Carey Feng cwf27 6/30/2013 Victims of the Extrovert Ideal In Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Cant

Stop Talking, the author Susan Cain describes an Extrovert Ideal system that we live in. This system is the universal belief that every person enjoys socializing with others, enjoys being the center of attention and is comfortable taking risks. This belief ultimately labels introversion as an unwanted personality trait. After considering Cains argument, my own life experiences, and the character Simon from The Lord of the Flies, I believe that we are living under an oppressive Extrovert Ideal. I am a victim of the Extrovert Ideal. From the day I was born to the present day high school graduate I am, my parents have been trying to fix my introversion, a quality they deemed to be undesirable. I was, and still slightly am, highly sensitive to loud and unfamiliar environments. I hated thunderstorms and hated being around unfamiliar people, which once included my extended family members. Although my parents didnt necessarily label me as an introvert, they saw that there was something wrong with me. My parents began constantly taking me outside to the public and even arranging play dates with church toddlers, hoping that I would become more comfortable around others. In the end, their efforts finally paid off by the time I was in middle school. From then on, no one could even imagine that I was an introvert. I was always raising my hand in class to ask questions, had a solo in the school choir and surrounded myself with numerous amounts of friends. Yet deep down inside, my heart raced each time I raised my hand and I loved spending time by myself more than playing with my friends. Looking back at my childhood years, I realize that I was living under the oppressive

Extrovert Ideal, an ideal that my parents raised me with and an ideal that my classmates helped nurture to create the incognito introvert I am today. The oppressive Extrovert Ideal can also be found in the novel The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Although this novel is mainly how even children can be cruel human beings, Simon, one of the main characters, shows how introversion is a classified as second-class personality trait. He too can be considered a victim of the Extrovert Ideal. The other boys of this novel often made fun of Simon for his inability to speak in front of the group and his tendency to suddenly fall unconscious. Simon was either seen with only one or two of the other boys or by himself in the forest, which shows that he enjoys solitude. His introversion eventually led to his death when a more extroverted boy declared that Simon was the beastie and proceeded with the other boys to kill him. Through Simon, William Golding highlights the idea that it is better to be an extrovert-the Extrovert Ideal. In Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Cant Stop Talking, Cain opens readers eyes to how much the world values extroversion and rejects introversion. I believe in her Extrovert Ideal and support her argument with my own life experiences and with the story of Simon from The Lord of the Flies by William Golding.