What Is The Theme Of Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell

Through a Different Lens

Success plays a huge role in an individual's life that makes up what they came to be. In Outliers: The Story of Success, author Malcolm Gladwell thoroughly defines success in a multitude of various approaches through contrasting lives. He distincts success as what the individual had previously in their lives that granted them the opportunity to lengthen their vigor and aspire toward growth. Gladwell wants to determine how success creates the individual outside of their person. Success has an entirely alternative definition that indulges more on the roots within the crossroads of opportunity, meaningful work and accumulative advantage.why do these relate to success? Gladwell wants to present his readers with the

Gladwell’s theory in his chapter “Marita’s Story” helps us formulate a much more comprehensive understanding and another way of understanding success through cultural legacy. Gladwell empathizes that while Marrita an opportunity to achieve greater success,, it still did not compare to what other higher income students received; “…the cultural legacy she had been given does not match her circumstances either—not when middle- and upper-middle-class families are using weekends and summer vacation to push their children ahead” (Malcolm 170). Marita is a young girl who was given the opportunity to improve her learning environment and headspace by joining KIPP, an academy. Marita sees a shift in her future by taking this approach by shifting her cultural legacy and improving her education to success in her future. Elevating her chances out of her lower class status and along with the “middle and upper class families” by putting all her time in KIPP. Marita’s awareness toward her cultural legacy helped her pursue her education with more vigor and determination but in the process “they had to shed some part of their own identity” (Gladwell 170). The author identifies cultural legacy as being responsible for acknowledging outside the individual. Understanding your cultural heritage and what makes up the individual into who they are in order to succeed. Gladwell wanted the readers to note more than just what was handed to them but to focus more on what made them want to know how to handle