People expect more when they get married.” (M.A p. 80) This simple quote leads the reader to reconsider and maybe believe that this type of wedding ceremony is something outrageous. Rather than presenting the reader with her opinion about the insanity of instant marriage, Didion decides to give the reader a choice of approaching his or her own conclusion by presenting them with evidence in the form of quotes. This is one of the journalistic techniques that she uses to impress upon the reader her views of the Vegas wedding ceremonies and how they are demeaning the institution of marriage.
What starts out as Didion’s disapproval of instant marriages, and the empty impression of glitter surrounding them, rises into her sarcastic used of irony to criticize the marriage ceremonies in Vegas. The remarks made by the preacher unveil a layer of irony in his words. Mr. Brennan shortly states that people are “not cattle” and “expect more when they get married.” (M.A, p 80) But before that he proudly states that he got the wedding ceremony “down from five minutes to three minutes.” (M.A, p 80) Didion leaves the reader with Mr. Brennan ironically contradicting himself and stirring up feelings of fury and disgust in the reader. By the end of the essay, she introduces a young bride having her wedding party at a strip restaurant with her family. It is ironic that she is old enough to get married in Las Vegas, but too young to even have a drink of champagne to celebrate her wedding. Didion also quotes the bride, “It was just as nice as I hoped and dreamed it would be.” (M.A, p 83) It is somewhat ironic for the girl’s hopes and dreams to be fulfilled by a three-minute wedding ceremony, instead of having a formal ceremony and a well-planned reception. Through the use of irony that emphasizes the contradiction between what her subjects say and what the reader knows, Didion effectively persuades her readers that Vegas weddings are not appropriate and that people involved in Vegas weddings are too naïve to realize it.
Rather than openly stating that Las Vegas weddings are bad, Didion subtly chooses negative tone words to create a negative association in the reader’s mind. For example, she uses negative words such as “stumble,” “strip,” “crumple,” “harsh,” and “awkward” (M.A, p 82) to describe a drunk bride that she encountered when she was there doing research for her essay. With these words, Didion portrays a marriage that is neither dignified nor sacred compared to the traditional wedding of the time. She also uses negative tone words to describe the Vegas setting as a backdrop unsuitable for proper weddings. In describing the city’s scenery, she uses depressing or alarming words such as “moonscape,” “rattlesnake,” “mesquite,” “bizarre,” “venality,” “mobsters,” and “call girls.” By creating skepticism of the Vegas setting, she leads the reader to question the validity of the weddings performed there. The negative tone words help create feelings of doubt in the reader throughout her essay.
Joan Didion is an excellent and crafty writer because she successfully uses the literary tools of irony, negative tone words, and the journalistic techniques to persuade the reader. All three tools allow the readers to come up with their own independent conclusions. When readers feel they have drawn their own conclusion they are more persuaded than when the author tells them what to think. Didion artfully accomplishes this by indirectly giving evidence and carefully shaded facts rather than opinions to support her views.
Word Count: 993
