Essay On Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell

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Have you ever met an accomplished individual that has never reached success? Lack of success following talented individuals is common. In fact, without proper opportunity, no amount of personal merit will lead to success. Malcolm Gladwell demonstrates the impact of opportunities on success in his novel Outliers: The Story of Success. By analyzing the background of outliers, he concludes that opportunity plays a major role in success. The biography of Elon Musk, an interview with my mother, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” reveal more data to support Gladwell’s thesis. These sources state that success in people’s lives are a result of opportunity, not personal merit, supporting Gladwell’s thesis.
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Jekyll's personal merit could guarantee him success without opportunity. Dr. Jekyll in Robert Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was a kind man born into a rich family. Dr. Jekyll made a potion that could transform him into his evil half -Mr. Hyde- and return by re-drinking the potion. However, conflict soon arose when Mr. Hyde murdered a man and Dr. Jekyll could not transform back. The novel states on page 67, “It was Hyde after all, and Hyde alone, that was guilty. Jekyll was no worse; he woke again to his good qualities seemingly unimpaired; he would even make haste, where it was possible, to undo the evil done by Hyde” (pg 67). By being able to conjure this magical potion, Dr. Jekyll proved that he has personal merit. Yet, Jekyll lacked the opportunity to receive help and take down his evil half. Jekyll eventually gave in to his evil half. This event is like a chapter in Outliers called “The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 2”. Gladwell explores the life of Chris Langen- an unsuccessful genius. He states, “These were things that others, with lesser minds, could master easily. But that’s because those others had help along the way, and Chris Langen never had… He had to make his way alone, and no one-not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires and not even geniuses- ever makes it alone” (pg 115). Dr. Jekyll's demise proves that opportunity is the main factor in determining

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