Nikole McGee

Mrs. Stanford

AP Language and Composition A108

20 March 2019

The Loud Truth about the Quiet Individual

Confidence is the key to all success; at least, that’s what the average American would

assume. American society is largely invested in business and politics. It has been decided that in

order to be a successful businessman, or a successful politician, an individual must be an

eloquent, confident, radiant extrovert. Introversion is not an option in these fields, in fact, it is

thought to be a personality flaw. Consider the connotation that is emitted when an individual

hears the words: shy, isolation, solitude, and soft spoken, versus the words: bold, accessible,

company, and outspoken. Naturally, in America, the latter are presented with a positive

connotation while the former are presented with a negative one. The former words are often used

in the context of the description of an introverted person, but it is unclear why these words taste

so bitter. Perhaps it is because American society does not fully understand introversion, therefore

it cannot accept it. In her book titled “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop

Talking” Susan Cain highlights the value of introverts in an extroverted society. It is evident that

Cain’s goal is not to bash the extrovert, but to explain that both personality types have positive

traits, not just one.

In order to understand why introverts are often ignored, one must understand what

extroversion is and why it is so appealing. Cain references cultural historian Warren Susman

who claims that American culture made a shift in the eighteenth century from what he calls “the

Culture of Character” to “the Culture of Personality”. The “Culture of Character” valued and
honored individuals who were serious and self disciplined, whereas now, in the “Culture of

Personality” people are drawn to individuals who are “bold and entertaining” (Cain, 2013). The

“Culture of Personality” is still ongoing and it has since been modernized:

“At the onset of the Culture of Personality, we urged to develop an extroverted

personality for frankly selfish reasons--as a way of outshining the crowd in a newly
anonymous and competitive society. But nowadays we tend to think that becoming more
extroverted not only makes us more successful, but also makes us better people. We see
salesmanship as a way of sharing one’s gifts with the world.” (Cain, 2013)

Extroversion is so highly valued in modern day America that even the workplace and classroom

has been made to accommodate these social beings. The “Culture of Personality” has given rise

to open floor plan offices in order to encourage workers, especially salesman, to be social and to

brainstorm new innovative ideas in the workplace. In addition to this, schools of all grade levels,

including college, have embraced group concept learning, often assigning group projects and

forcing oral participation in class. These social environments are extremely counterproductive

for introverts who perform better and more efficiently in quiet environments that don’t yield

anxiety. Research has proved that there is no correlation between intelligence and extroversion.

Despite this, it is common for the ideas of introverts to be overlooked, regardless of their merit, if

an extrovert is confident when voicing his/her false assertions.

Like extroverts, introverts have many useful leadership qualities. The biggest driving

force in the making of an introverted personality is fear. Fear yields anxiety and it is very clear

that the American introvert’s ultimate fear is embarrassment. This is the reason that introverts are

often described as “shy” because they are too afraid or anxious to say the wrong thing, so, they

speak very little if they speak at all. While this may seem like a negative attribute, in the right

context it can be very useful. Introverts will often observe a subject very thoroughly before

commenting on it because they are afraid of encountering danger or being wrong. An introvert’s
observations can act as primary research and will help improve their problem solving and

analytical skills. In addition to this, when placed in a low energy setting, introvert’s can thrive

intellectually because they can focus. In these places, introverts are their most comfortable and

their most creative. The reason society paints such a negative picture about introversion is

because as American culture accommodates extroverts and doesn’t give the introvert the tools

he/she needs to succeed. About one third to one half of all people are introverts, but it is not

always easy to spot these people. Hidden among all the businessmen and politicians of the world,

many introverts thrive by faking the confidence of the extrovert. This is called a “pseudo-

extrovert”. It is possible to be an introvert and have seemingly extroverted personality traits, and

vice versa, but only when an individual participates in his/her “core personal projects”. “Core

personal projects” can be described as situations or environments in which an individual can and

will step out of their comfort zone in order to complete a task. These tasks are usually completed

for loved ones or for personal fulfillment.

Though Cain argues that introversion does not get the credit it deserves in the makings of

successful businesses, relationships, and discoveries, she does not discredit the value of

extroversion in our culture. Instead, she highlights that the most effective way to reach success of

any kind is to find a healthy way to balance the positive attributes of both personality types:

Moreover, they tell us that the Extrovert Ideal is not as sacrosanct as we may have
thought. So if, deep down, you've been thinking that it's only natural for the bold
and sociable to dominate the reserved and sensitive, and that the Extrovert Ideal is
innate to humanity, Robert McCrae's personality map suggests a different truth
that each way of being--quiet and talkative, careful and audacious, inhibited and
unrestrained--is characteristic of its own mighty civilization. (Cain, 2013)
This excerpt proves that Cain is uplifting the introvert while acknowledging that the extrovert is

also capable of having its own “mighty civilization”. If both personality types had access to the

work environments they need to function most efficiently, and worked together using their social
and analytical skills, the saying “America’s business is business” would soon be “America’s

business is booming”. In Part Four of her book (chapters nine through eleven), Cain primarily

focuses on giving advice to the individual and also to parents, teachers, and business owners. She

covers how to deal with each personality type in various settings, environments, and

circumstances. Cain does a wonderful job of organizing her book in chronological order, making

it easy for the reader to follow. She also establishes credibility because her research is extremely

thorough as she provides both primary and scholarly secondary sources throughout the entirety

of the book. Each tangent relates back to the central idea that introversion needs to be accepted

into our culture more than it currently is. Overall, Cain’s argument is presented extremely well.

Confidence is not the key to all success. Instead, the key is self awareness. American

society is so focused on business and politics that it overlooks the individual, always looking at

the “big picture”. By doing this it has been decided that in order to be a successful businessman,

or a successful politician, an individual must be an extrovert. However, after reading Cain’s

“Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” one may find that in order

to be successful at any task, he/she must be aware of the type of person they are, and what type

of context will help them achieve success. Consider the connotation that is emitted when an

individual hears the words: observant, independent and peaceful, versus the words: gaudy, loud,

and crowded. It is evident that any attribute can be skewed to look as a flaw when indeed,

without context, one cannot determine the true meaning of the word. Until American society

comes to fully understand introversion and extroversion, American business cannot reach its full

potential.
 Works Cited

Cain, S. (2013). Quiet the power of introverts in a world that cant stop talking. New

York: Crown.