Malcolm Gladwell's speech on the Unheard Story of David and Goliath seeks to challenge the idea that David was a helpless underdog when he fought the terrifying behemoth of Goliath. Gladwell asserts that David was actually not an unlikely victor, but rather a boy who simply overcame his fear of giants. Gladwell provides evidence that Goliath suffered from a condition called acromegaly, which causes abnormal size and strength, but impairs vision. In this he asserts that, " the very thing that was the source of his apparent strength was also the source of his greatest weakness" and that in reality the Israelite army was intimidate by a giant who is weaker than he appears. He claims we have all missed the true beauty of this story, "Giants are not as strong and powerful as they seem. And sometimes the shepherd boy has a sling in his pocket." The author uses an abundance of logos in his story, citing historical facts about David's skill with his sling, military strategy, and even the science behind the rock that David slung at Goliath. The proof that he uses to assert that Goliath has acromegaly is circumstantial at best and is most likely biased to support his viewpoint, however it remains highly convincing. He also uses vivid imagery in order to recreate the scenario of the battle and allusions to the biblical text to assert his point. Gladwell's assertion that there may be giants, but we can overcome them is one that I connect with in an extremely meaningful way. Often times in high school it can feel like you are up against the world, however the message of Gladwell's speech is that you are never hopeless, and that sometimes the tasks that look the most insurmountable simply require a little but of courage and thought to overcome. I chose this talk because the story of David and Goliath is one that I have connected with for a long time and hearing this new opinion made me appreciate it even more.
To view this incredible presentation click here.
Dear Dawson,
ReplyDeleteVery nice blog post! This Ted Talk fascinated me as well. It is interesting to hear Gladwell's true interpretation of the fabled story. I definitely have to agree with you that his speech is very applicable to high school and any challenge can be completed with a good amount of effort.
Thank you for this great blog post, however, I wished you had delved deeper into some of the other appeals, particularly pathos.
Love,
Ryan Donnelly
Hey Dawson! I really liked this blog post, and the topic of the TED talk you selected as a whole, because it provided a very interesting reflection upon a classically known tale. While I did like your analysis as a whole of the talk, the inclusion of some further reflection on what, specifically, Gladwell said to support his view would have been helpful to readers of your post. That being said, I rather liked your comparison of "feel[ing] like you're against the world" to Gladwell's message, and I really enjoyed reading your analysis as a whole! Your register and word choice was excellent, and I found your analysis to be for the most part, thorough. Overall, it was a great post! :D
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