The End of Solitude
Descriptive
Outline:
Paragraph 1
Says: The self wants to be
known by as many people as possible. It wants to be connected and visible.
Does: This paragraph opens
the piece, and gives an introduction to what is to come. It mentions how
technology works with these connections.
Paragraph 2
Says: Technology removes the
sense of being alone. It takes away privacy, solitude and the ability to be
alone.
Does: This
paragraph shows how technology is truly the source of making humans live their lives
in solitude.
Paragraph 3
Says: Students perspective
on solitude. They say that they don’t like to be alone.
Does: It relates the piece
to why people don’t want to be alone. It also gets the opinions of younger
people on solitude and being alone.
Paragraph 4
Says: Religious solitude is
a choice that is part of a smaller society, not mankind as a whole.
Does: It relates how
solitude can be from a religious aspect.
Paragraph 5
Says: As times have changed
and new ways of life emerge, solitude changes along with that.
Does: Shows how solitude has
changed over many different time periods
Paragraph 6
Says: Romanticism achieves
solitude for the entire culture, in comparison to other time periods.
Does: Relates solitude to romanticism and the romantic
practice of solitude.
Paragraph 7
Says: Modernism thinks that
solitude is harsh and takes people away from society, they do not look at it as
a good thing.
Does: Relates solitude to
modernism and the modernist ways.
Paragraph 8
Says: You are never alone in modernist cities, so
there is no solitude.
Does: it relates solitude to
the modernist city.
Paragraph 9
Says: In today’s world,
technology is able to bring people together despite the threat of loneliness.
People are more likely to be alone, but is it in solitude?
Does: relates solitude to
the present day urban and suburban life.
Paragraph 10
Says: The internet allows
people who are alone to connect with others. People just want to become known. Two-way
contact is not necessary. It is impossible to be alone.
Does: It relates solitude to
being alone. They are two different things.
Paragraph 11
Says: Although we are alone, there is no time for
real connections or solitude.
Does: Relates how solitude
is not the same as being alone.
Paragraph 12
Says: Friendship is still
something people are looking for. Using technology takes out the possibility of
solitude.
Does: It relates how
technology is taking away solitude.
Paragraph 13
Says: The age of television helped
to eliminate the feeling of boredom. If you don’t want to be bored you can just
watch TV.
Does: It shows how
technology filled the void of people feeling bored. Shows the power of what
technology can really do.
Paragraph 14
Says: Being bored isn’t the worst thing in the
world, but people don’t want to feel that way, so they replace that feeling
with TV.
Does: Personal story to relate how TV was able
to fill the void of boredom, which could be related to solitude. By turning on
your TV you also don’t feel like you’re alone.
Paragraph 15
Says: This brings about the
idea of loneliness vs being alone. People these days have lost the ability to
be alone, but they are also lonely because they have the comfort of having
people at their fingertips at every waking moment, but the people are not
actually there.
Does: It shows how the
generation of Web has created the loneliness. People cannot be alone anymore
due to the age of technology and this paragraph shows how the times have
changed with the change of technology.
Paragraph 16
Says: People are not making
connections with themselves anymore because there is no time alone, and no time
spent pondering, wondering, or soul searching.
Does: It shows how the age
of technology takes away the “darkness,” or down time in life to truly engage
with the self.
Paragraph 17
Says: Young people don’t ever
feel that they are alone because they always have the social aspect of life
right at their fingertips.
Does: This speaks about “The
end of solitude,” young adults are not having solitude anymore because of the
access to things on the internet.
Paragraph 18
Says: Young people don’t
know how to communicate with themselves and others and they don’t truly know
themselves.
Does: It shows how young
people aren’t learning about themselves because they always feel the need to be
connected through technology, so they never experience solitude.
Paragraph 19
Says: This paragraph says
that solitude is like virginity, being untouched by the outside world. It is
the best place to discover the unique self.
Does: This shows how
solitude is a way to find the true self that is not impacted by outside
sources.
Paragraph 20
Says: It
shows the reader how solitude is beneficial for the human. Although it relates
solitude to God, it is not talking about religion, it is showing how God does
great things while being alone and how the devil works in company.
Does: It proves to the
reader that solitude is a great way to live and to be great.
Paragraph 21
Says: Being in solitude isn’t
for everyone. You have to be willing to remove yourself from society and be a
little “weird” to have solitude and to be alone, since it is against human
nature.
Does: This paragraph reminds
us that solitude isn’t for everyone and it takes a certain someone to do it.
The self has to come first in acceptance, before you can gain solitude.
Paragraph 22
Says: Solitude is something
that has always been around, but it has never been looked at as a good thing.
Now everyone likes to be in solitude. Everyone fakes enjoying being around
other people. Everyone does it in today’s world, so it is not weird.
Does: This paragraph closes
up the piece. It reassures the point that you must not be afraid to be alone to
have solitude. It also brings around the concept that this solitude or
aloneness is “universal.”
Rhetorical Precis:
William
Deresiewicz, wrote an article called The End of Solitude (January 30, 2009),
where he states that solitude is being lost due to the usage of technology. The
author proves this by mentioning how solitude relates to humans throughout
history and then comparing it to how solitude relates to humans in today's
world. He writes this piece to inform readers that solitude needs to come back
into our lives today. He wants readers to understand the difference between
being alone, loneliness, and solitude. The audience is especially anyone and
everyone. Everyone in today’s society has the distractions of technology, which
takes away the solitude of life, so the piece is intended for anyone who has
not yet found solitude in their life.
Summary:
The text’s
main thesis is that solitude is being lost due to the usage of technology. This
idea is supported through the use of many examples of solitude throughout
history compared to the solitude of today’ world. Religion is one major example
of solitude, since in religion there is a societal aspect of solitude, for
example with Yogi’s. In today’s society, people confuse the terms alone,
loneliness, and solitude. Each one has its own meaning and solitude is the one
that is being lost. People are not alone or lonely thanks to technology, for
example watching TV and connecting with people across the internet, but people
are not experiencing solitude because their lives are always filled with something
due to technology being all over the place, and right in your very hand at all
times. Now, you must not be afraid to be different or to be alone to experience
solitude.