The Idea of an Essay, Volume 3

94 The Idea of an Essay: Volume 3 suburbanization began to increase, and that fear was dispelled with the arrival of the internet. While the world became more isolated, the internet emerged, providing a means to stay in touch. Although he makes it clear that the internet in and of itself is not a bad thing, he argues that it is actually too much of a good thing (10). The more one is on social networking sites, the more they will become known, and the less they will know themselves. Another compelling point that he argues, is that in today’s culture loneliness and solitude have been viewed synonymously, which causes society to view solitude in a very negative context. Hence, the younger generation not only has no desire for solitude, but some do not even know what it is. Deresiewicz argues that without solitude one loses a propensity for introspection, the act of examining one’s own mental and emotional processes, which leads to a deficient attention span. The lack of sustained reading can be observed as a by-product of this, as Deresiewicz argues, and reading becomes redefined as skipping and skimming (16). He digs deeper and argues that society no longer believes in a solitary mind (17). In postmodernist thinking, communicating one’s sense of self is mediated graphically and performatively instead of verbally, narratively, and analytically which causes the young generation to treat their value of self carelessly, losing the authenticity and uniqueness of one’s self. Finally, Deresiewicz exposes the importance of solitude in the person, denoting that it enables one to not only secure the integrity of self, but also explore it (19). “We are not merely social beings. We are each also separate, each solitary…each miraculously our unique selves and mysteriously enclosed in that selfhood” (19). He states that although solitude can appear impolite, it is essential for the development of the self. In fact, solitude is even worth the sacrifice of a few relationships, since after all, solitude ultimately reflects the relationship of oneself. Deresiwicz does an effective job establishing the value of solitude and demonstrating its neglect in our postmodern culture. He structured his paper with strong examples, allowing the reader to visualize the issues of solitude, while keeping the paper logically sound using historical data as his backbone. He persuades his reader using a balance of ethos, pathos, and logos and structures it in that order. While there is not a clear defining line, it can be observed that his intentions were to first establish a trust with the reader, then