Marrying Absurd

What can you get for just five dollars?  You could get some candy bars, a gallon of gas, or even a classic five dollar foot-long from Subway (Eat Fresh).  According to Joan Didion, you could also get married!  In her essay, "Marrying Absurd," Didion mocks the wedding industry in Las Vegas and shows the meaninglessness of such weddings.

"There are nineteen such wedding chapels in Las Vegas, intensely competitive, each offering better, faster, and, by implication, more sincere services than the next" (102-103)  Didion's description of these chapels makes them appear to be similar to a fast food restaurant or a car service store, which also advertise that they are " the best and fastest service out there!"  Through this mocking diction, Didion shows that the marriages in Las Vegas are meaningless.  In addition, while describing the process of the marriages in Las Vegas, Didion writes, "One bride out, another in, and again the sign goes up on the chapel door:  'One moment please- Wedding'" (103).  These descriptions make act of marriage seem as important and special as buying a sandwich or going to the doctor's office.  This allows Didion to mock the business as a whole and to convey a condescending tone.

Marrying someone is a very big deal.  It is promising that you will always love and support the person you are marrying; that no matter what happens, you will go through it together.  When this is compared to the "better and faster" Las Vegas weddings, the powerful bond that marriage creates becomes absolutely insignificant.