Success can mean many different things to different people. Some believe that success is when one is famous and very wealthy. Others think that it is when a person has achieved their life goals. According to critically acclaimed and best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell, though, the argument is not what success is; it is how it is achieved. Gladwell is the author of the novel Outliers, which describes his many theories and ideas of how people have and can become successful. Gladwell wrote his book for all to read because he wanted to disprove the popular belief that people become successful all by themselves; that is, without help from others or outside factors. Gladwell’s effective use of stories of the lives of famous and successful people in Outliers, coupled with his prolific use of logical appeals, or facts and statistics, enables him to easily explain his opinions while convincing his audience that success is attributed to many different factors in one’s life.
To convey his idea of success, Gladwell organizes his book in a way that effectively connects each idea so that by the end of the book the reader can see the whole picture of an outlier. He writes his examples in an order where he builds upon each one and constantly reflects back on them so they all reconnect to his idea that success is not achieved independently. He also uses many logical appeals in each paragraph so that they can flow and connect more easily. Gladwell’s use of logical appeals makes his argument much stronger because they allow him to state facts and statistic that make his ideas more believable while giving him more things that he can connect together to support his theme. His use of refutations and counter arguments also help support his theme bec...
... middle of paper ...
...e very effective and Gladwell’s message would not have been as strong as it is without them.
Even though some argue that Gladwell was too confusing in conveying his opinions about success, they are wrong. Gladwell uses many efficient writing methods and skills such as rhetorical devices and logical appeals to help explain his thoughts in an organized and intellectual manner. He connects each idea thoroughly so that the book flows nicely and is understandable to the reader. Gladwell couldn’t have made his message clearer; success is determined by several different factors, including ones beyond the control of each person themselves. His message makes people think of how they are living their lives and how they could better improve them to become successful. Outliers will continue to convince individuals that success cannot be achieved alone for generations to come.
Throughout the book, Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell focuses on using the rhetorical technique of pathos to aid his readers in understanding the formula for success. In one particular part of the book, Gladwell uses experiences and human problems as examples to support his idea that plane crashes and ethnicty are related and the greater idea that success is based on opportunity.
Malcolm Gladwell, in the nonfiction book Outliers, claims that success stems from where you come from, and to find that you must look beyond the individual. Malcolm Gladwell develops and supports his claim by defining an outlier, then providing an example of how Stewart Wolf looked beyond the individual, and finally by giving the purpose of the book Outliers as a whole. Gladwell’s purpose is to explain the extenuating circumstances that allowed one group of people to become outliers in order to inform readers on how to be successful. The author writes in a serious and factual tone for the average person in society of both genders and all ethnicities who wants to become successful in life.
In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell argues that there is no such thing as a self-made man, and that success is only the result of a person’s circumstances. However, throughout the novel Gladwell points out that your circumstances and opportunities only help you become successful if you are willing to take advantage of them and work hard. From a twelve year old living in the Bronx, to those who were born at just the right time to become millionaires, one thing is the same throughout; these people because successful because they seized the opportunities they were given. The advantages and opportunities that came from their circumstances would not be important if they had not grasped them. Every successful man is self made, because he has seized the
Gladwell narrates along biographical sections in the chapter and leads you through the lives of his “successful” subjects. He explains a cause of success and the effect it has on the outliers and their lives. He effectively asks rhetorical questions to spark readers’ interest in a phenomenon and then he explains the phenomenon using r...
Success is the chance to go out there and use the resources available to take advantage of opportunities that most people do not. Usually, things happen in life and it can prevent the process of obtaining success. In the readings, “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara and “Horatio Alger” by Harlon L. Dalton conveys the message that success is not always an everyday thing and it takes opportunities for it to become part of life. In “The Lesson”, an angered girl named Sylvia is taken on a field trip to a toy store with Miss Moore to learn a valuable lesson. The lesson is to become successful in society because it is the only way to make it to the top. On the other hand, “Horatio Alger” shows more of a realistic viewpoint where success is not as easy
As stated before Malcolm Gladwell presents a calm tone that doesn’t seem to push his argument but at the same time his argument is semi-flawed. He proves that there can be trends and patterns that can be correlated to success. He successfully showed this by stating the success stories of Bill Gates, the beatles and the soon to be successful Choir. Even though here and there he makes a couple of assumptions like the children in the academy his thesis is solid. (where? make an example) Malcolm Gladwell makes a lasting effect on how you view life, if patterns can be shown in overall success what else can their be patterns to. This piece really makes you think hard about things you might never have considered before and just accepted.
...hniques in the book that lead to conformity, to make the people ultimately follow the way the government wants everyone to follow, to be an unintelligent and unquestionable people.
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.
Gladwell’s style of writing begins with explaining or presenting an example of someone with success in a field. He then quickly refutes the reader’...
Everyone has their own vision of success. For some,it is being rich and famous and for others it is to have a great impact on the world. In the first chapter of outliers Gladwell claims that success is something you need to work for in some ways, he fails to come up with a solution for people that became successful without working for it.
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.
Other than how this book personally encouraged me and discouraged me, it was eye opening to see such a coincidence of birthdates among all-star hockey players and how Bill Gates just happened to be born in the wake of computer technology. It is also very shocking to see the racial demographics behind plane crashes and the relationship between math, rice, and Asian people. I am glad that I was able to read this book because despite the limits it places on success, it provides a better understanding of the possible reasons why some people become outliers while other remain average.
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.
Gladwell explores the idea that to become successful one must be given advantages and also capitalize on them. These advantages could be hidden, like birthdays, or overt, like financial status. I have been given advantages that help support me and give me different cultural perspective, allowing me to gain life experience.
There are several qualities to have to be successful in college. These qualities can range from attending class to going above and beyond what’s expected. Success comes from the journey taken or the path chosen. Success also comes from being prepared. As a student, I must step up to the challenge and find the path to success along the way. Several ways I define success is to uphold academic integrity, have the ability to prioritize, and to motivate myself to stay on top of what needs to be accomplished.