There are many different beliefs towards what brings us to success. In The Sports Gene by David Epstein, it is explained that innate and physical talents are what allow people to succeed. In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell explains that effort and practice is what brings us to the top. Epstein and Gladwell both put forth arguments about how much in our lives we control, however, based on evidence Gladwell definitely shows that effort and practice is what we control to make us our best, and he better answers the question, how much of what happens in our lives do we control.…
Malcolm Gladwell's, “Outliers: The Story of Success” illustrates the illusion and the blind luck of the “self-made man”. The idea of the self-made man has been alive and well in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people immigrate to the U.S. every year on the dream of a new life full of opportunity and subsequently, success. What Gladwell argues is that there is never any success without ample opportunity. There is no such thing as a real self-made man.…
In today’s society, what makes a person an outlier? How do people become outliers? In the novel Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, these questions are discussed and answered throughout the entire novel. The sole purpose of this novel is to discuss how some of the many people in today’s society and in the past can be defined as “outliers” and how they obtained that title. During the novel, the author discusses how people who are successful are only successful due a great opportunity, lots of hard work, and a good amount of luck.…
A Rhetorical Analysis of a Central Argument in Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers In his acclaimed novel Outliers, a book that details the various factors that contribute to success, Malcolm Gladwell aims to convince his audience of the simple yet powerful assertion that success cannot simply be attributed to the choices one makes, but rather that it is a product of opportunity. “Outliers are those who have been given opportunities — and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them”, claims Gladwell. Although he makes several noteworthy points within this novel, the idea that success and opportunity are tightly interwoven serves as his most pivotal argument. The use of such devices as anecdotes and statistics help Gladwell construct…
The debate over whether someone's success is based on their natural abilities or their hard work and dedication has been widely discussed by people everywhere. Authors Malcom Gladwell and David Epstein argue their different points to try and persuade their audience. David Epstein, author of The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance, believes that innate talent plays a bigger role in determining a successful destiny than practice. The author of Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcom Gladwell, has an opposing view; many hours of preparation is the leading factor in being an expert in your craft. Although both writers make compelling arguments, Gladwell's claim that hard work is the leading factor in determining…
Book Report of The Outliers By: Malcolm Gladwell The Outliers starts in a small town of pensylvania known as rossetto. The town was named after a small Italian village. 1The people of Roseto have an extremely low rate of heart disease although there has been a huge heart disease epidemic in the 1950’s.…
In the book, Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell, the author is challenging our views of how people become successful. He is saying that to get to where you want to be you can’t rely solely on hard work or determination. It takes much more than that, something that many of us don’t get; opportunities. If you want to be successful, you need a series of opportunities that present themselves to you at the right time, to put you ahead of everyone else. He proves this idea in chapter two by using the rhetorical appeal of logos and ethos.…
The Story of Success, is Malcom Gladwell's convincing attempt to challenge the way success has classically been viewed. Gladwell's context, voice and identification of his audience help him adequately impart his message. In chapters three and four, titled "The Trouble with Geniuses" Gladwell recounts highly intellectual people's stories of success or lack thereof. He explains in a clear and straight-forward manner how they got there. It is through his writing style that Gladwell gains the confidence of his readers and effectively presents his case.…
Fate is the development of events beyond the person's control. To some fate is believed to be predetermined, but too others fate is believed to be determined by yourself, that you have control over your fate. Throughout the years poets, authors as well as scientists connote their opinions on whether fate is predetermined or in control, that whether we have free will or not. Two opposing titles, “Design” a modern piece of poetry, a petrarchan sonnet and the other “Outliers” a modern day expository text. The piece “Design” by Robert Frost demonstrates how Fate is predetermined by nature through the relationship between a spider and a moth utilizing metaphors imagery and comparison.…
Gladwell states his feelings on the topic of success directly in the ninth chapter, where he states that “to build a better world we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages that today determine success… with a society that provides opportunities for all.” (pg. 268) He obviously wants the system to change so that others can have a chance at success. Gladwell believes that “the world could be so much richer than the world we have settled for.” (pg. 268)…
Shelly M. Moyal July 25th,2016 Ms.Marquard English 4 Honors Northeast High school Summer Reading Questions - The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell 1. Please summarize your view of the idea known as the “American Dream,” as you understand it. Is your understanding of this concept significantly different from the way Gladwell seems to define it? In my understanding of the "American Dream" is a greater apparition. The thought of being wealthy is equivalent to being successful.…
Being persistent is a great quality to have and aim for because it means that you do not quit easily no matter how difficult the circumstances that may come your way are. Gladwell even implies that persistence is automatically good throughout chapter 8 of “Outliers” by using the rice farmers in China as an example; however, there are situations when persistence causes problems. When a person is too persistent, it comes off as annoying. For instance, when a man is courting a girl and she turns him down or gives hint that she does not see him the way he sees her, it is irritating on the girl’s part; however no one is to blame for this because we cannot alter our emotions in an instant even if we wanted to; it takes time. We shouldn’t be apologetic…
In society there are various categories we were put into during the midst of our adolescence, and they are used to define us as not only students but citizens as well; Outliers: The Story of Success gave statistical explanations on how these categories either helped or harmed us. Children were and still are categorized from a young age through gifted testing, fitness testing, and standardized test testing but I could never understand why certain students performed better than others when they had the same opportunities education wise. Even applying this to my own primary school days and how well I was performing on these standardized tests, I was written off as ‘lucky’ or ‘gifted’ and I couldn’t figure out an explanation either so I went along with it. That is what the book explained to me, it explained to me why I was able to accomplish certain things others weren’t, and why others were able to accomplish things I wasn’t.…
Well-known journalist and author, malcolm gladwell, in his introduction of outliers, describes the anomaly of a small city named roseto. Gladwell's purpose is to impress upon the readers the idea that outliers do not start out as outliers and to understand their success, one needs to look beyond their intelligence and ambition and their personality traits and examine their culture, their family, and their generation. He employs the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos. These combined with his friendly tone creates an effective argument for his idea.…
Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” is a book about how having enough foresight to take advantage of opportunities, not simply hard work and talent, can lead to real success. This idea that success relies on opportunity resonates well with educated people of the middle-class. The audience for this book is less…