The world can be viewed as a place where small things lead to a big change. However, what is not always realized 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 affect an individual through his or her actions and behaviors. In his “The Power of Context: Bernie Goetz and the Rise and Fall of New York City Crime,” 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 and that small features lead to a big change, or a
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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. He 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, Shannon 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,
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. He 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, Shannon 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,