The Idea of an Essay, Volume 3

Analysis & Response 93 Visibility Secured, Authenticity Endangered Timothy VanWingerden William Deresiewicz, author of the article, “The End of Solitude”, begins with the perception that the view of self has recently shifted (1). He asserts the notion that in the postmodern age, the desire of the contemporary self is visibility. Visibility is most easily established when one validates his or herself by becoming known to others through the broad medium of technology. The contemporary self wants to be known, and sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and other technological means like texting, have become a way of achieving that notoriety. However, visibility cannot be attained without a cost; a sacrifice must be made in one’s life in order to satisfy this unquenchable thirst. Deresiewicz claims that this sacrifice is solitude. Solitude is no longer being held in high regard and it is actually disappearing from one’s life (2). As solitude diminishes from one’s life, the contemporary self feeds on the acceptance brought from technology, causing the value of self to get lost in the cyber sea of anonymity, while the image of self is exaggerated to appease the want of becoming known. Deresiewicz argues that society’s recent neglect on being alone is a serious problem because throughout history one can observe the importance and value of solitude (4-7). First, he uses the example of religious solitude and how it was used to improve a relationship with God, claiming that it has been “understood as an essential dimension of religious experience” (5). Secondly, he unfolds the perspective of solitude from the literary movement of Romanticism, arguing that solitude achieved its greatest cultural salience observing the historical figures of the Renaissance (6). Lastly, as the Modernist worldview began to immerse society, solitude began to appear harsher as it held the notion that the only essential relationship is with oneself (7). Deresiewicz argues that solitude was abandoned partly due to the fear of being alone (9). The fear of loneliness emerged as