Monday, January 6, 2014

The queries increase in Quiet

Part two of Quiet is a welcome change. Where Cain spent much of part one on anecdotes she adds much more psychological and psychiatric research into part two. Of course, anecdotal evidence wouldn't hold as much water in a discussion of biology as it does in a discussion about the general concepts "extrovert" and "introvert."

On a more basic level, the inclusion of more research and more studies is also welcome because it's shaken Cain out of the familiar rhythm of part one. Now her sections carry more thought than narrative, more inquiry (Cain really puts the question mark to use) than story. Given that the chapters of part two are about big questions like, "is nature or nurture the source of a person's extroversion or introversion?" and "does a person's temperament determine the course of their life?" the shift to a tone of inquiry is a perfect fit.

Interestingly enough, Cain's moving into inquiry also saves her book from being too brash to be truly about introversion (at least as far as I'm concerned).

In moving away from anecdotes, Cain also uses the regionalism "hold forth" far less. I'm never against learning new words or idioms, but combining those words to mean "to speak about something or someone at great length" makes it seem like a truly idiomatic idiom if ever I read one.

No comments:

Post a Comment