Part 1, Life Styles in the Golden Land: Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream Summary and Analysis

Slouching Toward Bethlehem is a collection of essays by Joan Didion. The essays range in topic from murder to hippies, and from the meaning of self-respect to the existence of morality in the modern world. Each essay is personal, full of insights and opinions. Each essay is a self-contained commentary on life, on lifestyles, and on life's expectations based on the time they were written, the 1960s. It is a collection that will cause the reader to think, whether the reader agrees with Didion's opinions or not.

San Bernardino was part of the California dream, a place where a person could achieve every dream they ever desired. In this small community, on a street called Banyan, a...