Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell probes the hidden factors that have made the brightest and the most ambitious the extremely successful people known today. Gladwell emphasizes examining the cultural, environmental, and economic advantages surrounding these individuals and while pure skill is a variable, it is certainly not the only factor. With this, Gladwell provides a fascinating and logical take that makes even the average reader conclude that they are not far off from people like Bill Gates or the Beatles and can achieve greatness with preparation and opportunity. Gladwell’s purpose for writing this novel included his desire to alter the way one understands success. He wanted to challenge the typical belief that someone
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
His main points of discussion include, but are not limited to, the importance of effort, the irrelevance of skill, and the tactic of targeting a Goliath’s weakness. Phrases such as “maniacal” and “socially-horrifying” describe the characteristics a David must possess (Gladwell 7, 13). With a tone of inspiration, Gladwell is able to instill in readers the idea that hard work pays off far more than adeptness. The social issue of an underdog’s success in identified in Gladwell’s
Gladwell gives differing definitions of intelligence. Yet his definition of success is singular—"worldly" success in terms of wealth, power, and fame. Are there also differing definitions of success that Gladwell doesn't consider? If so, what are they, and what does it take to achieve those versions of success? What is your definition of success, and how does it compare to Gladwell’s? Has your definition of success changed at all?
Hardworking. Persistent. Determined. These are all adjectives the United States associates with successful people. Whenever a story is told about someone who has risen through the ranks to become a successful person--an Outlier-- that achievement is usually said to be earned through personal means and a tremendous amount of effort. Gladwell’s book takes this success stereotype and conducts an examination of the way the world views an Outlier. Outliers: the Story of Success is an unusual nonfiction book in that it is not only easy to understand, but also well written and interesting. Gladwell engages and persuades the reader using not only research, but also real-life examples and anecdotes to prove his point. Outliers demonstrates the point
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.
Recently, this response was triggered by a book. Different? Trust me… I know. It’s not just any book though. It’s Malcom Gladwell’s, “Outliers: The story of success.” You’re probably thinking, that sounds like a really boring title that should only trigger a putting down the book response. But, before you judge a book based on its title, hear me out. Simply put, this is a novel about opportunities. Which, if you were paying attention, is a topic I have struggled with in the past. Especially, if they fall into the missed category. And, if you are human, I am sure you have to.
Malcolm Gladwell’s overall purpose of Outliers: The Story of Success is that success is largely determined by an individual’s socioeconomic and sociocultural environment, and individual ambition, effort, or talent, are less significant, contrary to the societal notions associated with success. In other words, success is not something that someone randomly gained; success is earned through opportunities that develop dedication, interest, and skill over time. By doing this, will one become an outlier, or “something that is situated away or classed differently from a main or related body,” (Gladwell 3) that distinguishes great from good and best from great, as exemplified by “The striking thing about Ericsson’s study is that the and his colleagues couldn’t find any “naturals”, musicians who floated effortlessly to the top while practicing a fraction of the time their peers did.” (Gladwell 39) Gladwell also acknowledges societal norms such that “All of the fourteen men and woman on the list above had vision and talent,” (Gladwell 62-63) to assert hard work, ability, et cetera can lead to success, but a social environment that offers such opportunities immensely increases the likelihood of success.
I was raised by my parents in a very rural community with my two older brothers, James and Daniel, and my younger sister, Fei. Not only did we grow up in a rough environment, we were also part of the lower echelon of society. My parents always told me, “You must work hard in school so you can be successful and have a high paying job.” In the book “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell, Malcolm explains that the biggest misconception about success is that we achieve it solely by our intelligence, ambition, hustle and hard work. We tend to ignore the fact that opportunity plays an incredible role on whether or not one is successful. Being at the right place, at the right time, is a key factor to success, but ultimately it depends
In Chapter 8 and 9 of Outliers: The Story of Success, Gladwell exams some of the ways that Asian and American students learn math, arguing that some of the principles in the US education system should be reconsidered. I generally agree with Gladwell’s point of view. I believe in two ways, students ' principal spirit and the length of students’ studying, the US education system leaves much to be desired, though an overhaul is in progress.
Einstein was not always an extremely successful man and he had difficulties that would have prevented anyone else from succeeding, but eventually, several of his theories led to scientific advancements. One theory earned him a Nobel Prize, in physics one a PhD and another helped in the development of nuclear fission. If a person were only to take a quick glance at his life without a deeper investigation, they would find it difficult to discover the catalyst that led to his success. However, with the tools Gladwell provides his readers it does become obvious what led to Einstein’s life of success. Gladwell argues that a person needs to devote time to practice their craft; he calls this the “10,000-hour rule” (Gladwell 35). They must also have opportunity to succeed, as well as intelligence; they must at least be, smart enough to do so. He also claims that they must have been born at just the right time for success, too early or too late is a failure; he calls this the “Matthew Effect” (Gladwell 15). Gladwell even goes so far as to say that where they are born has a significant impact on their success; this he calls “demographic luck” (Gladwell 129). These tools provided by Gladwell to identify an outlier can explain if Albert Einstein is truly an outlier.
Are the various millionaires from the world truly self-made men or is their success a result of a more complex outside source- the environment? In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell analyzes how people achieve success. He stresses the belief that success is obtained by other factors beyond personal characteristics like IQ, work ethic, talent and ambition. To truly understand success, one must go deeper and look at the “hidden” reasons, such as birthdates, hours put in, cultural background and timing. Individuals credit their own success on their merit, but it’s decided on other factors outside their control.