The story under study is by Jonathan Rauch, published in 2003. The story is entitled Caring for Your Introvert and is a short autobiographical confession in which Rauch describes his life as an introvert. In just three pages, Rauch tells his personal story of being an introvert, which he likes and dislikes in equal measure. Rauch’s primary goal in writing this story is to convey that introverts are people with peculiarities that should be understood and accepted.
Rauch first talks about what introversion is and what attributes he feels are most important. He includes restraint in communication, the need to recover from long conversations, and resting away from society (Rauch 2). Rauch’s unique formula includes “roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing” (Rauch 2). This formulation vividly illustrates the author’s attitude toward introversion and his acceptance of it as part of his life, which is expected as sleeping or eating. Rauch emphasizes that introversion falls within the boundaries of normality and deviates from the sociability of extroverts. He suggests that the peculiar traits of introverts should not be a barrier to election to political or other positions (Rauch 3). Furthermore, he points out that the traits of introverts are just as valid as those of extroverts and that including only the latter harms society as a whole. Regarding his traits, Rauch relies on the principles of humanity and tolerance, opening the reader’s eyes to the need for the same behavior.
Second, Rauch seeks to prove to the reader that his beliefs about introversion may be wrong, so extroverts happen to hurt introverts. He draws on his research to say that the “about 25 percent” encountered in society are subject to misunderstanding by others (Rauch 2). This misunderstanding is because extroverts are probably unable to understand the problems of introversion due to their characteristics. Rauch reveals that he never felt comfortable enough with extroverts because they could not hear him. The main problem stemming from this is that extroverts dominate society, and introverts feel oppressed (Rauch 3). Rauch points out that what bothers him most is that extroverts are unaware that they are doing wrong. He suggests that the best solution for extroverts who do not know what to do with an introvert is to “don’t say anything else” (Rauch 3). From the outside, this may seem harsh, but it is the only way to ensure the comfort of the oppressed group.
Rauch’s article is not only about introverts who sometimes lack a few well-considered words. He also addresses extroverts who take it upon themselves to communicate with introverts. Rauch directly points out the frequent mistakes of extroverts, thereby seeking to educate them and show them what respect is in interpersonal communication. The potential problems Rauch raises are how to establish this communication and how to set boundaries. Not all questions about extraversion or introversion are correct, and there is the question of how to make this recognition relevant.
Thus, a short article by Jonathan Rauch seeks to show the reader what introversion is and why it is so different from extroversion. Rauch expresses the hope that the attributes of introverts will be accepted by society and that long silences or vacations from communication will not be obstacles to communication. Rauch also points out to extroverts that their dominance in society can harm introverts, and they should show more respect.
Work Cited
Rauch, Jonathan. “Caring for Your Introvert: The Habits and Needs of a Little-understood Group”. The Atlantic, vol. 291, no. 2, 2003, pp. 133.