"Toe the straight and narrow"? In this essay? What could I have been thinking?
Frankly, I know what I was thinking: that an introduction shouldn't run too wild, but instead should simply draw the guidelines and clarify the parameters of the subject under discussion. The intention was definitely not to confuse things even more. Sometimes I wish that I really could be more linear. Apparently it's very hard for me to be so.
Still, I should admit that often I become very jealous of people who seem capable of developing one clearly delineated line of thought without branching off into countless digressions. Linearity really does have its benefits. On the other hand, perhaps web essays aren't really the right place for those sorts of benefits.