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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. What innovation did Freireich make in terms of treating infections in Leukemia patients?

2. How was police officer Joanna Jaffe trying to show the community of Brownsville that the police were on their side?

3. How does Gladwell say André Trocmé circumvented the requirement that his school ring its bell to commemorate the anniversary of the Vichy regime?

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

5. How does Gladwell characterize Freireich’s management style?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Gladwell see Wyatt Walker setting up the photo of the dog attack as evidence of the same law he see in dyslexics succeeding in spite of their condition?

3. How does Gladwell explain the trait that allowed Londoners to go about their business during the Blitz?

4. Where had Kellen gotten his background for the RAND job to consult on the Vietnam war?

5. Why does Gladwell say the Nazis did not come to Le Chambon and make an example of the town?

6. What does Gladwell say happened in Montreal when the police went on strike?

7. What is the flaw in Nathan Leites and Charles Wolf’s report Rebellion and Authority, According to Gladwell?

8. What was Mike Reynolds’ reaction when his daughter Kimber was shot and killed by a meth addict?

9. What does Stella get wrong about teaching in the video Gladwell refers to, from the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Gladwell urges us to look at life—our own lives—through the lens of the parables and their morals, in David and Goliath. How do you see the themes he traces, about the limits of power, or the advantages of disadvantages, in your own life? Does your own life prove or disprove Gladwell’s theories?

Essay Topic 2

What has Gladwell’s book taught you about fighting giants in your own life? What giants are you and your people up against? What weaknesses does Gladwell’s book help you identify? What strengths of your own does Gladwell encourage you to use?

Essay Topic 3

Gladwell frequently juxtaposes what his subjects do with what “the rest of us” do or think (273). Who are the “we” in Gladwell’s views, and what do “we” typically think? Does Gladwell define this common knowledge, or just use “us” as a straw man for his arguments? What is the real difference between “us” and his subjects?

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