Nay Lin Kyaw (Conversation #2)

According to the TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story”, Chimamanda Adichie shares her personal experiences with examples regarding dangerous consequences of a single story of a place or a person. Adichie introduces this idea by expressing her life in Nigeria, reading and writing based on western characters since childhood although the ideas were vague. Later, she found out the differences between the stories of her readings and the realities of the world she was in. She also believed one cannot truly understand the feeling of stories of another person or a place without knowing all of the stories of that place or person. Every stories are powerful that it can make a person not only to compromise their values but also to restore it. That’s why, she is actively engaging in efforts to provide enough books to schools and libraries, hoping to explore different kinds of experiences. Overall, she emphasizes the idea that if we appreciate and listen to the both sides of stories on any place or person, we can share sympathy or empathy with each other.

I agree with the author because if we rely only on a single narrative view, it can damage or be harmful to people around us intensionally or unintentionally. Also, this can lead to negative consequences on any relationships. I can relate to the author’s view of “I’ve always felt that it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person”. Nowadays, people are judging on what they know, see, or hear on very few informations without knowing all of the stories. That’s why we should not judge a book by its cover. I believe Professor Barnes gave this assignment to look at different kinds of perspective of stories and know the consequences of danger of a single story because it can benefit not only in the classroom but also in the future.