In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Outliers, he defines success as “a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard to make sense of something that most people would give up on” (233). He also argues that there is no such thing as ‘self-made success’ and that there are always hidden advantages that help us to be successful. I also have had hidden advantages like people who always pushed me to do my best and early education of why school is important. I grew up in a part of San Antonio that was very poor, the quality of education wasn’t good and all our neighbors were high school dropouts with over 4 kids. My mom finished high school and had plans to go to college but then she had me so her plans changed, my step dad, however, dropped out in 10th grade to start working for the family moving company. Before I started school, my dad and I would take the Via bus every morning to my grandma’s house. We’d wake up at about 6 to join the other families who didn’t have a car at the bus stop in front of the apartments. The ladies who rode the bus with us to downtown always told me about how important …show more content…
I’m in the top 10 percent of my class and already receiving scholarships. But without people like my parents who taught me good work ethic and the importance of having your own goals and how it’s much more important that you achieve your own goals than someone else’s, even though my expectations are higher than theirs. My teachers have all helped me to, they push me to do better. In ninth grade I started slacking and my biology teacher told me that she noticed and that I needed to do better and I did. These people and experiences have made me the kind of person I am today. They have made me an AP student with a plan, goal, and dream. Gladwell would describe these as my “accumulative advantages” (32) What are your accumulative
The novel “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer goes into great detail to describe the main character, Chris McCandless, who died traveling alone into the Alaskan wilderness. McCandless, whom in the novel renamed himself Alex, left his home and family to travel to Alaska in 1992. In Alaska McCandless planned to live an isolated life in the desolate wilderness, but unfortunately he did not survive. This non-fiction novel portrays his life leading up to his departure and it captures the true essence of what it means to be “in the wild”.
At the end of “Into the Wild” by John Krakauer epilogue, my view towards McCandless’s journey and death is emotionally similar to McCandless’s parents as they accept Chris’s death. Chris’s parents weren’t really involved in his life so they never really knew why he cut everyone off. My initial guess is that Chris got tired of his parents controlling his life and just wanted to get away. Throughout “Into The Wild” Chris’s parents seemed like they didn’t support or care about Chris, or they didn’t know how to show it, however my opinion about Chris’s parents did change because the author shined light on his parents and how they came to senses with their son’s death and that they actually really did care about their son Chris McCandless.
The tone is set in this chapter as Krakauer uses words to create an atmosphere of worry, fear, and happiness in McCandless’s mind. “The bush is an unforgiving place, however, that cares nothing for hope or longing”(4). McCandless is on the path of death, which creates worry and fear for the young boy. “He was determined. Real gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited,” (6). Alex is very excited and care free, which Krakauer used to his advantage in making the tone of Alex’s mind happy. The author creates tones to make the reader feel the moment as if the readers were sitting there themselves. Krakauer uses dialogue and setting to create the mixed tones of this chapter. As one can see from the quotes and scenery the author uses tones that are blunt and are to the point to make the reader feel as though the emotions are their own. Krakauer uses plenty of figurative language in this chapter. He uses figurative language to support his ideas,to express the surroundings, and tone around the character. To start the chapter he uses a simile describing the landscape of the area, “…sprawls across the flats like a rumpled blanket on an unmade bed,” (9). This statement is used to make reader sense the area and set the mood for the chapter. The use of figurative language in this chapter is to make a visual representation in the readers mind. “It’s satellites surrender to the low Kantishna plain” (9).
For generations, only certain people have achieved success - they are known as geniuses or outliers; however, they did not obtain it on high IQs and innate talents alone. In the book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell, #1 bestselling author of The Tipping Point and Blink, reveals the transparent secret of success behind every genius that made it big. Intertwined with that, Gladwell builds a convincing implication that the story behind the success of all geniuses is that they were born at the right place, at the right time and took advantage of it. To convey the importance of the outlier’s fortunate circumstances to his readers, he expresses a respective, colloquial tone when examining their lives.
If everyone thinks that without struggle, it is easy to obtain their goals that is entirely false. Struggle comes from the progress of our success and achievement. It is an indication that we poured all of our time and patience into the things we pursue. Jeannette Walls, the author of The Glass Castle, explain her struggles. She survives by finding foods from the trash can and earns money by babysitting, exchanging scrap metal, finding jobs, and from her parents. As a graduating student from high school, receiving my diploma is an indication that I ...
The popular saying “practice makes perfect” has been used for many years encouraging younger generations to strive for success in whatever area they wish to excel in. Success is something everybody in society strides for but some do not know how it is achieved. However, there are many people throughout history who are known for achieving success in many areas. Malcolm Gladwell, a best selling author and speaker, identifies these people as being outliers. Gladwell identifies the word “outlier” in his story Outliers as “a scientific term to describe things or phenomena that lie outside normal experience.” Although Malcolm Gladwell does not establish credibility for himself in his novel, his targeted audience of a younger inexperienced generation feel the need to be informed by his detailed theories about becoming successful and eventually becoming an outlier. Although the reality of becoming successful can depend on instances one can not control, Gladwell tells his readers there is a great portion they can control through his theory, the 10,000 hour rule. He does this by using well presented logical persuasive appeals and interesting rhetorical devices such as: onomatopeias, exposition, and argumentation.
The article “How to Be a Success” by Malcom Gladwell speaks about how success is something that can be achieved if you put the time and work into it, and how success is not achieved overnight but rather through long hours of constant practice. His article is targeted to more than one group of individuals. The groups of individuals that his article targets are teenage students, young adults, adults, people who want to become an expert, or want to succeed in something they have an interest in and in general society. Another article also related to the success of an individual “An A+ Student Regrets His Grades” by Afraj Gill describes how in society many schools focus more on students’ grades, rather than their learning, and how a student is
In Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, he retells the story of a young man named Chris McCandless by putting together interviews, speaking with people who knew him, and using letters he writes to his companions. Chris McCandless also known as Alexander Supertramp is a bright young man and after graduating from Emory University with all honors, he abandons most of his possessions and travels around the west, making long lasting impact on whomever he meets. He then hitchhikes to Alaska where he is found dead. In chapter 14 and 15, both named “Stikine Ice Cap”, Jon Krakauer interrupts the boy's story and shares his anecdote of going to Alaska to climb a dangerous mountain called the Devils Thumb. Krakaure’s purpose is to refute the argument that McCandless is mentally ill because many others, like Krakauer have tried to “go into the wild” but they are lucky to survive unlike McCandless. While describing his climb, Krakauer exhibits through the descriptions of and uncertainty about personal relationships.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell looks at a number of social epidemics and analyzes their build up to the point where they tip. “Tipping” is that point where an epidemic booms, or grows, to its maximum potential. Gladwell begins defining “tipping” with a literal example of the famous shoes, Hush Puppies. Once considered old-fashioned, Hush Puppies experienced a social boom in the mid-90s when hipsters in New York made them trendy again. Gladwell continues explaining “tipping” with a medical epidemic of syphilis in Baltimore. Gladwell introduces us to three essential rules of epidemics: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context. The Law of the Few says a key factor in epidemics is the role of the messenger: it spreads through word-of-mouth transmission. Gladwell explains this theory with an example of how Paul Revere managed to spread the news of British invasion overnight. Gladwell continues to explain that there are several types of people that create these types of epidemics. They are called Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen. Connectors are those people that are very social and can literally connect with people with as little as two degrees of separation. Mavens are those that know a lot about a lot of different things. They may recommend a certain restaurant and you must go because you know what they told you about it is true. And Salesmen are exactly that: people that are easily social and persuading.
The definition of success varies around the world, but according to Malcolm Gladwell its achievement can be broken down into a few components. Although Gladwell never truly establishes credibility in his book Outliers, he still backs up his proposed theories with reputable studies and sources which intrigue the audience to keep reading.The purpose of Outliers was to enlighten people about the different elements of success while also informing them of real life situations where seemingly less than likely people beat the odds and became the powerful figures that they are today. The intended audience is anyone who is looking to become successful or who is perhaps interested in the idea of success itself and wishes to learn more about it. Understandably, a secondary audience could be high school students who are about to venture out into the world on their own because with this book they will hopefully start paying attention to different factors of their lives and seizing opportunities that they may have otherwise passed up. Malcolm Gladwell talks about the 10,000 Hour Rule and also how I.Q. does not amount to much without creativity. He also speaks of how chance opportunity comes into play and that the distant background of a person still reflects how they handle situations in their present day life. Gladwell’s Outliers successfully informs the reader about the different components that add up to success with probable theories and credible studies to make for an interesting and motivational read.
Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, is the story of a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless who ventured off to Alaska and tried to survive in the wild. McCandless grew up in Annandale, Virginia where he attended school and made very good grades, rarely bringing home anything below an A. His father, Walt worked for NASA for a little while, before starting his own business with Chris’s mother, Billie, out of their own home. They worked hard and for long hours to get the business up and running and it finally paid off. The McCandless family was wealthy, but had many emotional problems. After graduating from Emory University in 1990, Chris McCandless donated twenty-four thousand dollars from his savings account to charity, changed his name to Alexander Supertramp, and then disappeared. This book tells the story of his life and travels. Some critics say that Chris McCandless was a very admirable person. He was a brave man that followed his dreams. However, given all of his flaws, attitudes, and actions, he is un-admirable. McCandless walked into the wild very unprepared and stubborn. He also treated his family poorly as well as anyone who got emotionally close to him. Chris was additionally too impressionable in a way that he admired authors along with the books they wrote, and tried to imitate them. He was very rebellious in his actions as well, and did not try to change the world or help others.
Outliers-The Story of Success is a sociological, and psychological non-fiction book, which discusses success, and the driving reasons behind why some people are significantly more successful than others. Malcolm Gladwell explains this by dividing the book into two parts, opportunity and legacy. Opportunity discusses how select people are fortunate enough to be born between the months of January through March, and also includes the idea that those who are already successful will have more opportunities to improve and become even more successful. The 10,000-hour rule proves the idea that in order to become successful in a certain skill, one must have practiced that skill for at least 10,000 hours. In addition to the 10,000-hour rule, timing is also a major component that implies being in the right place at the right time, which brings the author to discuss Bill Gates who was born during the time where programming and computer technology was emerging, therefore sparking his interest in computers, later bringing him to create Microsoft. Another point Gladwell brings forth is the notion of one’s upbringing, race, and ethnicity can be a factor behind their success. And lastly, pursuing meaningful work will cause one to continue working with their skill and not give up. Legacy is a collection of examples that support the idea: values are passed down from generation to generation, which may cause a certain group of people to be more persistent in a skill, or occupation.
If people work hard, focus, and are disciplined, they will succeed in the future. This has become a universal idea taught by parents, teachers, and peers. People have passed down this idea to the younger generations and they chose to live by this moral that makes sense. In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell debunks the universal idea that working hard will allow people to play hard and get further in life. Gladwell eliminates the traditional ideas of success by showing that opportunities, family background, and being born at the “right” time are actually what lead to success.
Self motivation and self determination are the most important ways to succeed. In this essay I will use, “Learning to Read and Write” by Fredrick Douglass, “The Lonely, Good Company of Books” by Richard Rodriguez, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, and an interview of Patti Read to argue that self motivation and self determination are the most important elements to becoming successful. First, I will frame my argument, and then I will incorporate my first source, followed by my second source, and then I will have a paragraph that will deal with the opposition, followed up with my final piece of evidence.
The book, The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman draws attention to some very good points concerning globalization and the world economy today. Friedman emphasizes the status of America today in relation to the other countries of the world. As I looked at the things in which he warned about or highlighted, I realized the importance of this issue. He talks about a few aspects in which need to be kept competitive in order for America to retain their current standing in the world market.