David and Goliath is a novel written by Malcolm Gladwell that discusses the mental and physical viewpoints of Underdogs, Misfits, and the art of fighting giants . His book highlights the likelihood of unlikely events occurring in certain situations where an outcome is strongly favored. The title, David and Goliath, has a symbolic meaning: it pushes readers to recognize the roles that advantages and disadvantages play in their own mentality. Furthermore, readers realize that the prevailing people and/or situations are not always as strong as they seem. Gladwell develops his propositions in the novel using personal stories, references, history, and biblical texts to develop his theory. At the end of Gladwell's novel, readers conclude that not only can advantages lead to ruin, but that disadvantages can prove to be a strength. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The short but intriguing stories in the novel David and Goliath validate Gladwell's idea that people often misunderstand underdogs by providing personal experiences of people who realize these advantages can be a disadvantage in certain situations. Ranadive, a girls basketball coach, coaching a sport he had no idea about, with a team made up of girls who had no talent. Unfortunately, it was obvious that people believed this team was the underdog against every other opponent they would play. Gladwell highlights the fact that human nature can lead a person to believe that the most skilled team, or "Goliath", would be the winner. However, the losers' disadvantage of not being as skilled or talented in the sport of basketball turned out to be their advantage. Because the team was made up of less skilled basketball players, their incompetent coach thought outside the box, using strategies that not even the best teams would think of using. This won them the game and allowed them to defeat their "Goliath", just as David did in the biblical story David and Goliath, appreciating that "power can come in other forms too". Gladwell actually uses these anecdotes more than once in the novel to prove his point. Gladwell's moral, his message to readers, is built around the prejudice of advantages and disadvantages. He is challenging readers' opinions by offering many different circumstances and points of view. In his novel, Gladwell expresses his views on the belief that those who are wealthy are advantaged in terms of resources and aid. The downside is that having more money could also be a disadvantage. Rich people are more likely to not work hard for what they want because of that wealth, compared to someone with a low income who could use it to their advantage and work hard to achieve great things in life. Gladwell's anecdotes place someone in what readers see as an advantageous situation versus an unexpectedly negative outcome. Gladwell manages to use this antithesis throughout his novel because he tests his own point of view with that of another. Therefore, it allows the reader to see both possible sides of an outcome and decide which mindset to have. Along with Gladwell's use of antithesis, the placement of allusions in each chapter is extremely symbolic. Gladwell knows that his readers have background knowledge about a variety of things. He uses allusion to support his claims about how his readers see advantages and disadvantages and what this means for their perception of the world. Please note: this is just one.