Marrying Absurd Essay Example

to the midnight show. ’ ‘What you gotta get,’ the bridegroom said, opening the door of a Cadillac Coupe de Ville and watching her crumple on the seat, ‘is sober’” (91).

However, she does attempt to explain the appeal of the Strip chapels to those of us who already find them silly. It’s as if she is forgiving those who fell into the trap that Las Vegas had set for them. “but Las Vegas seems to offer something other than ‘convenience’; it is merchandising ‘niceness,” the facsimile of proper ritual, to children who do not know how else to find it, how to make the arrangements, how to do it ‘right’” (91). Noting the word “children” you can see that Didion views those who utilize the services of the chapels are innocent, naive, and don’t know any better.

Didion ends her essay in the most effective way possible, with one last story to tie it all together. The picture of the wedding party sipping pink champagne (minus the bride who is too young to do so) is classic and illustrates her points without her having to reiterate them. By mentioning that the bride was several months pregnant she shows that the Las Vegas wedding is probably not the real desire but the necessity, demonstrating that drunken impulse is not the only thing that draws in customers for the Strip.

Didion closes out with a quote from the blushing bride: “It was just as nice…as I hoped and dreamed it would be” (92). Very few women that I know dream of a “nice” wedding. Magical, romantic, perfect, elaborate even, but never nice. Didion really made her point with this

one. I found this essay very effective with getting its point across but I also think that it wouldn’t ring so true if a man read it. Women understand what it means to have a disappointing wedding, even if they aren’t married because most of them have had theirs planned since they were little girls.

If she were to revise this essay she should cater to men also. The most effective way to do that would probably to play up the “ball and chain” aspect of marriage but with divorce as common as it is today I’m not sure even that would work. Overall I really enjoyed this work and agreed with Didion entirely. It was also a nice break from some of the more academic essays and a fresh way to inform but also to entertain.