While reading Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, I was able to observe many key rhetorical devices that he uses in order to make his argument: Everything is caused by something else, whether that be morally, economically, or just a day-to-day event.
Several times throughout his book, he puts together several rhetorical events that allow us to visualize the situation much better. He talks about the idea of yawning, and how yawning can often trigger a chain of yawning that eventually ends in a large yawn party. He even asks of the reader themselves is yawning (I did. Are you yawning now?). He also asks how many times you expect a piece of piece of paper until it's 50 times in order to talk about geometric progression. This way, we are able to visualize and apply information in order to comprehend what is happening.
He also uses listing in order to help the reader understand his points. In order to define the principles that make things lead to something larger, he says "..one, contagiousness; two, the fact that little causes have big effects; and three, that change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment," (Gladwell 84). This helps the reader follow along with the meaning and the idea that he is trying to put forth.
Overall, this book helped me come up with ideas that can help me look for signs in the future. It may help me find connections to the causes in order to see how they can lead to something bigger. It may be able to improve my writing, plotting, and overall, my way of thinking.
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