Essay Critque

Free Lizzie

Malcom Gladwell was the author of this essay. He is a British-born Canadian author. Presently, the lives in New York. Gladwell is best known for the books that he wrote. These include: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, and "Outliers: The Story of Success" (Wikipedia). Because Gladwell is a non-fiction writer, journalist, and graduated with a degree in history, it is safe to say that he will look at topics from a historical standpoint. He is not likely to be a creative writer, so his essays are assumed to be full of factual information.

The essay entitled "Free Lizzie" was written by Gladwell in July of 2001. The author addressed the readers of the New Yorker when he wrote this essay. Unless the reader had a personal connection to Grubman's accident, it can be assumed that most are indifferent towards this essay. They most likely have distinct feelings for or against Grubman, therefore the essay would be read from an informational point of view. I too consider myself indifferent towards this article so it was considerably easy for me to assess this essay without bias.

The author's major claim is about the reasoning for the accident that occurred on July 7, 2007. The author discusses the incident of Lizzie Grubman, while also looking at the facts that could be used to explain her mishap. He claims that there could be an explanation as to why she backed into that crowd at the club that evening.

The first supporting detail to Gladwell's claim is the possibility of pedal error, or unintended acceleration. Research shows that people mistake the gas pedal for the break pedal in a vehicle quite frequently. Many factors add to this mistake and make it probable. This claim is very true as it is backed by research. A study done by Richard A. Schmidt states that any number of innocent factors can cause this misjudgment (Free Lizzie).

Gladwell also claims that Grubman's inexperience with her father's car greatly increased her misjudgment. Schmidt's study also backs this claim. Grubman had reported driving her father's car twice before the accident, causing her to mistake the brake pedal for the gas pedal (Free Lizzie).

Another claim that Gladwell uses to defend Grubman is time. He said her reactions told her to push the pedal to the floor of the car with more strength, expecting it to stop. It is likely that she traveled the distance of fifty feet in approximately 2.8 seconds. This is also a truthful. Wade Bartlett, mechanical forensics's, says it would not be unusual for one's reaction to take the foot of the gas pedal and actually hit the break, to take at least three seconds. Many reports show that it can take much longer (Free Lizzie).

In conclusion, Gladwells claims defending Grubman are very truthful. He provides much support and evidence to go along with his argument. However, Gladwell does not defend any of Grubman's actions. He refuses to make excuses for her. He claims that there is reasonable clues as to why she encountered pedal error, but he will not comment on her other actions. With that being said, Gladwell's article could be considered persuasive as it convinces the reader that there could be explanations to what happened that night.

Essay Critique

Ain't I a Woman

Soujourner Truth spoke at a women's rights convention in 1851 in Ohio. Years later her speech was transcribed into an essay. Soujourner was born with the name Isabella Baumree. She was born in New York in 1797. When New York emancipated its slaves in 1827, Isabella was freed from slavery and renamed herself as Soujourner Truth. From the day of her freedom, Soujourner spent the rest of her years fighting for abolition of all slaves, along with women's rights. In the later years of her life Soujourner settled in a home in Battle Creek Michigan. This is where she spent her final days before she died in 1883 (Wikipedia). Because Soujourner was a former slave and also a woman, know worldwide what her stance on freedom and the lack of women's rights was.

Truth's speech, "Ain't I a Woman?" was a powerful stance delivered to the world. Her goal was to share the hardships that women, more specifically black women, encountered in every day life. Because this speech was delivered at a women's rights convention, it is obvious that her audience shared the same views that she did.

This speech delivered an account lived by a black woman, first hand. She told of times when she saw women being helped into carriages or over muddy puddles. This was not the case for Truth. She was never helped into carriages or over muddy puddles( 50 Essays, Samuel Cohen). Truth's first claim completely supports this. In fact, she has scars on her arms for doing work that was never intended for women to do. These scars are permanent evidence that cannot hardly be doubted. Some may say that she received scars for reasons other than working brutally, but the world knows that because Truth was a slave in the 1800's, these scars are obviously from the work.

Truth also claims that she had thirteen children, and she watched almost all of them be sold of into slavery. This is also a truthful claim that can be proven. There are guaranteed to be records somewhere in New York that can account for her children or at least something verifying the slave trade.

Finally, Sojourner Truth refers to the bible to support her stance defending women. She says that a man claims that women can't have as many rights as men, because Christ was a man and not a woman. Truth defends it right back with a strong belief. Truth says, "Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman!" (50 Essays, Samuel Cohen). This statement truly makes people think. Truth is completely correct in making this sentence. God chose Mary to have his child. Joseph was to act as the child's father figure, but yet he had absolutely nothing to do with the creation of this child. Therefore, men should have less right than women, seeing how a man had nothing to do with the creation of Christ. Truth's final claim is very liable. She refers to the bible, but yet any person who knows little of Christ's life can verify that this is true. Many people often overlooked Truth's way of seeing his creation.

Fundamentally, Sojourner Truth spoke with liability. She lived a life in itself could be proof to support herself. She uses claims that are very effective and truthful. Truth fought for things that women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony did. She spoke with as much diligence as the other women did. However, she was able to add to her position the views from the life of a former slave. In the end, Sojourner Truth is a very persuasive person. Many people had never considered life from her point of view, but with her speech, people could see things differently. She taught people to look at the world outside of the bubble that every individual lives in.