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Another symbol that Gladwell refers to again and again is Paul Revere’s famous “midnight ride” of 1775, during which Revere was able to warn thousands of people throughout Massachusetts about the impending invasion of British troops. For Gladwell, Revere’s ride is a particularly clear example, and arguably a symbol, of how individual people can start social epidemics. Using the book’s terminology, it could be argued that Revere acted as a “Connector,” a “Maven,” and even a “Salesman,” inspiring people throughout his state to fight against the British forces.
Paul Revere’s ride Quotes in The Tipping Point
The The Tipping Point quotes below all refer to the symbol of Paul Revere’s ride. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter Two
Quotes
But William Dawes? Fischer finds it inconceivable that Dawes could have ridden all seventeen miles to Lexington and not spoken to anyone along the way. But he clearly had none of the social gifts of Revere, because there is almost no record of anyone who remembers him that night.
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Paul Revere’s ride Symbol Timeline in The Tipping Point
The timeline below shows where the symbol Paul Revere’s ride appears in The Tipping Point. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter Two: The Law of the Few
...an impending invasion, but the boy’s story finally inspired him to begin his famous “midnight ride.” Revere rode a horse through Lexington and Arlington, warning of the British invasion. The news...
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Paul Revere’s ride is one of the most famous examples of “word-of-mouth” in history. But why is it...
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Gladwell returns to Paul Revere, whose midnight ride started what could be termed a “word-of-mouth” epidemic in 1775. Paul Revere was a natural...
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To return to 1775 one more time: we can now see that Paul Revere’s ride was a success for three different reasons. First, Paul Revere was a talented Maven, who...
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