Talking to Strangers

by

Malcolm Gladwell

The Holy Fool

The Holy Fool archetype symbolizes the complex social role of doubt. A Holy Fool, or yurodivy, is an archetype from Russian folklore portrayed as an eccentric social outcast. While the Holy Fool’s antisocial behavior…

read analysis of The Holy Fool

Sandra Bland’s Cigarette

Sandra Bland’s cigarette represents the transparency myth and the way our inability to make sense of strangers can lead to conflict, misunderstanding, and—in Bland’s case—tragedy. Gladwell sees Bland’s action of lighting a cigarette in…

read analysis of Sandra Bland’s Cigarette