This chapter's main message was to figure out your biggest weaknesses, then take those weaknesses and find your greatest advantages. Gladwell first showed us this by using Vivek Randivé and his daughter’s Junior High basketball team. Randivé realized their greatest weakness was lack of experience. Realizing this weakness, Randivé decided to institute a full court press because they don’t need to have a background in basketball to to play tough defense. Usually teams run a full court press when the clock starts ticking down from a minute in the last quarter of the game. Randivé decided to institute that technique throughout the whole game. This was not seen often within the girls junior league, but that was also why it ended up being so successful. …show more content…
One hundred and fifty years ago, Paris was the center of art culture in France. Back then, every artist had one goal: get into the Salon, which was a gallery for all the greatest art within France.There was one problem, the Salon forced artists to conform to what the Salon believed was real art (i.e. young men at war and fair maidens under trees). The artists were forced to become the little fish in the big pond. It got to the point where some artists got sick of conforming and decided to create there own Salon with paintings that probably wouldn’t have made it into the Salon. This idea brought us to a more relatable, modern situation. Caroline Sachs, an above-average high schooler, was trying to decide which college to attend, University of Maryland or Brown University. The challenge of picking which school she should go to was most difficult. The majority of students wouldn’t even think twice about it because attending the school with a better reputation would look better on a job application, right? No. The problem with the students who chose the better school is that they do not realize is they will be among other students who were valedictorians and 4.0 scholars, immediately making her a little fish in this big sea. By choosing this, Caroline becomes an average student, which was a completely new concept for her. In the end, the decision she made ended up causing her to drop her intended major …show more content…
A picture was taken during a protest involving African American students from all around the Birmingham, Alabama area in 1963. This famous image is of one of the student protesters being attacked by a police force’s german sheppard. The teenager seems to be standing there, calm faced as though saying, “Take me, here I am.” This picture would have not been taken or spurred a revolt if it hadn’t been for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his companions in the civil rights movement. Dr. King began his journey in Albany, Georgia, where he had been the underdog. It was not the first time King had been the underdog. Every African American of that time had been forced to be the underdog in almost every aspect of their lives. This gave them a leg up when it came to fighting for equal rights; they knew they had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. There is a man by the name of Wyatt Tee Walker, a much more radical version of Dr. King, who used unconventional methods in order to get his point across. Walker was often compared to Brer Rabbit. Brer Rabbit was a character in African American culture who used his wits to get out of sticky situations. He wasn’t a trickster by choice, but by necessity. Walker often made things seem like something else, when they really weren’t. Often Walker would poke fun of Eugene Connor, trying to get himself thrown into the “briar patch” which would draw sympathy for the African
A Knowledgeable outspoken choice Dr. King makes is to form pathos through his use of figurative and descriptive language. In the text you see in Paragraph 14, is his most pointed out use of pathos, implying to his memorable experiences. While using different analogies to himself and to acceptably argue the Clergyman allegations that the peaceful protests Dr. King is organizing against segregation are "unwise and untimely." voicing "… when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading ‘white' and ‘colored'… when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of ‘nobodiness'—then
He wants his readers to imagine the pain and humiliation of the ill treatment that African Americans endure on a daily basis. King writes of vicious mobs lynching people’s mothers and fathers, policemen killing people’s brothers and sisters, a man and his wife not receiving the proper respect they deserve because of their skin color, and the notion that African Americans feel insignificant within their communities; this is why these peaceful demonstrators of whom the clergymen attack “find it difficult to wait” (King, 20). However, King believes that soon, injustice will be exposed, like “a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up” (King, 30). This vivid description helps arouse an emotional response, driving shame into the hearts of his white readers.
King wrote a letter in 1963 while he was imprisoned in Birmingham jail to eight white religious leaders in response to a “public statement of concern and cautious issued.” The letter was for a request to put a stop on the political action march in Birmingham that King was in charge of. This letter has turned into one of the best works of argument in U.S. history. Due to the logic of this letter being unsavory reputation and usefulness is due to its expressive use of pathos, logos and ethos. King’s use of pathos in his letter not only supports the statement he is making as well as making his argument morally irrefutable.
As in the book elaborates how Wyatt Walker assimilates this African-American folk story in his strategy to overcome his difficulty – by tricking Bull Connor to throw them into the “briar patch”. At first, I was amazed on how the Wyatt Walker could think up until this level to fight for their freedom, because as far as normal people usually think, we have to learn through hardship or overcome the weakness that we had in order to achieve success, but trickery?- that’s a whole new level. As I keep reading the chapter, it became interesting as Walker’s plan, Project C, isn’t meeting his expectation. But after the newspaper came out, Wyatt finally got an idea for the protest. As the story gets interesting, I was shocked at how they used children for their protest. Even though their strategy works, but the use of children at a very young age is very unacceptable for me. And they didn’t use just a couple of kids, they use about hundreds of them and most of them immediately went to jail. Although Martin Luther King gives many reasons on why the protest is a good thing and have many advantages instead of disadvantages, I personally think that maybe he could use another method to apply the strategy. In short, I get what Gladwell is trying to say, which is the use of trickery is also a method to overcome difficulty. All in
The struggle of how to effectively cope with racism has haunted those of color for generations. There are many means of approach for this prominent issue. One can simply overlook the problem; another can choose to take up violent measures and seek a public outcry for revolution. Some may employ a non-violent course of action. Brent Staples’ essay piece “Just Walk By: Black Men and Public Space” and Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” clearly differ in their stances on how to seek a resolve. Staples’ quote, “I learned to smother the rage I felt at so often being taken for a criminal. Not to do so would surely have led to madness,”(397) advocates a more submissive and defensive means of coping with racism. In contrast, Martin
Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who genuinely knew how to capture his audiences with his words. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” makes an appeal to his reader about the injustices that have been set in place by the oppressor. In the letter he talks about numerous things, mortal authority in Christian communities, American ideas, and the suffering of the African American community. Dr. King uses logos to persuade the reader why he s protesting in the first place because the oppressor has broken the negotiation between the whites and the African American. His logical argument to why the ideal way to proceed with non-violent protests is because of the political decisions that have been made. An example he brings up is the idea of there being just and unjust laws in America and as citizens those unjust should be deliberately disobeyed. Dr. King says, “Conversely, one has a mortal responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all” he soon starts to define what both type of laws means…”A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law…An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the mortal law.” In order to persuade his reader about the idea he has do more than engage with the readers emotions. By Dr. King defining what the difference between the two laws sets a more conceiving idea of the treatment towards African American. Martin Luther King basic point is unjust laws do not just hurt the one being oppressed but also the one doing the oppressing. This is more of logos appeal for the reason he is not trying to connect with the reader emotionally but rather make sure the reader understands his cause for the protests.
In 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama, a group of eight white clergymen wrote a letter criticizing the actions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and others protesting racial segregation. After being arrested for protesting and reading the letter in a local newspaper, Dr. King decided to address the clergymen by writing to them on the sides of the newspaper. This passionate letter was Dr. King’s attempt to convince the clergymen that the protests and actions they were witnessing were necessary and justified. Throughout this letter, Dr. King uses logos, pathos, and ethos to strengthen his argument and to persuade his readers that
Perhaps the reason Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is so well known even to this day is because it is a model of persuasive writing that makes great use of ethos, logos, and pathos in order to aid the readers in understanding and sympathizing with King and his followers. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was a civil rights leader, who was arrested and put in jail after being part of the Birmingham campaign in April 1963. He was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was asked by an Alabama group to come to Birmingham. A city that at the time was known for still participating heavily in segregation even though the supreme court had ruled against it in 1954 (Brown V. Board of Education 1). King and members of his organization joined The Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights and organized a non-violent protest against racial segregation. Everyone involved in the protest was arrested including Dr. King. While King was in jail eight white clergy men released a public statement that was published in a Birmingham news paper, titled “a call to unity” which addressed the protests that king led and described his activities as “unwise and untimely”. King’s response to this statement was “The Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, in which he also tried to open the eyes and minds of the average middle class white American.
In the non-fiction letter “Letter From Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. appeals to logic so he can try to persuade the white public to walk alongside him and the black public to support the nonviolent protest. Even after 340 years of racial injustice they still haven’t been given their Constitution and God-given rights to be equal. This is one of the many appeals Dr. King uses to make the white public stop and think for a moment about how long the black public have waited for their rights. His arguments also make the white public imagine how they would feel if their white brothers and sisters were killed. Which makes some white people sympathetic towards black
Martin Luther King’s Jr.’s letter was influential in inspiring and ultimately altering societal attitude on racial issues. He used a creative use of language that addresses any plausible audience including: the clergymen, the religious moderates, the equal rights supporters and the oppressed black community. The use of famous icons, religious leaders, and traditional scholars as references provided a multitude of examples that clearly illustrated King’s key points. Moreover, King carefully analyzed the duplicity of racial segregation through examples of “civil disobedience” among important historical icons valued in society (King par 21). In doing this King is able to utilize Luke’s, three-dimensional approach and tilt the power dynamic in his favor.
Although pathos takes the background in this piece, it is due to the disconnect between the church leaders and the black experience. King does not attempt to describe how racism feels because the white men have no idea, or sympathy, towards the people. King knows his audience, and discerns that this type of argument would not be effective. Instead, he uses facts and situations to create an emotional bridge between him and his audience. MLK draws on his own experience when he has “seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim…” (4). The explicit situations of brutality strike a nerve with even the hardest audience, and the emotion proves that the violence is not an overreaction. Another way King uses pathos is through likening his work as well as the injustice of laws to other prominent groups to make the reader predetermined into thinking a certain way about the subject. To discredit the claim that his protests are illegal, he juxtaposes the situation through a forensic argument that “everything Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal’ and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was
The first strategy Martin Luther King uses is pathos. He states, “When you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people.” (14). This is an example of pathos because this is a topic that would make anyone feel guilty or sad. People often feel more sympathetic when there are innocent children involved. When people start to feel bad about the problem, it helps them choose Martin Luther King’s side in the argument. King’s adjectives also help him persuade the reader in this situation. When he states that the tears were “welling up” it adds imagery so the audience is able to mentally picture this scene, and this will make people for guilty or sad. He also states, “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed…for years now I’ve heard the word, Wait! It rings in the ear of ever Negro with piercing familiarity.” (13). This statement expresses how he have been repeatedly told to wait and nothing happened. Being told to wait for a long time weights on the patience you
"Education is the movement from darkness to light". In The Closing Of The American Mind, by Allan Bloom, Bloom argues that higher education has been drastically modified over the years and has ruined the psyche of today 's students. Once upon a time Americans dreamed of a better and brighter future, one that could transport them into a perfect utopia of societal bliss. Higher Education was the enthralling stepping stone for happiness. It inspired students to find their voice, while drawing from the past. It was a place where they could make mistakes and change their major once or twice. Today, higher education has become more about the career path and how it is more necessary than before. Higher education is no longer an adventure that allows the student to embark upon a journey of discovery and self-expression as it once was. This is due to the vigorous demands of the general society and how students today are required to maintain focus on a career that is valuable and not adventurous. Basically, we have lost touch with what makes this country so great; the impossible becoming reality. The creativity is gone. The belief that our imagination can grant us happiness if we work hard enough and believe is nonexistent. Higher education has separated the extraordinary and left us with dedicated, intelligent drones working towards the path that pays the most and will always have job security.
In his speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” Martin Luther King Jr. reminds his audience of the agony, strength, and resentment they feel due to racial discrimination through personification, imagery, equivocation, and anaphora. In doing so, King persuades his audience of protestors to apply nonviolent methods of reform to gain equality while propelling a newfound sense of energy and motivation into the movement. King begins his speech by integrating personification and imagery to emphasize the pain and destruction that such unfairness creates in order to unify and convince his audience to make a change in the world. Through equivocation, he stresses the strength in the unified force of the African American community to demonstrate that passive resistance enough to achieve success. King alludes to the audience's anger in order to rally the protesters and incite energy in their tedious journey of reform. The rhetorical strategies of highlighting the various pathetic appeals works for the intended audience of demonstrators because this movement for equality has a very emotional origin.
“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” was once said by the African-American rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. He was arrested in the summer of 1961 for parading without a permit and wrote the infamous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to white clergymen about rights of blacks. Although Martin Luther King Jr.'s various applications of rhetorical appeals and devices added to the "Letter From Birmingham Jail,” pathos and ethos had the most advantage to enhance the letter because they allowed the audience to have an emotional connection to African-American lives and shows the education and trustworthiness of MLK.