Bittersweet Prejudice
In the essay “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie, she describes her experiences with stereotypes, or “single stories”, she has heard about other cultures and her own that have created well-meaning but uneducated societies all across the world. With these experiences, she gives the point that there shouldn’t be a single story to anyone because they underestimate the victims of it and overlook their true stories of who they are. She proves this point by using a powerful yet playful tone.
Adichie first describes her point on the effects of a single story by using a strong and powerful tone. In the middle of the essay she talks about her experiences at home. She talks about how her cousin died because he couldn’t …show more content…
At a closing point, there are examples of success when she talks about how hardworking and ambitious Nigerian people are, and how hard they tried to fix the stigma that they were all just a failed government. She talks about how her and a Nigerian publisher have dreams to build and refurbish libraries to open doors for the many kids of the country to tell their stories. Then, she says, “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.” (17:35). While ending the essay, Adichie is saying that there is more power to the positive stories than the negative. Single stories can almost dehumanize people, but many stories can build them up and restore their dignity. She shows again why single stories can underestimate and ignore who they really are when she outlines how many stories gives them their pride. Alongside of the point, she uses power in her small sentences. When she says, “Stories matter. Many stories matter.”, it shows how much she wants to get that across. There is strength in Adichie’s simplicity and that is how the point is forced into the audience’s heads. Power is an important part of showing meaning and Adichie shows that in her tone and words just how strong her feelings are towards single stories and how they should be
In the essay “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie, she describes her experiences with stereotypes, or “single stories”, she has heard about other cultures and her own that have created well-meaning but uneducated societies all across the world. With these experiences, she gives the point that there shouldn’t be a single story to anyone because they underestimate the victims of it and overlook their true stories of who they are. She proves this point by using a powerful yet playful tone.
Adichie first describes her point on the effects of a single story by using a strong and powerful tone. In the middle of the essay she talks about her experiences at home. She talks about how her cousin died because he couldn’t …show more content…
At a closing point, there are examples of success when she talks about how hardworking and ambitious Nigerian people are, and how hard they tried to fix the stigma that they were all just a failed government. She talks about how her and a Nigerian publisher have dreams to build and refurbish libraries to open doors for the many kids of the country to tell their stories. Then, she says, “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.” (17:35). While ending the essay, Adichie is saying that there is more power to the positive stories than the negative. Single stories can almost dehumanize people, but many stories can build them up and restore their dignity. She shows again why single stories can underestimate and ignore who they really are when she outlines how many stories gives them their pride. Alongside of the point, she uses power in her small sentences. When she says, “Stories matter. Many stories matter.”, it shows how much she wants to get that across. There is strength in Adichie’s simplicity and that is how the point is forced into the audience’s heads. Power is an important part of showing meaning and Adichie shows that in her tone and words just how strong her feelings are towards single stories and how they should be