Cody 1 Cody Cauthen Professor Adam Padgett English 1101 8 October 2013 Interpretive Essay: Outliers The word

success is defined as: the fact of getting, or achieving wealth, respect, or fame according to Merriam Websters dictionary. When I read this definition it only makes me ask the question: Is this really what we aspire to? Is this really what we hope to achieve? Not love, happiness, or stability? It seems that we as a whole want nothing but material success. This is not the case to Malcom Gladwell, who wrote the book Outliers. When writing about success, Gladwell describes success not only by material achievement, but happiness, culture, and family. Everyone is different, and will achieve success in different ways. One of the first points that Gladwell makes is the fact that some hockey players born in a certain month are statistically better than those born in other months. In this aspect, Gladwell focuses on these months and why that is the case. It is because of the randomness of when and where these children are born, that they have a better chance to make it to the professional level and become rich and famous. What Gladwell explains shows us that some people are born under circumstances that are out of their control, and yet it puts them in the best starting location for success. These people without a doubt have a better opportunity to become successful in their life, by just being born somewhere else, and at a different time. It is as simple as that.
Comment [AP4]: This is all summary, I want more of your analysis. Comment [AP3]: Im still not sure of your thesis. Formatted: Font: Italic Comment [AP2]: Good, I like how you are contextualizing this word. Comment [AP1]: Can you come up with a more creative title?

Cody 2 In chapter 2 of Outliers, Gladwell explains to us the 10,000 hour rule, which means that it roughly takes about 10,000 hours of practice to master a certain skill. He tells us about the Beatles and how they played their music over 10,000 hours to produce their unique sound, and how Bill Gates coded computers for even more time. It took that long to master their certain skills. This allowed for them to be the best in what they did and therefore made them rich and famous! This is success right? I think Gladwell is telling us to really think about who really earns success in this chapter. Why did the Beatles differ from other music? Was it because they were more talented, or skilled? Not necessarily, it was more about the amount of practice they had. This accumulated to produce the amount of success they have. Where you come from is the biggest factor in success. This determines the opportunities that will even be available to you. Imagine an American upper class male who grows up in the North. His parents will pay for school, he will probably do well, or bribe his way through with money and land himself a stable job with a nice comfortable paycheck. Now, imagine a poverty stricken female who is born in the Middle East. She will not have education most likely, no job, and be ridiculed for life. Does this seem like the same opportunities are given to everyone? Of course not. That is why Gladwell gives us examples of people from different areas of the globe and what circumstances allowed for success. Throughout the entire book, Gladwell introduces more stories and examples from all aspects of life. He shows us not only that people do not have he same opportunity as each other, but define success differently. Some say that success is money, respect, and fame, where others say family, happiness, and love. It is determined by where you are

Cody 3 from and the experiences from your life. With all these mixed together, you will personally decide what success is, and strive to achieve it. This is what Gladwell hopes to teach us within Outliers. Cody, I think you have a really great intro here where you attempt to contextualize the highly subjective definition of success. But then I find myself still searching for a thesis, a central argument. The rest seems to be just summary of the book. I do like your thesis, but I really want you to engage the topic more and engage Gladwells conversation. Gladwell, I think, is deliberately raising more questions than he is answering. So, what about those unanswered questions? If you have a thesis here, I think it is simply that you agree with Gladwell. I think you need a more substantial thesis that simply, I agree. Who do you think this book was written for? What does Gladwell mean by success? What, specifically, parts of the book do you think relate to you and your personal quest for success? Again, I really want you to engage the conversation a little more.