Joan Didion’s “Goodbye to All That” is a remarkable story about the author’s life in New York City, written in 1967. This essay is about a life of a woman in her early twenties who dreamed about living in a big city. However, after she moved there and experienced this lifestyle, Didion realized that New York was not the place she wanted to stay in for the rest of her life. In “Goodbye to All That” Didion shows her image of life in New York City and how she matured to admit that her dream did not come true after she moved to New York.
As a conclusion to the essay, Didion (1967) writes that “it is distinctly possible to remain too long at the fair” (p. 1). Although at first Didion was excited about moving to New York during her early twenties, at the age of twenty-eight, she moved away from the city. As Didion settled in New York, she realized that she had been doing the same routine for years, and those actions did not satisfy her. For example, she had been visiting the same parties and meeting people, but she did not feel content with this. Hence, her remaining “too long at the fair” refers to the author staying in New York for a long time, despite not enjoying this type of lifestyle.
The life choices that Didion makes described in this story are remarkable. Through the use of literary devices such as metaphors and comparisons, Didion shows that she thinks of life in New York City as fair. This means that she imagined this city as something magical. However, when living there, Didion learned that people in New York were often tired or did not enjoy their lives. Thus, at the end of this essay, Didion moved to Los Angeles, where she finally experienced joy and was able to fulfill her dreams.
Reference
Didion, J. (1967). Goodbye to all that. Farrah, Straus, and Giroux.