A tale does not point to a moral like a parable or fable, instead it is almost as generalized in its depiction of character and setting.…
In “The Danger of a Single Story,” Adichie talks about stereotypes, or single stories. Adichie explains social class and stereotypes. Adichie explains social class by telling the story of Fide, her family’s houseboy. Fide and his family were very poor compared to Adichie’s middle class family, and Adichie also explained that her mother would use Fide as a reference to poor people, for example, when Adichie would not finish her food, her mother would say, “don’t you know people like Fide’s family have nothing.” So Adichie talks about how even in places like Nigeria, there is social class and that not everyone is poor like most people think. Adichie also talks about single stories, or stereotypes. First she explains how all the books she read as a child were…
The main point Ngozi tried to get across is that many stories matter and there is no such thing as a single story. A single story is similar to stereotyping. She emphasizes that stereotyping isn’t bad, it is incomplete. To ensure that we don’t just hear one story, Ngozi suggest that we widen our minds to other stories and know that there isn’t just one story. She planted…
It is said that there are many different versions to a story. There is one persons story, then there is an other person’s story, and then, there is the truth. “Our memories change each time they are recalled. What we recall is only a facsimile of things gone by.” Dobrin, Arthur. "Your Memory Isn't What You Think It Is." (online magazine). Psychology Today. July 16, 2013. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/am-i-right/201307/your-memory-isnt-what-you-think-it-is. Every time a story is told, it changes. From Disney movies to books, to what we tell our friends and colleagues. Sometimes the different sides to the story challenge the way we think about ourselves and other people. The Pocahontas story is no different, from the productions of the Disney movie Pocahontas, to the writing of the book Pocahontas, and the writing of Powhatan Dilemma by Camila Townsend.…
By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths. You make up others. You start sometimes with an incident that truly happened, like the night…
This notion is illustrated when Thoreau notes, “‘Pray tell me anything new that has happened to a man anywhere on this glove’ -- and he reads it over his coffee and rolls, that a man has had his eyes gouged out this morning on the Wachito River” (Thoreau 10). Humans are inclined to look around for news regarding other humans, and because of this focus and this care, we are a more connected as a society. In my own view, I agree with this notion. By focusing and looking for stories around the world, I am able to move into this transcendent reality. I forge a connection with those who are affected, despite not having ever knowing of them. When something monumental occurs to another human, it is our own nature to care for them or respond to them. By doing so, we compose a stronger sense of co-humanity. Moreover, Thoreau discusses that one who reads the news is “never dreaming the while that he lives in the dark unfathomed mammoth cave of this world, and has but the rudiment of an eye himself” (Thoreau 10). When we read and discuss the events occurring across the world, we feel a deeper sense of what it means to be human; we do not feel as if we are of a separate nature. Instead, we feel a connection, which in turn, leads to a more valid, contemporary…
‘At the heart of conflicting perspectives in texts is that the protagonists believe their viewpoint is correct.’…
Using stories to get a point across can be beneficial. Sometimes it may even be recommended in certain cases. For example the usage of fables can be used to teach children valuable lessons. But that’s not the case in Carl Sagan’s “Dragon in my Garage.” Trying to imitate the usage of fables, Sagan writes the tale of a dragon in his garage in order to explain some of the fallacies that people are faced with on a daily basis. But trying to teach multiple lessons through one short story can be problematic, as we see happening in Sagan’s story. Michael Shermer, author of Why People Believe Weird Things, on the other hand, was able to get his point across effortlessly by fitting one example to each of the fallacies, rather than fitting all of the…
Diversity plays an important part in traditional tales. I deeply understand that culture background can shape everything in traditional tales because multiculturalism has affected my thinking incessantly. I grew up in an era with the company of a unique mix of culture from China, Japan, and other western countries. Although Huck (2014) stress the reason of why do some people create traditional tales by saying “they created stories that helped explain the world” (p.103), the world can be explained differently via diverse culture.…
It also makes a good first impression. People want to see positive attitude and positive vibes coming from you, they want to see you're different types of perspective you perceive . However if you have a bad fourth perspective people might act different around you…
Single storying is when someone puts one thing they know about you or they think they know about you has your entire persona. When people do this they are looking at you with a limited viewpoint. Single storying someone is hurtful because it is putting someone in a box based on limited information. Although single storying someone is unethical it is easy to accidentally do it without thinking. Most people in their life have been single storied and have single storied someone at some time, probably without even realizing it.…
In her inspirational speech on the TED television series, Chimamanda Adichie argues that single stories of specific races or regions often create misconceptions of their true natures. Adichie, born and raised in colonial Nigeria, uses previous life experiences to support her claims regarding false stereotypes, most evidently during her childhood and her first visit to the USA. Living under a colonial environment, Adichie was constantly being exposed to foreign ways of life; she had a decent education, read children books about men drinking ginger beer, and was taught to be thankful for the opportunities she was gifted. However, not until later in her life did Adichie realize that these influences were incomplete and untrue representations of Western life. This helps to demonstrate "how impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story, particularly as children," and how we can not truly know the truth until it has been concretely revealed to us. Furthermore, when Adieche moved into her college dorm with a white roommate, she was automatically pitied. Her roommate's "single story of [Africa was] catastrophe," and not until they interacted further did it occur to her that she was no different from anyone else. These are just two examples of common stereotypes; innumerable others exist around the world, one of which is that of Muslims, the prominent occupation of the Arab region. Unfortunately, there are groups who claim to be 'Muslims' that commit despicable acts globally, such as the plane attacks of 9/11, the Boston Marathon bombings earlier this year, and the perpetuate persecution of refugees in Central Asia (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, etc.), that set a bad image upon Islam. Nevertheless, the media disregards the majority of the positive stories of the Arab region, therefore exclusively establishing Muslims as terrorists inspired by spite and ill-will. The single story of Muslims, as is the stereotype of Africans and…
A particular encounter that I was directly involved in writing would in my ENG 400 class. Our assignment was to write a short story. We would later have our classmates read the story and give the reader feedback. The story I wrote was called “The Local Thug”. This story was about a young woman’s relationship with a man that took a tragic turn. In my story, I used the perspective of the woman and the perspective of the media about the young man. In my story, the young woman starts to date a young man by the name Zaire. She begins to build a relationship with Zaire which soon turns romantic. Most of the story is written from the woman’s perspective to give readers a better understanding of who Zaire was to her. The second half of the story, Zaire…
Why this all fuss about a “single story”? So what is a single story? Does this mean manipulation of ‘a single story’ by countless re-telling and thus creating an ‘entrenched’ view in our minds which we fail to challenge and investigate with a forward-looking vision?…
On October 7 of 2009, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi gave a speech through TEDTalks on,”The Danger of a Single Story.” Her speech was a passionate intel of not falling into one perspective and how,”impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story.”( Adichi 1:52) Her way of thinking was not limited by the books she constantly read but the encounters in which she faced. Ultimately giving the impact that individuals judge another to their entirely based off of a single idea or acknowledgment. Adichi drew attention the issue that has plagued the world since the beginning of time, our first handed judgements interfere with any capability of truly foreseeing a different outcome for individuals. Adichi uses various methods to gain the attention of her listeners, three of which are emotional appeal,…