make a lot of sense. At the first glance, the untraditionally lengthy sentences may scare away
readers, as they scared me away at the start. However, when one dives into the reading, the
sentences become quite simple to comprehend because Didion communicated her ideas very
clearly and in doing so, she avoided pretentious and unnecessary words. The structure and
organization of the essay support the author’s clear and simplistic way of writing, as she clearly
describes the sequential order of events that altered her opinion of New York.
The descriptive essay of the marvels and pitfalls of New York is intended for a younger
audience, for those who are interested in the reality of the state, rather than the magical idea of it.
The language is quite informal in the essay, making it seem more personal, sort of like a very
private entry in a diary. Her experiences described are very raw and authentic and the numerous
descriptive sentences portray New York in its truthful and stripped manner, without falsely
idealizing the place. The evidences used by the author to support the point that New York is not
a place for everyone, are from her own personal experiences, thus they cannot be considered as
foolproof information since the evidences are very subjective. The author’s personality and
preferences play a crucial role when it comes to describing the place, and as a result of this bias,
the essay cannot be considered as an unimpeachable piece of writing. Another author may have
experienced New York quite differently. Thus, the arguments provided by Didion are not
supported by sufficient evidence since there are no outside sources or any data that back up
Didion’s statements about New York.
The shift from the positive side of New York to the negative is quite evident in the essay
and there is a comprehensible turning point where, suddenly, everything becomes negative. For
example, Didion provided an argument that the parties in New York are quite fascinating as one
can meet an abundance of very different people, however, later in the essay, she states that she
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