Slouching Towards Bethlehem is the first nonfiction book by Joan Didion. It is a collection of essays originally published in the magazine The Saturday Evening Post mainly describing Joan Didion’s experiences and thoughts about living in California. Through all the stories in this book, Joan Didion demonstrates herself as a thoughtful person who can observe meticulously and is willing to share reflections on various topics.

            Joan Didion is accustomed to writing notes when she observes scenes. She shares why she always writes things down in the chapter “On Keeping a Notebook.” In one note, Didion describes a girl: “… all she can see ahead are the viscous summer sidewalks and the 3 a.m. long-distance calls … she wishes that she had a safety pin for the hem of the plaid silk dress” (97). Joan Didion writes this scenery in detail and even reveals what the girl wants to do with the safety pin. Later, Didion reflects on her note, “‘Why I write it down?’ ‘In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? … ‘Why do I keep a notebook at all?’” (97). Joan Didion not only records her observation but also thinks about the reason for writing. She tells readers, “That would be a different impulse entirely [to have an accurate factual record of what I have been doing or thinking], an instinct for reality which I sometimes envy but do not possess” (98). She believes that she records scenes from her life not to record facts, but to record how she feels in the moment. It's the whole point of her notebook. From this event, it can be shown that Joan Didion is not only a careful observer but also displays awareness of her own thoughts and actions. Rather than blindly performing a behavior, Didion clearly considers the motive and purpose.

            Similarly heightened self-awareness, self-reflection, and observation are seen when Joan Didion writes about her visit to Hawaii. As Didion walks to the rim of the Honolulu, she describes, “One afternoon a couple came and left three plumeria leis on the grave … The leis were already wilting by the time the woman finally placed them on the grave…” (140). Joan Didion is a frequent visitor to the volcano’s rim. Not only does she observe parents honoring their children, but she is also sympathetic to these fallen warriors. She says, “The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. They all seem to be twenty years old. … Overall, I can take a very long view of death, but I think a great deal about what there is to remember, twenty-one years later, of a boy who died at nineteen” (140).  She remembers those fallen warriors solemnly, unlike in the joking manner of other visitors. She even reflects on topics people don't typically consider, like immersing herself in the minds of the dead soldiers. This shows that Didion is not only moved by what she observes, but she also thinks deeply.

            In conclusion, the author, Joan Didion, is a person who loves to observe and think. She will not only pay attention to the appearance of things but also will think deeply about the nature of things. The above two stories discussed embody this trait clearly. From her travels to politics, Slouching Towards Bethlehem gives readers a window of insight into Didion’s unique thinking.