Malcolm Gladwell: Marita's Bargain

People do not rise from nothing, according to Malcolm Gladwell. There are many components that effect the way an individual becomes successful. Gladwell argues that where, when, and how the person was raised has the biggest impact on their future successes. The use of pathos, logos, and ethos benefit the points that are being convey by Gladwell. They persuade the reader in thinking with the same mindset as the writer. In Outliers, pathos, logos, and ethos are found throughout the book, multiple times, through examples of people that achieved success. For pathos, connecting to the reader emotionally is essential to convince the readers of Gladwell’s argument. He uses pathos to evoke an emotional response. One of many examples of Gladwell’s use

In this Chapter Gladwell highlights how the common picture of success is achieved is not the one which many individuals think of when they consider the cause of success and shows this with evidence from very successful people. Gladwell employs logos in order to create a logical as well as the factual base for the story. This use is extremely obvious as almost the entire chapter is made up of example that supports his theory on the 10'000 hour rule. In order to concrete his argument, he uses Ethos by constantly employing well-known names in order to build a sense of credibility and citing people who have authority on the scene. He does a good job of using this for its desired purpose. Gladwell redirects his argument with phrases like "Let's

The question Gladwell asks seems so simple, but it gets the reader to pause and think. People can relate to it in many situations, so it is personal for each person. Gladwell also uses analogies to make his points come across. For example, when relating successful people to growing trees, “The tallest oak in the forest is the tallest not just because it grew from the hardiest acorn; it is the tallest also because no other trees blocked its sunlight, the soil around it was deep and rich, no rabbit chewed through its bark as a sapling, and no lumberjack cut it down before it matured. We all know that successful people come from hardy seeds.

Gladwell proves that you must work hard and be dedicated to become successful. For example “The Matthew Effect” in chapter one is mainly about the Canadian hockey league although Gladwell makes

Martia is a 12 year old that's on the poor side of the story. Marita got a Opportunity to go to a KIPP school a school that turns losers into winners, so she took it. Marita begins telling her story: “ I wake up at five-forty-a.m to get a headstart… I leave school at five p.m…Start my homework.And if it's not a lot of homework that day, it will take me two to three hours” (264). She does that every day, Marita has got an opportunity and is making the best out of it working her hardest. “Her community does not give her what she needs. So what does she have to do? Give up her evenings and weekends and friends.” (266). Gladwell says referring to Marita. Marita has really committed herself to the KIPP school and to her work. You see with one chance and opportunity that usually wealthy kids get, the poor girl, Marita made something out of it. If poor and wealthy kids get the same amount of opportunities and wouldn't be such a gap in test scores between the

Success has been pondered over for centuries. How does one gain success? Is it worked for or is it only designated for a special few? Looking past the multitude of self help books that have been written, many like Malcolm Gladwell have begun to consider factors beyond just “working for it” as a contributor to success. One of these factors are cultural legacies. Though it is true that cultural legacies can be extremely powerful and that we should acknowledge them when considering someone’s success, it should be evident that the extent of power culture has is less than what Gladwell proposes. The place someone originated from has extremely influential effects on how that person thinks and acts, and in turn how they gain their success. The culture they grew up with becomes deeply rooted in their minds and results in different thought processes that shape the mindset they have while developing into an individual. However, Gladwell overestimates how powerful

Throughout the book, Gladwell talks about how culture family and ones’ upbringing can determine ones’ success in the future. In the introduction of the book, Gladwell states, "It's not enough to ask what successful people are like. It is only by asking where they

Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers, a novel depicting success, provides different examples of how an individual can achieve success in every chapter of his book to show his audience that success, despite a variety of barriers, is in fact in our control. A very important chapter titled, “Marita's Bargain”, explains the flaws in today’s public school systems. He shows the problems with the solutions to fix them while showing the alternatives to the regular system such as the KIPP Program in New York. The KIPP Program (Knowledge is Power Program) is a new kind of middle school that selects students from less fortunate locations and uses unique teaching strategies to turn them around into fantastic learners. In the chapter, Gladwell is extremely descriptive by using visual words to paint the picture of the South Bronx in New York City. He describes the buildings that were built in the 1960’s as squat and bleak looking. Gladwell had an interest in this subject as it involves success, however he had no prior experiences to produce the piece. Gladwell establishes personal credibility through the use of knowledge, reason, and facts and figures. He comes across very knowledgeable on the subject presenting great data with excellent vocabulary. He is able to do this with no obvious bias as well. Gladwell shows authority because he is well known for writing novels that involve success. His intention is to teach and explain how schools need to change the length of vacation breaks

Essentially, the topics Gladwell covered in this book include are, being at the right place at the right time, the 10,000-hour rule, timing, upbringing, and pursuing a meaningful career. Although all of these have been proven by Gladwell to be a major component of success, I do not agree with the idea of a particular upbringing will determine success. With this idea, Malcolm also includes that

Gladwell does not present the actual outcome. As Kakutani describes Gladwell's suggested evidence through her article "glib, poorly reasoned and thoroughly unconvincing."  Though Marita’s story, Gladwell describes Marita's chances of becoming successful to be greater than other who are not a part of the KIPP program. Though her chances were greater Gladwell never addresses if Marita actually became successful or not he just suggests that she is. Another example of suggestion is when he compared Alex's chances of becoming successful verses Katie's chances. Gladwell suggests that since Alex grew up in a more successful household he would be successful. But Gladwell never presents that information. There is a chance that Katie became a neurosurgeon and all Alex became was a gas station manager. Due to Gladwell's lack of fully addressing his evidence, it's hard to fully understand what all it takes to be a successful individual. The unknown of whether or not each of these individuals ultimately became successful leaves Gladwell’s agrument unreliable.

I really liked the book an the fact that it recognized the importance and influence of external factor intertwined with internal characteristics to explain a successful turn out. As Bill Gates said “I was very lucky”. Thanks to Gladwell’s broad analysis we can understand all of the underlying factors that Gates takes into account when describing his luck. History, culture, opportunity, community, family and SES make you what you are. You are

students can learn feel free. They take care of their students specially who are weak

Lastly, Gladwell incorporates the audience’s interests to appeal to them in an emotional and engaging method in the subject of the argument, success. The goal for many is to be successful in their specific craft, and even from the title Outliers: The Story of Success Gladwell advertises his own story of success, and the audience believes if they follow the methods that successful people use then they will be successful too. Gladwell gives testimonies of people that would be predictably successful but never made it far due to not having a community to support them to open opportunities. He describes Chris Langan’s lack of credibility and success despite having a higher IQ than Albert Einstein and before he lets Langan describe a typical day

“There is something profoundly wrong with the way we make sense of success” (Gladwell 18). In Outliers Malcolm Gladwell is trying to convince his audience that they misunderstand how people become successful. Many believe one only needs hard work and determination in order to achieve success. However, Gladwell complicates this idea by explaining that hard work and determination is not how people become successful and instead, it is all about the opportunities one is given that decides if he or she is successful or not. Gladwell uses the rhetorical appeals of pathos and ethos in order to persuade his audience to accept his idea of the process of becoming successful.

Now, with technology advancing at the same rate as society matures and changes, success is a concept that can be different to many different groups of people. Gladwell insists that success is formulated through a series of hidden advantages and cultural legacies that are fixed, therefore that’s why many do not become successful. I simply do not feel that is the case. Success is achieved through ambition and hard work that is instilled in you. Anyone has the power to take matters into their own hands and create their own success.