A Single Story: The Danger Of A Single Story

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In “Danger of a Single Story”, Chimamanda Adichie states that people should not judge others just by a single story that they know about them. I think people should also know other stories about other people rather than a single story, before judging people on that one single perspective, as every person has a different story, and have to deal with different situations. And no two persons are completely alike. People need to accept this fact and should stop misinterpreting people without knowing them. The question is: What makes people judge others, and what leaves a definite impression about it? The author believes that the stories people listen or read in their childhood influences their minds the most. The author read many stories as …show more content…

She believes that “nkali” stories play a major role to make that story “the definitive story of that person” (qtd. in Adichie). People believe in a particular fact if its repeated in front of them many times even if they know it is wrong or is not true. We all believe in the existence of God, because others do, even though we don’t know whether it really does or no. Its just because it has been repeated and explained so many times that “God exists” is stuck in people’s mind. Also, “how they are told, who tells them, when they 're told, how many stories are told, are really dependent on power” (qtd. in Adichie). Start a story from how the student performed well in the exam, and start the same story from how he cheated during the exam. Both are still the stories of the same person, but the power from where to start changes the perspective for that person. The author exemplifies her own life experience to help us understand the power of a repetitive and a single story. She reminds of her impressions of Mexicans being immigrants due to all the media coverage she watched about them over and over again. But is was later she felt ashamed of herself when she observed the enjoyable life of Mexicans trolling, smoking, and laughing. So, I agree with the author that it is better to know the person well rather than dispossessing that person. The only solution for that is to know all the stories of

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