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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When does Gladwell say Dr. Freireich determined he wanted to be a doctor?

2. By what factor does Gladwell say the California prison population expanded in the ten years after Three Strikes passed?

3. What childhood trauma did Dr. Freireich’s wife Haroldine share with him?

4. Why does Gladwell say the Royal Scots were the least helpful regiment to patrol the Catholic neighborhood of Lower Falls?

5. What does Rosemary Lawlor say was the action that started the snowball effect that broke the curfew in Lower Falls?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the lesson Gladwell derives from the video of the third-grade classroom from the Curry School of Education?

2. What does Gladwell credit Bill Hudson’s photo of Walter Gadsden being attacked by the police dog in Birmingham with having done?

3. How did Freireich compensate for the isolation that came from experimenting in the way he did?

4. What does Gladwell say were the circumstances that led to Freireich’s father death?

5. How does Gladwell explain Freireich’s wife’s bond to him?

6. How does Wyatt Walker say he had to adjust his tactics to the situation at hand?

7. What were the effects of the Three Strikes law that turned public opinion against it, and led to its being “radically scaled back” (248)?

8. Why does Gladwell say that it took the British so long to understand that they were applying too much force in northern Ireland?

9. How does Turtle win the race with Deer, in the Brer Rabbit story Gladwell relates?

10. How does Gladwell say successful dyslexics typically feel about wishing dyslexia on their children?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In many cases, you have to step back to a certain distance to share the values Gladwell espouses, overlooking, for instance, the sufferings of children with cancer, in order to see the value of Freireich’s cure, or to say that “You could kill André Trocmé” but “another André Trocmé would rise in his place” (274). How would you characterize the distance one has to have from things in order to see what Gladwell sees. Is it the distance of a scientist? An anthropologist? A statistician? A historian? What are the advantages and disadvantages of that intellectual/emotional distance?

Essay Topic 2

Write a character sketch of the author based on her style and content. What can we tell about him, based on the choices she makes in terms of description, characterization and plot? What values does he hold dear? What are his hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think he is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

Essay Topic 3

In addition to being a writer, Gladwell is known for his podcasts. Compare and contrast Gladwell’s book with a podcast episode. How are they similar, how are they different? Is Gladwell making podcast literary, or making books more like podcasts? In which genre does Gladwell come into his own?

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