Analysis Of The Danger Of A Single Story By Adichie

Since the beginning of times, prejudices and beliefs have occurred against a backdrop of a limited point of view. It has caused wars and hate between cultures, all together misunderstandings. We hear one thing or one perspective of a phenomenon and suddenly we have the same impression without any further consideration of the case. In 2009, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave a TED talk called “The danger of a single story”, where she discusses the term single story that covers the development of these misunderstandings, the major consequences of it and how important it is to be aware of it. Adichie explains the risks of only being exposed to one aspect of a culture or just a single person, which she calls ‘single stories’. These single stories have

This topic seems to be important to Adichie, wherefore she also expends quite a lot of energy on engaging the audience. Firstly, Adichie puts a lot of emphasis on establishing some kind of relationship to the audience; She wants the audience to get to know her. She wants them to think and feel what she feels. This entire speech is more or less her life story. That means all of her experiences and emotions are being shared with the audience. That means that the Adichie is no longer stranger to the audience, because she has let them get an insight into her life and who, she is. By doing this she gains a lot of Pathos that makes the audience want to pay attention to what she is saying because they feel with

This proves that it is not just a modern problem that we are facing. It has existed for centuries and probably has not gotten any better. We have learned from Adichie’s talk that we have to be careful with single stories in order not to prejudge and get an erroneous view of something. The power of single stories strips people of their chance to size up the situation on their own. They are provided with opinions of other people unconsciously. Reading between the lines, this expansion of the term ‘single story’ quickly gives the audience a negative impression of this phenomenon. And yet, does the single story always have to be associated with something negative? Could it not be turned around to be something positive as well? In an article from 2009, Steve Livingston argues that single stories or prejudices also can have positive consequences. “ If you were interviewing for, say, a computer programming job, it might benefit you to belong to a group--such as the Japanese--that is stereotyped to be handy with technology. Similarly, if you wanted to become a kindergarten teacher, it might benefit you to be a woman with a matronly appearance.” This is a great example of how prejudices also can be a good thing. In this sense, a positive prejudice could help you get your foot in the door even though it is based on a factor that you have no personal control over just