The term “underdog” is viewed by many as a team, group, or individual who has a little to no chance of benefitting from or winning a situation. However, these “underdogs” often times find a way to win or be the ones who benefit from a particular situation. The “giants” that they face often times are overrated or as Gladwell says, “are not what we think they are”. Throughout Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath he shows how the underdogs use their situation to their benefit and how the giants or favorites are actually at a disadvantage. He supports his claim and uses evidence from various examples including education, civil rights, sports, crime rates, and bombings. Gladwell strongly supported the claim of underdogs actually benefitting and
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is one of the faces of the Civil Rights era. He is known for his “I Have a Dream” speech and for his efforts to gain rights for African Americans throughout the 1960s. Gladwell makes analogies between King and underdogs as well as using rhetorical questions to intrigue the audience and get them to think in the manner he wants them to. Gladwell said, “King was outgunned and overmatched. He was the overwhelming underdog. He had, however, an advantage…He was from a community that had always been the underdog.”(Gladwell 169). Martin Luther King took his place as an underdog and used it to his advantage. He was used to being the underdog, the one who everyone expected to lose. King used deceiving ways to make the whites think that he had may more supporters than he actually did. He used the unconventional methods to win his way to new civil rights laws such as the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Gladwell also used rhetorical questions with regards to the Civil Rights era. Two examples are, “How can you be a martyr if you get bailed out of jail the instant you get there?”(Gladwell 179) and “Does Wyatt Walker’s behavior make you feel uncomfortable?”(Gladwell 186). His point of using these rhetorical questions is to show how his claim may actually be true and to make the readers question what they first think about the given situation. Gladwell depicts how both Wyatt Walker and Martin Luther King Jr. were Civil Rights activists who used unconventional ways to gain attention for the unjust treatment of African
is one of the faces of the Civil Rights era. He is known for his “I Have a Dream” speech and for his efforts to gain rights for African Americans throughout the 1960s. Gladwell makes analogies between King and underdogs as well as using rhetorical questions to intrigue the audience and get them to think in the manner he wants them to. Gladwell said, “King was outgunned and overmatched. He was the overwhelming underdog. He had, however, an advantage…He was from a community that had always been the underdog.”(Gladwell 169). Martin Luther King took his place as an underdog and used it to his advantage. He was used to being the underdog, the one who everyone expected to lose. King used deceiving ways to make the whites think that he had may more supporters than he actually did. He used the unconventional methods to win his way to new civil rights laws such as the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Gladwell also used rhetorical questions with regards to the Civil Rights era. Two examples are, “How can you be a martyr if you get bailed out of jail the instant you get there?”(Gladwell 179) and “Does Wyatt Walker’s behavior make you feel uncomfortable?”(Gladwell 186). His point of using these rhetorical questions is to show how his claim may actually be true and to make the readers question what they first think about the given situation. Gladwell depicts how both Wyatt Walker and Martin Luther King Jr. were Civil Rights activists who used unconventional ways to gain attention for the unjust treatment of African