Outliers Malcolm Gladwell Essay

555 Words2 Pages

Have you ever wondered why some people act certain ways? Are some people born smart, mean, or ambitious or do they achieve their traits? Malcolm Gladwell explores this question in his book Outliers: The Story of Success. Through analysis of data, he reveals many of our actions are a result of the environment. Moreover, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer exemplify this theme. Brutal environments test his characters, revealing their evil side. The settings in the Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer personify man's inner evil, supporting Gladwell's thesis. Moreover, the isolated environment in The Secret Sharer brings forth the personification of protagonist’s dark side. The novel takes place inside an anonymous Captain’s mind as he sails his ship through the Gulf of Thailand. He feels isolated from the rest of the crew and describes himself as “a stranger on board…” (Conrad, “The Secret Sharer” 167). One night, he finds a man named Leggat climbing …show more content…

During the Ivory mining era in Africa, people would go to great lengths for meager rewards. On page 50 a Captain of a Steamer states, “It is funny what people will do for a few francs a-month… The other day I took up a man who hanged himself on the road... The sun too much for him, or the country perhaps” (Conrad, “Heart of Darkness”). Additionally, the protagonist notes the white men cheering as his boat passes, “...had the appearance of being help captive by a spell. The word ivory would ring in the air for a while.” The horrific environment clearly made the miners do strange things. Their “dark side” being personified as Ivory made the battle between good and evil more noticeable. Ivory was personified as the miner’s dark side, making the battle between good and evil more noticeable. Thus, Heart of Darkness supports Gladwell’s thesis as the Congo reveals the men’s dark side as

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