Question

What is Lewis overall purpose in this speech? How does the specific content of the speech contribute to that purpose

Answer 1

Answer: Lewis overall purpose in this speech is to illustrate that success can be attributed to luck and it's not always about hardwork or commitment.

Explanation:

Michael Lewis, was the author of Liar's Poker, The Big Short and Boomerang and he gave a speech on the role that luck plays in our lives in 2012 during the graduation ceremony at Princeton University.

According to him, people are successful in the world due to the luck they encounter along the way. From the beginning of the speech, he spoke about how he was invited to a dinner, and sat beside the wife of a top person at an investment bank, that was refered to as Salomon Brothers and that the woman made her husband give him a job and through the job, made a good pay.

He further stated that successful people don't like hearing the fact that success comes with luck but he said accident played an important role in their lives. At the end of the speech, he gave his closing remarks by congratulating the graduands as the lucky few and told them to make a positive impact in the world.