New York City is an iconic hub of activity and acts as one of the most distinctive cities in the United States. Many people, especially young people, move to the metropolis every year in search of fame and fortune, and in the early 1960s, Joan Didion adopted the role of one of these travelers. In her personal essay "Goodbye to All That," she constructs a dichotomy between her reality and her youthful tunnel vision by contrasting her affluent upbringing with what is now her lower-middle-class status living alone in such an environment demanding; he evaluates his family's wealth and his suddenly dropped comfort level, and then compares the difference by acknowledging his implacable and perhaps naive belief that he will undoubtedly achieve success in the big city. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayDidon lays the foundation for this contrast by first establishing that his bleak current living situation is unrelated to his prosperous family history. For example, she recalls moments from her childhood that made her aware of her family's wealth. She describes herself as “…a little girl who always had an uncle on Wall Street and who spent several hundred Saturdays first at FAO Schwarz and then having her shoes made at Best's” (231). This information prepares the reader's mind to determine how Didion's life has changed as she moves her life to the center of the enormous city. That said, you will note that shortly before, Didion stated that she "never told [her] father that I needed money because otherwise he would have sent it to me" (229). The author explicitly admits her lack of money, also stating that she tolerated the continuation of her naked condition. Finally, Didion sheds light on her literal living situation by inviting the reader's eyes into her sad apartment. He describes that “… there was nothing in those four rooms except a cheap, springy double mattress” (232). This serves as a final compelling point to change the reader's thinking; Didion transforms her descriptions from her affluent childhood, to the evidence of her slightly poor but relentless mindset, and finally to a stark depiction of the financial challenges she faced. Overall, Didion bluntly recounts how her lifestyle radically transformed from the comfort of wealth to a tight and even lacking budget, in order to set the scene for the reality of spending her early twenties in New York City. The author contrasts what she describes as the reality of her situation with the perspective of a 20-year-old, giving the reader her overly confident perspective on finance. It takes aim at this common mindset and brings it into sharp focus by openly stating that many people still transitioning into full adulthood experience this naivety. In an almost accusatory tone, she explains this false security by stating that “…when you are twenty-two or twenty-three, you imagine that later you will have a high emotional balance, and you will be able to pay whatever it costs,” (228-229). Didion's mention of money serves as an indicator that her parents' wealth serves as a backup plan and that only her subconscious is aware of it due to her apparent feeling of invincibility. Beyond that, Didion attributes her own previous inability to understand the severity of insufficient funds to her youthful immaturity Continuing the theme of money, Didion explains that “[at] that time, earning a living seemed like a game, with arbitrary but completely inflexible rules” (229). , despite the circumstances of.