Both “Goodbye to All That” by Joan Didion and American Psycho by Bret EastonEllis describe New York as a city where it is horrible to live, full of homeless people, filth, crime and utter displeasure, but for some reason no one leaves. The perception of New York City given by these two passages is contradictory. In both passages the narrators describe the city with great disappointment and Didion also adds a tone of annoyance to her passage, annoyed by the fact that even though she hates practically everything about New York she doesn't leave, and instead of staying for the 6 months as she had originally planned, eager to finally be free from the horrible city, she stays there for 8 years. For Timothy in American Psycho, despite the many negative things he has to say about the town, he doesn't leave and states that leaving is not an option. Ellis increases the negative perception by making Timothy seem insensitive to all the crime and violence. Both show the idea that even though people who come to New York have a lot of negative things to say and complain about just about everything, they can't leave. Both Didion and Ellis make it clear that New York is a trap that beckons you with idealistic visions written in songs and movies, but once inside it shows its true colors and doesn't let you go. Although these lyrics were written some time ago, American Psycho written in 1991 and "Goodbye To All That" written in 1968, the idea that New York is a trap that will lure people in with false promises of an easy life, and once here, miserable or not, they will not leave, seems to be consistent even today. Joan Didion presents, in a passage of her essay “Goodbye To All That”, the idea of ​​a young girl “programmed by everyone..... . middle of paper ......and division between upper-middle class and lower-middle class. The most expensive zip code in the country is just a few train stops away from Low Income Housing Projects. Even though they have enough money to live in gated communities, they stay and complain. In conclusion, it seems that one of the most populated cities in America is the most hated by the people who live there. One would imagine that in a place where the lifestyle is clearly horrible, there wouldn't be 8 million people living there. People come with high expectations of a city that is presented as perfect in movies and songs, so people come for a better and ideal life, but they have no idea why they stay. New York is a city where no matter how much money you have, there is always a lot to complain about, but no one leaves or tries to fix what's wrong with the city.