The problem of a single story

The problem of a single story

Narratives are important because they allow children and adults to grow their imagination. Today, most jobs like architecture require an individual with imagination to create designs that are functional, practical and impressive. Without much imagination, all houses would have similar designs. The stories in narratives humanize and empower the character of individuals. However, the biggest risk with a single story is that it is easy to break the dignity of people and malign them. Stories carry a great deal of power, and with a single story, a reader can easily make assumptions about the culture and lives of people they have never met. Adichie gives an example of how, after reading the American Psycho, she says that it is such a shame that most young men in American are serial killers. The audience laughs because of her absurdity in the generalization, but, it is clear that the single stories keep people from authentically connecting as individuals. The power the story has to create a dominant culture’s stereotypes that disempower the groups and threaten other aspects of their stories..

Questions of critical thinking

People want to change the way other people think as a way to get others to like and think highly of them. Most people are under the assumption that their true value depends on what other people think, and if anyone does not agree with them, it is a personal attack against them. We often assume that our way of thinking is the best because it comes from years of experience and opinions that have been passed on to us by family members. In many cases, we do not even stop to think about the cultural difference we have with the people we share. The perspective of other people only changes our way of thought if we care about the person deeply. Otherwise, we are not silent enough to hear what other people have to say.