Analysis Of The Tipping Point By Malcolm Gladwell

Well-written author and journalist, Malcolm Gladwell, in his nonfictional physcology-based novel The Tipping Point, identifies and analyzes the underlying causes behind major social changes in order to generalize the trends into predictable, understandable categories. Gladwell's intention of explaining why some ideas create turmoil while others do not, as well as demonstrating to readers how to spark their own evolution of society, is quite clear from the beginning of the novel. It is only through his breaking down of such a complex topic into familiar, relatable ideas though, that his prime motive noticeably shifts to creating an easily-understandable, absorbing text that can be as effortlessly circulated throughout society as the “epidemics”

he discusses throughout it. The subtly simple, entertaining way that Gladwell portrays his ideas through the piece not only attracts psychology experts, but also pulls in a mass of everyday readers who may simply be interested in the topic.
Gladwell begins his translation from the complicated language of psychology to conventional English by using analogies steadily throughout the entire piece, allowing readers to latch onto something more familiar before presenting them with the broader picture that is painted.

He starts off with this concept early in the work, encouraging the mysterious changes discussed throughout the book to be thought of “as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do” (Gladwell 7). The fact that Gladwell refers to social changes as viruses is eye-opening to the reader; social changes seem foreign to most people, but practically everyone knows at least a few characteristics of a powerful virus: contagious, widespread, freely-transmitted. Gladwell’s theory behind using these analogies is extremely sensible; a study found that in organic chemistry, students taught using analogies “showed significantly greater achievement than the students in the control group [who were taught without analogies]” (Nawaf Ahmad Hasan 1). This is exactly what Gladwell aims for with the use of analogies throughout his writing, as his intent of the piece is to make the intricate topic enjoyable and coherent for the everyday

reader.
Gladwell, along with his strategically-placed analogies, uses very specific diction throughout the piece to achieve his purpose. He undertakes this primarily by not endeavoring to douse his piece with accredited scientific terms; he actually navigates to the opposite spectrum and instead induces the use of informal language in order to make the piece more relatable for the audience. He commences with this diction promptly, and throughout the piece he creates an entire glossary pertaining specifically to the novel by using informal terms to describe convoluted concepts. This language that Gladwell employs throughout the work is displayed especially when he discusses the three types of people involved in spreading a social epidemic: “[He calls] them Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen” (Gladwell 34). The use of this story-specific vocabulary is very important in progressing Gladwell’s cause, and by using it he is able to clearly present his ideas to the reader by gathering many seemingly abstract details and threading them together under a single precise term. The sheer power of this diction can be illustrated by looking at a similar situation; in a study done with children reading text-based books versus picture books, the “results revealed that picture story books were able to improve students’ reading as well as the students’ interest in reading” (Rosalina 1). This example, although very simplified, exhibits the exact reason for Gladwell’s use of informal language as well as his simplification of complex topics; these devices make the text much more enjoyable and straightforward for the reader, thus increasing his or her interest in the book. Gladwell makes powerful use of this speech, as well as analogies in order to create a simple, readable text for audiences ranging from psychologists to students.