In the TED talk “The Danger of a Single Story”, the speaker; Chimamanda Adichie, introduces herself. She starts her introduction by giving some background of her childhood, her nationality, and most importantly her literacy development. The speaker then goes on to list examples of how a “single story” can change the opinions or narratives of certain groups of people. She backs this statement up by talking about the books that she read as a child, which influenced her views on people of color within literature. Chimamanda list more examples of this, with the white roommate she had, not perceiving Chimamanda as an economic equal because of the single story the roommate had in her head about Africa and africans. She blames this narrative being put into the minds of people because of western literature. With the words of John Lok and the words that her professor gave on her writing she does not blame people for thinking this way, but the “single story” that is placed in front of them to create this thinking. She reflects on her own experiences like her trip to Mexico and how she herself is guilty of doing the same thing. Chimamanda brings up more examples and stories, all interconnected with her main statement about the single story.
Q: Do you agree or disagree with Adichie’s main argument? Can you relate to Adichie’s argument, or any part of her speech? What is the relevance of the danger of a single story in our day and age? Why do you think Professor Barnes assigned this reading?
A:
I very much agree with Adichie’s main argument because like her, I’ve seen it happen countless times. The single story can be very dangerous and we see this in todays world very often, to rule the campaigns of hate with false narrative towards certain groups people. The way she backs it up with clear and precise examples of how power, social, and economic status comes into play with this is very comprehensible. It is very easy to relate to a person of colors’ experience. Adichie brings up on of the biggest challenges of single stories my people face, which is the association of illegal immigration. When people often think of an illegal immigrant the first thing that will come to mind with most likely be a person with a hispanic background. This comes along with the connection of gangs, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. People with an outside perspective will not understanding this something we are struggling against rather than faced with, they will not understand that the problems we face and the people we are far more complex than they appear to be. I think Professor Barnes assigned this reading to show a way of thinking we should always carry when reading literature. To gain a better understanding of the writer’s background and see how that plays into what they choose to write about.
