Having just finished Malcolm Gladwell's Blink, I now understand the true way in which Gladwell crafts his books. Gladwell intricately bombards the reader with a plethora of examples and scenarios in order to get across his theory of "thin-slicing". Gladwell's entire purpose in writing this book is to forward his idea of "thin-slicing" and making it accepted amongst his readers. Since thin slicing is a relatively unknown theory, Gladwell uses his anecdotes and examples to make the theory as relatable as possible to the variety of readers that compose his audience. Gladwells examples range from commanding the US Marine Corps in Vietnam to diagnosing heart attacks at a hospital. Since most of the book is made of anecdotes, the main, if not the only, rhetorical device Gladwell uses is his utilization of various examples. Gladwell, in using a variety of anecdotes, is able to target all spectrums of his audience and not those who already understand the theory. By using examples, he makes the complex simple, and as a result a layperson like myself can understand his theory. In my opinion, I think Gladwell's style of writing makes his book very relatable and in-depth. As a result, I think Gladwell achieves his purpose of forwarding the thin-slicing theory, and persuading his readers that his theory has validity to it. While I have yet to read Gladwell's first book, The Outliers, since I have thoroughly enjoyed this book, I will be sure to check out his others.
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