What I Learned from 100 Rejections

Thesis: Rejection is not something to be feared, rather, embracing obstacles will bring many possibilities or rewards to oneself. Supporting arguments: As a personal narrative, Jiang was able to give several instances of how his demeanor regarding rejections, and ultimately his personality and identity, changed with every time he faced obstacles. For instance, with his first major encounter with rejection at the age of six. Due to the trauma created then, causing him to be very shy and weak.

This resulted in him trying to avoid any situation that may have led to a better outcome or opportunity, like when he could have asked for an alternative or a different way to get funding for his company that he made at the age of thirty. However, through the ‘100 Rejections’ method, he was able to overcome the problem of self-confidence and experiment with the ways in which he could get what he desired. The first challenge dealt with Jiang asking someone if he could borrow one hundred dollars. Although he ran away from the situation, the video that he filmed helped him see what the problem was and fix that. Another instance that he related was the second day, requesting for a burger refill. He was able to use what he learned from the first video of keeping his ground and withstand his fear, ultimately being able to get a positive outcome.

The third argument he used was when a donut maker was willing to do as he wished. These were three of the many instances he used when relating how he was able to overcome the fear of rejection, through by watching himself encountering them one after the other and making improvements upon it. Thus, he came to the point where he is able to speak to an audience regarding this matter and help those who are willing to learn.

Literary Devices:Literary devices that were used included verbal irony, hyperbole, and metaphor, among many others. Verbal irony was used many times. For instance, Jiang said, “What a wonderful idea, right? What could go wrong?” in regards to the team-building exercise at the age of six. This added to his chosen humorous tone, lightening the mood from the outset, making him and his message more interesting and likable. Hyperbole was used when he stated, “That was the longest walk in my life.” This helps the audience empathize with Jiang and understand how he must have felt with regards to rejection and how it really took a toll on his self-development.Metaphors were also used. For example, Jiang said, “I looked like this kid in The Sixth Sense. I saw dead people.” He used metaphors as a tool of visualization. In this case, the metaphor allows the audience to visualize what Jiang must have looked like when he was rejected by the security guard, without watching the video themselves.

Tone:The tone that Jiang chose is humorous. Using this tone provides many benefits: it makes the audience comfortable, creates a more personal connection, keeps the audience engaged, makes key points more memorable, and/or lightens the mood. For some, facing rejection can be a very serious matter, since it deals with self-confidence and image. A humorous tone helps alleviate the whole atmosphere and makes it easier to reach the hearts of many. For these reasons, Jiang was wise to use a humorous tone for his talk.

Method of Development:Although the essay started off with a flashback, really, the method of development used for this TED Talk is chronological order. Jia Jiang started off his talk by an event that happened at the age of six, with his first major encounter with rejection. It was followed by a story of his “ambitious ego” that was created when he was fourteen, and how he ended up living in the States two years later, and to the age of 30, when he became a manager at a company, and ultimately to the making of his own. Then, he related how he came to where he is, through the ‘100 Rejections’ method, all in chronological order. Narratives are usually in chronological order. This method allows the essay to explain a certain process and to convey the impacts each decision has led to. This is crucial to the point that Jiang is making - that rejections and reactions can actually lead to self-discovery and new life lessons.