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Chapter Five

Summary: Chapter Five: Emil “Jay” Freireich

In the fall of 1940, Nazi Germany began bombing the city of London. To the surprise of planners in the British government, however, citizens did not panic but instead got used to the bombing and mostly went about their business as usual. A Canadian psychiatrist argued that although the bombing killed some Londoners and left those who experienced near misses traumatized, there were many more who experienced only remote misses and actually experienced a morale boost from having survived the experience unscathed. Under the right circumstances, it seems, a brush with death can be beneficial.

Gladwell presents two individuals as examples of the same effect. As a child, Dr. Freireich lost his father to suicide and was raised by a mostly uncaring mother. He grew up to be a pioneer in the treatment of childhood leukemia, in his day a gruesome disease that was nearly always fatal. Freireich was notorious for his temper and his unorthodox methods, many of which violated established norms and some of which inflicted great suffering on his patients. Only with the help of his wife and a few colleagues willing to support him was he able to continue his work. Thanks in large part to Freireich’s work, childhood leukemia today has a cure rate of more than 90 percent.

Gladwell’s second example, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, participated in the 1960s civil rights campaign in Birmingham, Alabama. He survived a bombing of his home unharmed, he suffered only minor injuries in a confrontation with a violent white mob, and he waded through a third mob of armed white protestors untouched. These experiences made him more bold, not less, in his fight for justice.

Freireich’s remote miss was a traumatic childhood. Shuttlesworth’s remote misses involved exposure to grave physical danger. Although we do not want people to go through such things, Gladwell argues, society needs people who have. Their suffering gives them the courage to challenge conventional ideas and to do things other people are afraid to do.

Analysis: Chapter Five

Gladwell continues building his argument that not all disadvantages result in negative outcomes and that hardships can lead to resilience. He includes the story of the London bombings to illustrate that even the worst circumstances are not necessarily debilitating. Gladwell explains that the bombing was intended to break the morale of Londoners but had the opposite effect. By creating a shared experience, as traumatic as it was, the bombing built a solidarity and a resolve among people who decided collectively to work together to weather the difficult events. Gladwell is not arguing that all tragedies are beneficial, but in this case, the importance of community contributed to the ability to wrest benefit from something as harrowing as the Blitz. 

Gladwell argues that Freireich’s difficult childhood shaped the way he views the world and made him stronger. His traumatic childhood experiences did not prevent him from achieving success. Freireich is hardened by his childhood and therefore not bothered by the hopelessness of his job. While some people view this as callous, it is a benefit to Freireich and his patients. Freireich is committed to his patients and is not afraid to think outside of the box or defy his supervisors when it comes to treatment. It is here that Freireich illustrates the social “disagreeability” that Gladwell argues is important for any successful innovator. The experiences of Freireich’s childhood make him determined to continue with his efforts even when others tell him he will fail. There is a recklessness and a fearlessness that comes from growing up with very little, which allows someone who has experienced hardship to forge ahead. Freireich understands implicitly that he has survived, and that nothing that happens to him as an adult will be as difficult and painful as what he has already been through and come out of. 

Fred Shuttlesworth is another example of someone left empowered after a near-miss experience. He does not let violence cloud his outlook on life and ends up feeling more empowered. The violence targeted at Shuttlesworth has the opposite intended effect—he is left with a renewed sense of courage. Shuttlesworth proves that even fear does not deter someone from supporting a cause he feels passionate about. Gladwell's concept of a "near miss" is instructive in this instance, suggesting that by avoiding catastrophic tragedy, some people can use that sense of invincibility to redouble the efforts that they believe in. In this sense, the citizens of London, Freireich, and Shuttlesworth all share one common trait: they have faced hardships, violence, and setbacks and have not let these impediments prevent them from achieving success. Gladwell’s point is that even the most terrible circumstances can yield positive outcomes.

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