David
David, the young shepherd who would be king, becomes a symbol as a result of his unexpected striking down of the legendary Philistine warrior, Goliath. The victory of the skinny young kid armed only with a slingshot over a man of such fearsome strength as to be though invincible makes David a symbol of the underdog beating the overestimated champion, of course, but his value as symbol goes much deeper. David is also invested with the symbolism of brains over brawn, alternative strategy over conventional warfare and defiance of the confidently expected result.
Goliath
Goliath, by contrast, comes to symbolize overconfidence in brute power, the consequences of failing to appreciate alternatives to physical superiority, and the misinterpretation of the true nature of the powerful. Goliath is also, of course, the fundamental symbolic figure of the heavily favored competitor unexpectedly losing to a seemingly shockingly inferior opponent.
The Full-Court Press
The basketball strategy of playing defense and offense with an equitably robust intensity on both sides of the half-court line instead of dividing the intensity appropriately becomes a symbol of the use of an alternative strategy that give one competitor a tactical advantage over an otherwise superior opponent. Because most basketball teams do not adopt a full-court press for use throughout most or all of the game, it is equivalent to David using a slingshot instead of a sword to fight Goliath.
Dyslexia
The disorder which makes learning to read harder becomes a symbol for the way in which things that are sometimes viewed as disadvantages (like David’s puniness in comparison to the immensity of Goliath, for example) can sometimes turn out to be advantageous. Gladwell uses real life examples—focusing primarily on famous attorney David Boies—to illuminate how making something harder to learn or do than it is for most people can actually be a stimulant to success rather than working to obstruct it.
The Trickster
The Trickster is here represented most immediately by animal fables. The Terrapin wins a race against the Deer by using his relatives to outwit the Deer into thinking he’s running the whole race when in face he is just waiting near the finish line to jump out at the right time. Brer Rabbit tricks Brer Fox into rescuing him from the tar pit by begging the fox to do anything but throw him into the briar patch. The Trickster is the underdog who must use guile or cheating to win in competitions against unfairly advantaged opponents.
