Blink: Now Look Again

Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell.  Section analyzed: pages 56-61, "The psychologists Claude Steele…makes our decisions for us.”

Malcolm Gladwell is known for his psychological novels that examine human behavior, and his work as a reporter for the Washington Post and as a staff writer for The New Yorker Magazine exposed him to a variety of these behaviors.  His novel Blink focuses on cognitive behaviors, specifically the brain’s split-second decisions and how an individual perceives them.  This section explores the unconscious part of the brain’s ability to recognize details long before the conscious mind, and draws the conclusion that our conscious and unconscious decisions are much more susceptible to outside influences than was previously thought.  Gladwell uses evidence in a wide range of forms to substantiate his claims.  In addition to the rhetorical elements of varied narrative style, cause and effect, and definition, the process of exemplification has a profound effect on Gladwell’s points being conveyed well to the reader.  Though I sometimes feel his arguments are a stretch and almost too good to be true, they are well supported and effectively appeal to a wide audience.  However, Gladwell’s audience seems especially to be American citizens.  The majority of Gladwell’s examples are American studies that tie directly to American behaviors and values.  Gladwell’s purpose thus takes on a new meaning, becoming a way for specifically Americans to be able to use the brain’s ability to take in its surroundings to change how they live their lives.  Thus, I think his purpose is accomplished, and am excited to discover how his rhetorical strategies may change as the book progresses.