In the TedTalk, “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie talks about her personal stories. She is Nigerian and she started reading at an early age. She would only read British and American books. She talks about her experience on how she saw things in one way only, as a single way over and over again which makes it a single story. She talks about her experience of how she saw different things in one way, had one opinion about it and how she also experienced people having just one perspective about Africa. She explains how having the power can create stereotypes about things and how it can really influence readers, people in general which creates a single story.
I agree with Chimamanda, a single story can affect people and can make people see things in one way over and over again, seeing things in one perspective is wrong. There have been times where I would see people in one way because of what I have heard without getting to know them. One time I judged someone because of what I’ve heard about him and how he would act but only to find out he is just a very cool, confident person. Getting to know him changed my view about him and now we are really close friends. The experience taught me not to see someone or something in one perspective and to get to know the other side of it. Single stories are dangerous and we should avoid it at all cost.
3 thoughts on “Conversation #2”
Hi, I do agree with you that we most of the time we judge people without getting to know them or maybe because someone told us that they were this they were that and we often make the mistake of seeing people the way others do. Also the same thing happened to my, in high school I had this friend who’s not my friend anymore. I was grabbing my lunch and she pointed her finger to a girl saying bad things about her so everytime I would see this girl I would have this bad perspective of her. Months has passed, I decide to join the soccer team and there was the girl, she came to me and spoke to me in the sweetest way. Then I realized that my friend had told me these bad things because she was jealous of her. Guess what, the girl that I saw on lunch that day, now she’s my best friend.
I agree Chimamanda Adichie believes single stories can cause issues if people only hear one part of a story. Yes, this can affect a person, place, or country, as we saw in her story in the part where her roommate stereotyped her because of where she came from. I can also understand you about finding it hard to socialize because I get social anxiety talking to others, and it can be hard to open up to people. I’ve noticed you mentioned how bullying was your experience of a single story, and I can see how. First of all, I’m sorry you went through all that, and I can see how an event so tragic can make you see people differently because it causes trust issues. There might still be good people in this world that can be trusted.
My apologies I meant to Comment on Dharshine Singh post but I was on the wrong page sorry.