Susan Cain's The Power Of The Introvert

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What is it about some people that make others just stop whatever they are doing and listen to their words? Well, it is more than just magnetism, it is strategy. There are many tools and techniques to employ when writing or speaking to connect with one’s audience. Ethos, pathos, and logos are a simple but effective representation of these techniques. In her passionate TED talk, “The Power of Introverts”, Susan Cain employs many rhetorical strategies that allow her to connect with her audience and make her talk more powerful.

Susan Cain’s intention in her book Quiet is to convey the struggles of an introvert, to illustrate the importance and impacts of introversion, and to empower the introverts of the world. The author demonstrates this through her anecdotes, opinions, and historical allusions. Susan Cain highlights the importance of introversion in her anecdote about Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks can be assumed to have been an outspoken, brave person because of her courageous refusal to switch bus seats. However, after her death, people who knew her described her as “timid and shy” and having “the courage of a lion” (Cain 2).

Susan wolf interprets a meaningful life as one that has within the basis of an affirmative answer to the basis for an affirmative answer to the needs or belonging that are characteristically described as needs of meaning. She described meaningful lives as lives of active engagement in project worth. Which she divided into groups, first is ‘’active engagement’’ and project worth.

Giving an Account of Oneself, a compelling piece of work written by Judith Butler, digs deep into what it means to give an account of oneself and how it is nearly, if not entirely, impossible to do such an activity without becoming “a social theorist” (Butler 8). Butler states “the story of my origin I tell is not one for which I am accountable, and it cannot establish my accountability,” (Butler 37) since the story is always changing. We are not able to give our accounts as the accounts we give will always be told in different lights and we, as beings, are always changing as the norms around us change. The sense of being ties into us not being the same person we were when we came into being, and nor are we the same being as when we begin to tell the story of our origin of being. However, other notable influences, such as Levinas, believe that fully exposing our origin of being would act as a sort of “surplus” (Levinas 79) meaning those we expose our origin of being to will be so overwhelmed with the situation that we would never be able to give an account of ourselves overall. Levinas’ views coincides with Butlers’ on the topic of norms and how we will never be able to act outside of norms when he states, “the moment I realize that the terms by which I confer recognition are not mine alone… I am, as it were, disposed by the language that I offer” (Levinas 26).

Susan wolf interprets a meaningful life as one that has within the basis of an affirmative answer to the basis for an affirmative answer to the needs or belonging that are characteristically described as needs of meaning. She described meaningful lives as lives of active engagement in project worth. Which she divided into groups, first is ‘’active engagement’’ and project worth.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered her speech “The Solitude of Self” in 1892, which presented a definition of being a human being as well as being a woman in the time when males were dominating the society. By analyzing the historical and rhetorical context that the speech was delivered at, I argue that Stanton managed to address her purpose to the targeted audiences.

Deborah Tannen’s case study entitled “Can’t We Talk?” is the most relevant reading that I have ever done for any class. It relates to a problem that every person regardless of age, race or sex, will have to face many times in his or her lifetime. The problem is that men and women communicate differently and these differences can often lead to conflict. This case study is very informative because it helps to clarify the thought process of each sex. That said this reading leaves the reader somewhat unfulfilled because Tannen does not offer a solution to the problem.

It is impossible to discuss the role of women in literature without mentioning the influence of feminism. The later in the timeline one reads, the more prominent it becomes. Each new wave of feminism brings with it its own goals, yet it also continues to strive for some of the same goals as past generations because not everything is accomplished all at once. Although “The Well of Loneliness” by Radclyffe Hall and “Rubyfruit Jungle” by Rita Mae Brown, are two starkly different texts that strongly reflect the feminist eras in which they were written, they have some similarities as well.

Susan Cain is an honors graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School. Since graduating Cain has become the chief revolutionary and co-founder of the Quiet Revolution and the co-founder of the Quiet Schools Network and the Quiet Leadership Institute. Cain is also the author of the bestsellers Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking, which has been on the New York Times bestseller list for almost three years and was named the #1 best book of the year by Fast Company magazine. The goal of the Quiet Revolution is to unlock the power of introverts for the benefits of everyone which was discussed in the TED talk that is being analyzed in this essay. The TED talk “The power of introverts” has been viewed over 17 million times and was named one of Bill Gates all-time favorite talks. The purpose of this speech was to inform the audience about how introversion is not what most people make it out to be. Throughout her speech, Cain compares and contrast introversion with extroversion and

Susan Cain’s “Power of Introverts” talk was all about the importance of people who are considered introvertly inclined in our society. In her talk, she described first how her family influenced her in being an introvert. Reading is her family’s social activity and that one can roam around through his or her own imagination. She also discussed about her memorable summer camp story where she has discovered the way extrovert people live and tried to shift in this kind of life. With all these changes in her life she never left her introverted life and espoused the ideas that when it comes to creativity and leadership, the society needs introverts and the things where they excel most. She explained that introversion is how one responds to stimulation including social stimulation which is different from a person being shy – the fear of social judgment.

After reading “On Becoming a Better Student” by Donna Farhi Schuster, I started to think about some of the idea she mentioned. I have always been a curious person. I have always wanted to learn more about what I was interested in, but that stopped in high school. Expressing interest in something in high school was not something I did often. I was so overwhelmed with busy work in school that I was exhausted by the time I had time to actually sit down and research something I was interested in.

Being motivated is a good start, but personal motivation alone is no guarantee of achieving an educational objective. The first step that I need to take as I move into my career path journey is assessing my learning styles. After been out of school for sixteen years, it is clear that the world I learned from is different than today’s method of teaching; therefore, it is important for me to assess my learning style to find out what works for me. After I had completed the Multiple Pathways assessment test, I discovered my learning styles were interpersonal and intrapersonal. As I was reading the definition of these two styles, I was not surprised that I fall into this category. My interpersonal learning style defines my character. It helps me understand my ability to

Images of confinement and escape in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. Is shown all throughout the story, Mrs. Mallard felt trapped she did not seem happy at all. The feeling of freedom seemed to take over Mrs. Mallard body. Her exhaustion seems to confine her so when Mrs. Mallard heard the news about her husband. All she could think of is being alone and confining herself in a room where she can express how she truly feels. Mrs. Mallard felt tied down and exhausted from being trapped. Instead of her

"No man is an island." This famous quotation explains the nature of man as a social being. It is truly a fact that human beings cannot exist in isolation. They need to be interdependent with each other in order to survive. This interdependence is needed because a human being alone will not be able to fill his own social needs, and his material necessities came from other people as well. All acts of society such as sex, love, and dependence are essential for the survival of any species. Interaction and socialization is the only way to prevent people from isolation, from solitude.