allegory:

a man walks up to another man for conversation. As he walks away after the conversation, he finds himself thinking "wow, that man is really interesting and smart"

Later he walks up to a different man for conversation. When he walks away from that one, he finds himself thinking "Wow, I must be interesting and smart"

the difference in the first person's response to each conversation is directly related to the way the other two men directed the flow of ideas. Each man accomplished his intent.

There is a lesson in this story; but depending on which man in the story most resembles the reader, the interpretation tends to be different.