On Going Home

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In Joan Didion's essay "On Going Home" it says, changes in one’s life make it hard to remove memories from the past, especially when one has been away from a previous home that they grew up in, then return to that home a few years later. Being in the home you grew up in brings back memories of friends, home cooked meals, and times enjoyed with family. Surrounding areas of that home bring back memories enjoyed in that house also. When someone is away from the home where they were raised, it’s a given that their home will be missed. Personal experiences that we go through with our family help shape what we say and do in life. When the author is home she goes to visit a cemetery that is important to her family. Her husband is puzzled by this and questions why she would need to go to a cemetery. What he doesn’t understand is that this is one of the things she did when she was being raised, and possibly one of the things that shaped her opinions on life. Another thing that is unique about where one grows up is the “lingo” and “quirks” that are unique to that family. On page 10, Didion talks about her and her family having a conversation about housing, land, and other things that are important to her and her family. Her husband, of course, doesn’t understand completely what they are saying and comments on the conversation not knowing that they are speaking in code. Didion here presents herself as sort of the “all American” child; having coded conversations with your family for most of us isn’t within the realm of possibility. Raising a child is one of lifes most rewarding gifts. Didion wants to give her daughter the best life possible as she grows up. She is worried that her daughter will not grow up in a place where she will be accepted and loved and even says on page eleven that she, “ would like to give her a ‘home’ for

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