david and goliath malcolm gladwell sparknotes

The irony of getting white supremacists already consumed by a desire to act violently toward black citizens to actually go through with acting violently is a rare case of the irony being itself ironic. Knowing they were no match for the power of authority invested in southern police departments and politicians, leaders of the movement consciously acted to stimulate violence enacted upon their non-violent resistance.

The story of Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox is used an example of the Trickster component in being a David going up against a Goliath as it relates to the Civil Rights. Of course, Brer Fox does exactly this and quick learns the meaning of irony when he realizes that this is what Brer Rabbit actually wanted him to do in order to facilitate his escape from the tar. Brer Rabbit gets stuck in tar and begs Brer Fox (who is responsible) to do anything he wants, but just please don’t toss him to the briar patch. The methodology by which Civil Rights leaders suckered white supremacist police and politicians into beating the crap out of peaceful protesters in front of cameras and the world is traced back to an ironic story in the tales of Uncle Remus.

We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. Gladwell believes that this fact contains a worthwhile lesson, which is that “the powerful and the strong are not always what they seem.These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. And even if Goliath could properly see David, he’s too slow and weighed down to react quickly enough. With this in mind, Gladwell suggests that Goliath is unable to accurately judge David because of his pituitary tumor, meaning that the very thing that made him so large in the first place actually puts him at a disadvantage, rendering him incapable of seeing his opponent. And because the tumor can press down on optic nerves, people suffering from this condition often have vision problems. People with this condition grow far beyond average. Medical scholars have suggested that Goliath may have had a tumor on his pituitary gland.

Gladwell points out that Goliath sees David approaching with his staff and asks why he brought “sticks”- multiple sticks-which, given that David seemingly only brings one stick, could perhaps suggest that Goliath is visually impaired.

David and goliath malcolm gladwell sparknotes