Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Danger of a Single Story
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian writer, presents on the dangers of a single story about a particular group of people or society to a white audience. She recounts how the single stories in various instances of her life affected her judgment and understanding of people. For example, it never occurred to her that Fide; their houseboy had a sibling who could weave such beautiful baskets because all she knew about him was poverty told by her mum. She also illustrates how she interpreted Mexicans as immigrants and nothing more because of the stories she had. Ngozi’s most significant point is that single stories about people have consequences.
Single stories create stereotypic notions about people because they are definitive of those people in most cases. Chimamanda adds that single stories takes away the dignity, equality and emphasizes on differences of societies. This calls for writers to engage societies fully to understand the positive sides of their stories and stop focusing on negativities. She concludes that a different and better world, which she describes as paradise, can exist when people reject single stories and focus on positivity equally.