Malcolm Gladwell The Power Of Context Ff

The world can be viewed as a place where small things lead to a bigger change. However, what is not always discovered is that there is a combination of factors that leads to change through the influence of an individual or the environment. Regardless, that change can ignite effects on an individual through his or her actions and behaviors. In his “The Power of Context,” Malcolm Gladwell presents a theory to help explain the time period when New York City was crime ridden, and also explains human behavior in his analysis. Gladwell argues that the physical environment of an individual plays a significant role in an individual’s behaviors and actions. Gladwell’s view on what causes human behavior helps explain the environment at The Citadel, examined

in Susan Faludi’s “The Naked Citadel.” Faludi describes how the cadets at The Citadel are allowed to escape the traditional roles of masculinity, and are sometimes given the opportunity to live a vulnerable lifestyle. Hence, the cadets adore The Citadel because it enables them to not have to worry about the responsibilities men have in the real world.

The behaviors of the cadets start to change with discussion of the possible entrance of Shannon Faulkner into The Citadel, showing that an individual can also lead to change. The cadets’ change in behavior and emotions reveal that an environment does not always have to be the tipping point, and that an individual can be the tipping point when he or she can alter one’s environment, such as by entering a male paradise. Although an individual can lead to such a change, the Broken Windows Theory explains why some traditions and practices are permanent at The Citadel and cannot be easily altered. While their tipping point and their environment undoubtedly affects the cadets’ behaviors and actions at The Citadel, other factors such as society’s perceptions of men also influence the cadets’ relationship to the outside

world.
The Broken Windows Theory indicates why some traditions have not disappeared from The Citadel. Some physically harmful traditions and methods remain at The Citadel because they are entrenched there and also contagious, due to the fact that a change cannot be ignited against the tradition. According to Gladwell, the criminologists, “Wilson and Kelling argued that a crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is charge. Soon, more windows will be broken…sending a signal that anything goes” (152). The Broken Windows Theory shows the contagious effects of an action that are often ignored and/or left unchanged. In addition, the Broken Windows Theory suggests that a chaotic, disorderly or violent environment powerfully influences an individual’s behavior. For example, in New York City more “windows” were being broken because the broken windows were not being replaced, depicting that no one cared. While there were features such as graffiti that indicated no one cared in New York City, there were also indicators which suggested that no one was in control because the crime rate was increasing, and the police were not stopping minor problems. Similar to how the broken windows in New York City affected the denizens of the city, the cadets at The Citadel are affected by the violence occurring at the school. The cadets affected by the violence are prevented from speaking out because “the group mentality that pervades The Citadel assures that any desire on the part of a cadet to speak out about the mounting violence will usually be squelched by the threat of ostracism and shame” (Faludi 81). The contagiousness of violence has spread throughout the Citadel. Even though some of the practices are cruel, they are overlooked and result in the upperclassmen’s confidence in their ability to torture the younger students. When the young men enter The Citadel, they are treated horribly, physically tortured, and stripped of their identities to become “Citadel” men. Then, when the knobs become upperclassmen they are permitted to carry on this tradition. This vicious cycle of violence not only restarts every year, but gets worse because, as The Broken Windows Theory states, the actions of one strong group becomes contagious and manifests itself in the culture of the school. Although some traditions may be contagious and may not fade, an individual does have the ability to alter the tradition.
A single person, thing or event can ignite a change in individuals or their environment. This may force a group to react, which may or may not result in a change, in a particular manner that can affect people. In Gladwell’s essay, a change in the environment was ignited when Bernie Goetz was asked for money on the subway by young men, who were later shot by him. According to Gladwell’s explanation of Goetz’s incident in the subway, he explains that “The Tipping Point in this epidemic, though isn’t a particular kind of person…It’s something physical like graffiti. The impetus to engage in a certain kind of behavior is not coming from a certain kind of person but from a feature of the environment” (152). Gladwell attributes the cause of the tipping point to the environment as opposed to an individual or group of individuals. Gladwell argues that Goetz shot the men due to the graffiti and the environment in New York City, rather than the four young men who asked Goetz for money. In addition, Gladwell argues that the tipping point is not caused by a specific person, so therefore Goetz was not the tipping point in New York City. However, even if the environment was different and the graffiti was nonexistent, Goetz might have reacted the same way, due to the influence of his background. If the environment in New York City was really the tipping point, there would have been other individuals similar to Goetz who wanted to express similar feelings. Although Gladwell attributes the cause of the tipping point to the graffiti in the subway, Faludi explains how the tipping point at The Citadel was a person, Faulkner, rather than a physical feature of the environment. At The Citadel, the men have developed a level of physical comfort around other men, and feel vulnerable when they hear the news of a women coming to The Citadel. In a conversation that began due to the concern about how Faulkner would affect The Citadel among cadets, the cadets respond, “It’s a family, even the way we eat- family style.” A fourth cadet said, “Maybe it’s a Freudian thing, but males feel more affection with each other when women are not around” (Faludi 97). Faulkner is the tipping point in this scenario because her possible arrival could affect the cadets level of comfort. For the cadets, Faulkner represents the outside world and allowing her into The Citadel brings the outside world into their own paradise and may lose their sense of comfort. If Faulkner entered The Citadel, the cadets would feel as if their way of life would be challenged because a woman would be performing the same actions as them, and that they cannot always express their vulnerability. In addition, Shannon’s entrance would challenge the mission statement of The Citadel, because the environment at The Citadel was not the same as what was marketed. The denizens of New York City tried to positively alter the environment and Faulkner drives the cadets to react. The cadets are vulnerable and do not know how Faulkner will alter their world, so they are seeking methods to prevent her from attending, such as by going to her house and threatening her family. While Gladwell attributes Goetz’s tipping point to the environment, if Faulkner did not think about the entering The Citadel, then the cadets would not have to deal with a backlash and a possible threat to their environment. Hence, the environment does not always serve as the tipping point. In addition, Gladwell argues that small features in the environment lead to a big change, while Faulkner who is a big concern at The Citadel is igniting a big change. Faulkner’s role at The Citadel depicts that small things do not always serve as the tipping point and that big features can also serve as the tipping point. Although the cadets are essentially willing to do anything to protect their male paradise, they are also being effected by society’s expectations for men and their environment.
Society’s expectations and other influences can have just as great an impact on individuals as their environment.

Gladwell analyzed to the incident involving Bernie Goetz on the subway, by arguing that it was his immediate environment that triggered Goetz to react the way he did. According to Gladwell, “The Power of Context says that the showdown on the subway…had very little to do…with the tangled psychological pathology of Goetz, and…with the background and poverty of the four youths who accosted him, and everything to do with the message sent by the graffiti on the walls and the disorder at the turnstiles” (157). While the environment may have affected him to react in such a manner, it was not the only factor that affected him because his upbringing also affected him. Even if the environment of the subway was clean, Goetz may have responded the same way towards the young men, due to the fact that Goetz was heavily influenced by his past. Regardless of there being some features in the environment that may signal negative things such as graffiti, people can still behave in a normal fashion. Similar environmental conditions exist at The Citadel as described by Faludi, however social expectations are also influential. The Citadel creates an environment where the men must adhere to its expectations, but are not pressured to always act masculine and strong, as in the real world because they can portray a feeling of vulnerability at times. At The Citadel, “The military stage

set offers a false front and welcome trapdoor- an escape from the social burdens of traditional masculinity. Behind the martial backdrop… “you don’t have to be a breadwinner. You don’t have to be a leader. You can play back seat. It’s a great relief. You can act like a human being and not have to act like a man” (Faludi 102). At The Citadel the men are affected by two important factors: the perceptions of and expectations for men in the real world and the environment at The Citadel itself. The perspectives on masculinity in the world outside the school impose significant pressures upon; the men feel comfortable living at The Citadel and do not want to leave, which ultimately makes the cadets develop the mindset that they never want to leave The Citadel. These two factors are affecting the cadets because they are being forced to react strategically to certain situations, such as the possible entrance of Faulkner into The Citadel. The factors affecting the men at The Citadel indicates that the immediate environment is not the only factor that drives an individual to behave a certain way, as Gladwell suggests, because an individual often behaves a certain way due to his or her established mindset from past experiences and decisions, such as the reasoning behind choosing an all male military college. If the cadets were not affected by society’s standards of masculinity, then perhaps the cadets would not have chosen to attend The Citadel as a form to escape the difficult and harsh expectations for men in the real world.
The environment, which significantly affects individuals, is not always the source of the predicament. While the environment may force individuals to react, it does not always serve as the reactor and other factors, such as society’s standards may also influence an individual. For example, if an individual is living in a society, where he or she must adhere strictly to gender roles, he or she may seek a change. The change that the individual is seeking cannot be only attributed the environment because society’s standards also drove the individual to react. If the environment is always the factor for a change, then individuals will overtime be able to create an environment where they want to be because physical features of the environment can be altered. However, because the environment is not always the leading factor for a change the environment cannot be easily altered. Even though the environment may exert a strong influence upon the individual, it is essentially up to the individual to know to what extent he or she wants the environment to influence him or her.