TOW #8- Rethinking Narcissism by Dr. Malkin (Part II)

In a continuation of my independent reading book, Rethinking Narcissism by Dr. Malkin, he turns his purpose from educating the reader about narcissism to teaching them how to recognize and communicate with narcissists. He focuses on many situations that would involve narcissism: Narcissism among parents, siblings, significant others, or friends. He even considers whether the reader themselves is trying to understand how to handle being a narcissist. Typically, Dr. Malkin tends to use statistics, anecdotes, and a first person perspective in order for the reader. For example, he discusses a study in which they used the subconscious to identify how narcissists typically identify their behavior among others. He says “In the group shown the neutral pictures, those who scored high in narcissism gave the same response as most narcissists do when asked if they’re loving or caring of devoted or loyal people: essentially [they choose] not me.” (Malkin 1786). Essentially, his statement is describing that deep down they don’t really feel that they are superior to others, but it is the idea of making themselves look better that helps them thrive. However, the use of this scientific experiment uses logos in order to help back up his theories and statements, providing more to his already established ethos. In this particular section of the book, it seems that Dr. Malkin tries to put the audience into perspective by using terms such as ‘you’ and ‘they’. He tries to address the reader directly as he is trying to instruct them in personal situations. In instructions, Dr. Malkin says “Here’s what you might say to a narcissistic friend in similar situations: You’re my best friend. Whe you call my selfish, I feel ashamed, like I’m a bad person in your eyes…”(Malkin 1861). Putting the reader into a situation that they may have, or may need to deal with in the future, he is able to properly teach them directly what to say. Using words like ‘friend’ also help establish a general situation that the reader may be able to put themselves in. Overall, Dr. Malkin’s rhetorical strategies remain rather consistent throughout his book. However, his purpose alters from educating people about narcissism to instructing people how to deal with narcissists or echoists.  I believe that this book did very well when it comes to teaching his audience about this lesser known mental disorder, and that he does a great job keeping their attention using the many different rhetorical strategies throughout.