What makes this sentence so effective is that it goes from positive to negative quickly. It describes the scene of the late 1960s with how high and stable the economy is and how hope is a commonly shared emotion but then states how that is all a lie. The first part of the sentence describes how “many articulate people seemed to have a sense of high social purpose” but as you continue to read it changes from a light theme to a heavier one, with darkness creeping into society. Didion uses “but it was not” to create that mood change. This sentence shows that there were some serious issues and the “brave hopes and national promise” was all a cover up to try and hide the darkness, but it didn’t succeed. A main rhetorical device that is
