Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends And Influence People
Reflexive Style
Reflexive style is very common in many works. Its use can be both beneficial and detrimental depending on when and where it is used. Consequently it is important to understand it when writing.
One problem reflexive style has is subjectivity. A text written in reflexive style will no doubt have been influenced by its authors personal feelings and bias. As a result, it can distort the information the text is attempting to describe, possibly spreading misinformation. This can lead to a misinformed reader and, if the information is spread far enough, false misconceptions about the subject the original text “described”. Another problem is that reflexive style can take away from the content of the text and focus too much on the …show more content…
text itself. This can be seen in Moser’s satirical piece, This Is the Title of This Story, Which Is Also Found Several Times in the Story Itself…, a text in which the reflexive writing suppresses its content.
Dale Carnegie's book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, shows an opposing style.
As self-help book, it provides readers information on how to do something as shown by its title. Outside of some descriptions and rhetorical questions, the book shows fairly minimal influence by reflexive writing. For example, “Say about yourself all the derogatory things you know the other person is thinking or wants to say or intends to say - and say them before that person has a chance to say them” (128). This sentence is a simple command. It is not distorted by a reflexive style, which keeps it clear and concise. Of course, due to the nature of the book’s topic, there is some subjectivity influencing the text, at least more than a book detailing how to repair electronics would have.
A reflexive writing style can be useful in many situations, however, particularly in literature that requires more subjectivity. Many poems, for example, are the culmination of its author’s feelings and thus would benefit from a reflexive style. Many texts influenced by Romanticism also typically feature reflexive writing. Surprisingly, reflexive writing can also benefit historical documents. A person writing their thoughts on the horrors and brutality of war, for example, can emphasize them with a reflexive style.
In conclusion, a reflexive writing style should be used in good context in order to prevent suppressing the content of the text. Detracting from the subject of the text can be detrimental, even more so when the text has minimal
content.
Reflexive style is very common in many works. Its use can be both beneficial and detrimental depending on when and where it is used. Consequently it is important to understand it when writing.
One problem reflexive style has is subjectivity. A text written in reflexive style will no doubt have been influenced by its authors personal feelings and bias. As a result, it can distort the information the text is attempting to describe, possibly spreading misinformation. This can lead to a misinformed reader and, if the information is spread far enough, false misconceptions about the subject the original text “described”. Another problem is that reflexive style can take away from the content of the text and focus too much on the …show more content…
text itself. This can be seen in Moser’s satirical piece, This Is the Title of This Story, Which Is Also Found Several Times in the Story Itself…, a text in which the reflexive writing suppresses its content.
Dale Carnegie's book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, shows an opposing style.
As self-help book, it provides readers information on how to do something as shown by its title. Outside of some descriptions and rhetorical questions, the book shows fairly minimal influence by reflexive writing. For example, “Say about yourself all the derogatory things you know the other person is thinking or wants to say or intends to say - and say them before that person has a chance to say them” (128). This sentence is a simple command. It is not distorted by a reflexive style, which keeps it clear and concise. Of course, due to the nature of the book’s topic, there is some subjectivity influencing the text, at least more than a book detailing how to repair electronics would have.
A reflexive writing style can be useful in many situations, however, particularly in literature that requires more subjectivity. Many poems, for example, are the culmination of its author’s feelings and thus would benefit from a reflexive style. Many texts influenced by Romanticism also typically feature reflexive writing. Surprisingly, reflexive writing can also benefit historical documents. A person writing their thoughts on the horrors and brutality of war, for example, can emphasize them with a reflexive style.
In conclusion, a reflexive writing style should be used in good context in order to prevent suppressing the content of the text. Detracting from the subject of the text can be detrimental, even more so when the text has minimal
content.