The Danger of Single Story
“Show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again and that is what they
become” (Adichie). In the TED Talk “The dangers of a single story,” Nigerian-born novelist
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie explains how vulnerable people can become when they only access
a single consistent but one-sided story of a place or people. Adichie's talk on the dangers of a
single story applies to the contemporary American society since stereotypes have been created in
politics, media, and the society as a whole based on biased, one-sided stories of different groups
of people. The single story is dangerous because it's more likely to be wrong and incorrect;
moreover, it can effect thinking and reaction of some people who believe in single story.
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thesis
The narrator of the story is a Nigerian Novelist Chimamanda Adichie who through life
experience explain the danger of a single story. Adichie had a great interest in writing as a child
;however due to the scarcity of African books, most of the material she read was from the
western literature majorly British books which talked of European Characters and environment
which brainwashed Adichie to think that Africans could not exist in the literature (TEDGlobal,
2009). However, on reading books by great African writers, Chimamanda realized that African
,
Characters could exist in literature an example she offers in explaining the impact of the single
story. Adichie goes on to offer more examples of the single-story such as the story about Fide, a
child who had come to stay with them because his family was poor according to her mother, who
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did not acknowledge the fact that despite being poor they were hardworking. Another example
Adichie offers in explaining the dangers of a single story is the perception of her roommate in
campus who has a catastrophic perception of Africa due to influence is driven by the western
literature. Adichie is a victim of a single story due to the belief she had on Mexicans as
immigrants as a result of media influence. She points out that readers should not take characters
in a single story to represent a whole community where the novel is set (TEDGlobal, 2009). A
Single story has a negative impact on the society since it robs people of their dignity through
pointing out how different they are hence encouraging disunity. Therefore, to avoid the single-
story impact, readers should have “A balance of stories” as Chinua Achebe calls it, where they
read a range of different topics not only focusing on a single theme. Chimamanda believes that
stories are powerful tools which can be used to influence masses in destroying human dignity or
repairing it. The tone of the single story is serious and formal and ſhe target audience for adult
people interested to read or to know things about African people. Author's purpose is to
persuade.
marg
persuade. Good summary
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I agree with the authorbecause you cannot judges about something from single story; for
example when I went to France for vacation a lot of people
when they asked me where you from
are? I just answered from Iraq. They accuse me of being a terrorist, because they only see the
news and they believe in it without see other sources to verify the information.
Adichie utilizes emotional appeal, the power of storytelling, and appeal to logic to relate
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to her audience; furthermore deliver her message. The author uses emotional examples of cases
where the single story has been destructive in her case hence allowing the emotion to feel her clur
clarity
emotional connection with these examples. "I was startled. It had not occurred to me that
anybody in his Fide family could actually make something." (Para. 8) In this passage, the
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speaker recalls the time her family visited their houseboy's (Fide) family, moreover she realized
that other than the story of poverty that her mother had always told her, Fide's family was also
talented in making beautiful baskets. Here, she explains how the emotion of pity towards a
person she did not know well was all she had towards him. This is just one of the
examples of how the author appeals to emotions to portray that every person has more than one
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story. The author uses informed opinion. The purpose of this TED Talk is to encourage people to
broaden the scope of stories they consume about other people, and Adichie does so by
telling many small stories which highlight her point. “When we reject the single story, when we
realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise.” (Para. 33)
(this is a statement that the author presents towards the end of her talk, and it simply means that
people should be willing to broaden the types of stories they consume from different cultures.
She claims this after giving examples of the stereotypes of Africa being impoverished, her
experience in Mexico, and even her experience with her roommate who had listened to a single
story about Africa. She uses her stories to make it clear that a one-sided approach only creates
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stereotypes, Adichie uses life example so it's a clear language that capitalizes on bringing up a
logical explanation of her central claims. “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem
with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story
become the only story.” (Para. 24) In her stories, the author does not deny that there are
impoverished African people in countries that have political instability and neither does she
disagree with the view that thousands of Mexicans have crossed into the United States due to
poor living status in Mexico. Instead, she explains that when these images of the people are the
only images portrayed, they fool people into believing that these one-sided stories are the only
stories about these communities. She claims that while the negative stories are true, they are
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incomplete and should not be used to represent the described people. Her explanation is logically
reasoned and identifies with the facts on the ground.
کا کیا
a good analysis
with who or what?
I agree because Adichie's theory applies to the American society through the
presentations that politicians have towards illegal immigrants and African societies. An example
of such a presentation comes when politicians argue about immigration policies. In 2016 and any
election period, one or more politicians have been seen presenting stereotypical images of
immigrants and the places they come from. For instance, President Trump has been severally
heard calling Mexico and other developing countries profane names to indicate that they are
unlivable and that is why the immigrants escape them. This depiction of immigrants as coming
from countries where there is nothing good to support citizens only tells the story of poverty and
crime as a way for politicians to blame immigrants for the misfortunes of Americans. Politicians
who want to sway their supporters against a particular group or policies will only tell a negative
story which misrepresents the groups to the advantage of the politicians, good example
Also, another aspect of the society which reflects the dangers of a single story is the
media which influences its people through the stories told about different groups. The media is a
powerful tool that affects masses in the presentation of the 'perfect' body, 'perfect family, and
the aspirations that an upstanding person should have. An example is in the comic books and
television programs which have mainly been presenting stories that create the society's
expectations. For example, many television programs have emphasized the beautiful body of a
woman should be slender and have long hair among other features. Also, the media has
consistently presented African Americans as mostly criminals and Muslims as mostly terrorists.
These stereotypical representations in the media represent the danger of a single story. The
media has been biased towards creating particular images of different people, and they enhance
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discrimination and racism in the country. When the media tells one-sided stories of different
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people and places, it enhances division and influences consumers of these stories to become
biased in their view of these people. good examples
In conclusion, Adichie's talk awakens the average person to evaluate their consumption
of stories from literature, media, politicians, and all other sources. Through her stories on the
dangers of a single story, Adichie shows that everyone is vulnerable to the single story based on
what sources of information they consume. She urges everyone to enhance their experience by
broadening the scope of the stories they consume. Just like Adichie did not know that the poor
houseboy's family could make beautiful baskets, many Americans may not know the other side
of the story for communities labeled as criminal, impoverished, and war-stricken. Everyone who
listens to this talk should ask themselves whether they listen to all stories about people and
places and question the biases they may have developed due to a single account.
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