Malcolm Gladwell Why I Write Analysis

The idea that we should “Desire to push the world in a certain direction, to alter other people’s idea of the kind of society they should strive after”, found in “Why I Write” by George Orwell is an idea which many authors agree with, including Malcolm Gladwell, in his latest book called “David and Goliath: Underdogs, misfits and the art of battling giants”. Malcolm Gladwell focuses on two main concepts in his book, both of which encompass the thesis, which talks about how “ what we consider valuable in the world arises out of these lopsided conflicts, because the act of facing overwhelming odds produce greatness and beauty…..we consistently get these kinds of conflicts wrong”(6). Both of the authors are implying that achievement is born through …show more content…
Gladwell uses metaphors and forms of exemplification to convey how Caroline Sacks is an example of how the desire to go in a certain direction can alter what people strive after. He talks about how she got accepted into Brown and that “ She was in heaven”(70). However, after being there for some time her desire turned to dismay, as she could not keep up with the rigorous curriculum, which altered her idea of staying in the college, eventually leading her to drop out. Caroline talks about how “it is better to be a Big fish in a Little pond than to be a Little fish in a Big pond”. Gladwell expresses this concept through numerous other examples, such as the idea of impressionists in the 1860s. He discusses how the Salon was a place where only the best of the best went to hang their paintings. He made an analogy between the Little Pond Big Pond theory and the Salon saying “The Salon was the big pond. But it was very hard to be anything in the Salon but a little fish”(72). Comparing them this way allows the reader to see that Gladwell does push people to alter their ideas for what they want to strive for, but sometimes altering your ideas can also affect you in a negative way, like what happened to Caroline Sacks. It is always good to strive for success, but don’t …show more content…
The appeal to authority allows his statements to sound more credible, which gives his thoughts and ideas about striving for success and how success can alter that idea more believable. George Bernard Shaw, a famous playwright, once said “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt to the world by himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man”(117), and this quote accomplishes two goals. Firstly, by using such a famous playwright, his statement sounds more credible, and secondly, that quote says that the reasonable man does not try to alter his idea of success and simply changes according to society while the unreasonable man strives ahead, to alter the society he lives in and build a better one. Gladwell says that “Society frowns on disagreeableness”(117) and if you continue to let it and not alter the ideas of other people to strive for a better society, then you will not be able to strive for

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