Gladwell Power of Context Analysis

All in all, Gladwell helps paint a picture of what’s said to be behind the locked door of the subconscious. He uses repetition and rhetorical questions to stress how thin-slicing plays a crucial part in our world. The power of our minds are limitless but Gladwell is still searching for the key to unlocking the truth of our unconscious

An ineffective device used by Gladwell was his use of repetition of evidence and failure to acknowledge counterexamples by forcing the reader into thinking that Gladwell’s theory is the only one possible to be correct. The lack of acknowledgment towards counterexamples thrusts the audience into thinking that Gladwell’s opinion is the only viable one. “Philip Norman, who wrote the Beatles biography”, “nonstop show, hour after hour”, “Here is John Lennon”, and “playing all night long” are examples of repetition of evidence because the author already established that the

Rhetorical questions appear throughout the book, allowing Gladwell to emphasize key points of his message and to interact with the reader in a way that they understand. Rhetorical questions are often used as transitions which introduce the next concept. While wrapping up his chapter about prejudice from subconscious

Without these two strategies, Gladwell would have failed to draw attention and transition from section to section, or build up to and eventually defend his claim with any undeniable facts. Statistics and rhetorical questions do not only apply to arguments about success, but they are also rhetorical mediums that can be and are used in a variety of ways. Rhetorical questions can be seen on posters, in ads, and in any strong paper. How’s that for applicability? Statistics are most commonly found in visual advertisements and websites. They use evidence that cannot be discredited to credit any possible argument. The reason these two strategies work so well together is that questioning adheres to the visceral and emotional side of an audience, while cold, hard numbers build credibility and respect to logic and reasoning. This results in a powerful one-two punch that left many Gladwell readers wondering if they missed the chance to be great because of something as simple as a set of numbers and slashes on a

In the book, Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcom Gladwell intended to teach the readers about the many different rules that he discussed in his book, to help with the understanding people have of success. Gladwell defines outliers as “men and women who do things that are out of the ordinary” (Gladwell 17). Gladwell accurately applies the rhetorical techniques of logos, exemplification, and repetition to effectively employ how highly successful people are outliers.

He establishes his credibility by conveying his confidence and authority through his word choices and style of writing. By incorporating the use of real-life examples and factual evidence, Gladwell appeals to logic, which exemplifies his viewpoint of the issue in which he is writing about. Gladwell also draws his readers in by appealing to their emotions, which indicates that he knows what they value. His readers are drawn in by, not only his assimilation of credibility and logic, but his use of emotion as well. By including these aspects, Gladwell conducts a rhetorically effectively argument that draws his readers in and provokes them to stop and consider his point of

Meanwhile, ethos allow the reader to view the author as a trustworthy source and builds the author's credibility. An author can do this in a number of different ways, such as using other credible sources to their advantage or by building common ground with the reader. It is especially important for Gladwell’s audience to trust him, as he is trying to convince them that what they believe about success is wrong.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Power of Context,” includes a series of short anecdotes in which are all defined by environment and how society shapes mankind. While reading these short stories Gladwell put into the novel, the audience can conclude that the rules of society have the power to shape a person or community. When reading “The Power of Context,” the reader must be able to grasp the understanding of how environment can affect an individual. One would say nature is the setting in which a person is brought up, nurture is the care variable one has the power to influence how they behave or how the setting can define who they are. In this style of writing Gladwell uses, shifts in societies behaviors tell stories of how the setting can influence behaviors of the main characters.

Sociological theories of crime contain a great deal of useful information in the understanding of criminal behavior. Sociological theories are very useful in the study of criminal behavior because unlike psychological and biological theories they are mostly macro level theories which attempt to explain rates of crime for a group or an area rather than explaining why an individual committed a crime. (Kubrin, 2012). There is however some micro level sociological theories of crime that attempts to explain the individual’s motivation for criminal behavior (Kubrin, 2012). Of the contemporary

Some believe crime is committed due to poverty or desperation, others believe its committed in view of envy, and on the other hand, Gladwell believes crime is committed due to the surroundings of an individual. In ‘The Power of Context,’ Gladwell discusses the occurrence of crime in New York, stating that its major cause is the immediate environment one is in. Gladwell believes that the environment we’re in has a major effect on our behavior and eventually it makes us act according to it. Gladwell goes to great measures to prove his point, stating number of examples, including a number of major theories. However, is the environment really the only determinant of our actions? Gladwell tries to convince the audience that in the end it is the surroundings of an individual and the small things that matter. Trying to convince the audience and make them agree with him, Gladwell uses some big concepts and examples of crime in New York to prove to his audience that in the end, it actually is the small things or the ‘Tipping Points’ that make a completely normal human being commit a crime.

Apart from referring to reputable theories and sources, other persuasion tools used in the book include emotional appeal and humor. These tools can build a

In life, people tend to overthink and overanalyze certain situations and events that occur around them; in reality they should be focusing more on their instincts and quick decisions. This is exactly the point that Malcolm Gladwell makes in the intro to his book, Blink. In order to successfully get this point across, Gladwell blends together a number of different strategies and devices. This is a common practice for established authors, using literary and rhetorical devices in order to keep the audience interested in what they are saying. In the intro to Blink, Gladwell uses the rhetorical devices of plot progression, allusion, and narration to present his beliefs in a way the reader can easily understand.

The author begins building his or her credibility by putting rhetorical questions, putting a study example that has been done, and the author successfully employs logic appeals but lacks pathos, which makes her purpose unclear.

For the most part humans are all born in the same fashion, they have opposable thumbs, a pair of hands, a pair of legs, a brain, and a heart. Looks can be deceiving however, not all infants are created equal. Statistically speaking, the overwhelming majority of the seven billion humans on earth will pass away as a member of the same socioeconomic class they began. In fact, society predicates itself on living a better life than their family who came before. Society takes part in a never ending race to further itself on a socioeconomic level from the generation before knowing full well that the majority will not achieve such goal. That in itself is a testament to how difficult the task of altering identity is. Malcolm Gladwell’s Power of Context echoes many of the same progressive principles preached in the early twentieth century, he believes external factors such as the aspects of environment are the greatest determinants of identity. Barbara Fredrickson argues in her book Love 2.0, that change comes from within. Frederickson believes that biochemical alterations of the human body can occur by increasing “loving potential” (119). An increase of such potential has a profoundly positive impact on human health . As nice as it may sound Fredrickson 's theory leaves her readers with far more questions than answers and in fact plays more into the hands of Gladwell’s “power of context”. Fredrickson offers vague descriptions and uses contradictory language in regards to

When it comes to schemes employed in the introduction of Gladwell's book, rhetorical questions take the cake. Upon countless instances, Gladwell used this rhetorical device to force the reader into staying engaged and seeing all sides of his argument. As mentioned earlier, the first subsection introduced an extensive story about the Getty museum's purchase of a forged Greek statue. In order to keep focused on the purpose of the novel Gladwell placed well-spaced out questions, asking the reader “ Who was right?” and “Why ... did the museum buy [the statue] in the first place?”, compelling one to pause and reevaluate how Gladwell’s notion, was in fact possible (Gladwell 7,14). To further excitement and engagement in his message, Gladwell prompts the reader with questions that poke at what the world could be like if humans put more trust in their instincts and “stopped scanning the horizon with our binoculars and began instead examining our own decision making and behavior through the most powerful of microscopes” (Gladwell 16). Open ended questions such as these give the reader a broader understanding of what Gladwell’s aspirations for the book were, allowing them to better comprehend his newfound ideas.