Response to Imposed Views

Sam inquired:
It is almost as if Hayakawa is imposing these points of view upon the reader. What if the man or woman in the first citation are completely satisfied with their lack of vow fulfillments, and what if the man or woman in the second has no regret about their religious conversion?

I am in agreement with Sam that Hayakawa does seem to have a tendency to make generalizations. However, in the examples (pgs. 70-71) Sam inquired about regarding vow fulfillments and religious conversion, I believe that Hayakawa is merely suggesting one possible outcome of each situation, rather than imposing a point of view on the reader. I think he simply wants readers to know what he believes is likely to happen, without completely blocking out other possibilities that readers might consider. Hayakawa is just utilizing these situations as examples of the point he is trying to prove: "human beings use words to reach out into the future and control each other's conduct" (71).

(Janet Lee)