Recently, I finished my IRB, Outliers by
Malcolm Gladwell. I enjoyed it! This book, labelled as a "Psychology
Non-fiction piece", was written for the purpose of analyzing various
situation in which people defied lines of becoming accomplished. Most of
Gladwell’s books are academic works, often focusing on areas of sociology and
psychology. Outliers was published on
November 18th, 2008, and is deemed one of Gladwell’s better works.
One rhetorical device that was quite evident throughout the
book is Gladwell's allusions to previous ideas. Each chapter discusses a
different study that explores the examples of "outliers" seen in
society. Gladwell aligns previously mentioned studies to demonstrate how there
are common patterns at which guarantee success. For example, one study that
showed up frequently was that of the proof kids born into privileged households
are better advocates for themselves as compared to lower-classed children. He
referenced the two children who were part of this study by name in order to make
a more lasting and memorable idea. By referring to this study multiple times,
and by strategically placing this chapter before ones that could be connected
back to it, Gladwell better enforces his argument onto his audience.
I think that Malcolm Gladwell makes an effective and
consistent argument in Outliers. I
especially thought his concluding chapter, in which he uses the anecdote of his mother’s
journey to the United States, was a good tie in of all the things he discussed.
From the surface, if you just observe the facts, Gladwell’s mother may seem to
be a complete outlier to the system; she is an immigrant from a poor part of
Taiwan, whose parents had no money to send both her and her twin sister to university.
But, as Gladwell refuted, these were not the only factors that took a role in
Joyce Gladwell’s success story. I would recommend this book to any of my peers
who are looking for an intellectually stimulating, quick read!
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