Directions: Please view "The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and comment in this blog space on the ways in which we judge others/authors/characters by a single story. Think about people that you have judged by one moment. How do you define them? Now, think about novels. How have you judged authors/characters by a single reading? Have you had any experiences where your opinion changed for people and authors?
Next, peruse my global website. Feel free to comment on something you found interesting and would like to ask me for more information. You may also share the site o social media if you find something that touches you. I appreciate the feedback.
"The Danger of a Single Story"
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Culture. The word originated with the definition"to cultivate land," and evolved into a "cultivation of the mind." Today the word is ambiguous, referring to our attachment to a place, traditions, and beliefs. It also has ominously been used to discuss an "otherness" through stereotypes.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie shares her experiences with the notion of culture in "The Danger of a Single Story" in an important TED Talk that will explain the importance of global intelligence.
"Mr. P. Goes Global"
by Eric Pellerin
In "The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie she talked about how only hearing or understanding a single story could lead to missing the whole picture. Especially when reading the summary on the back or the cover of a book, we make split second decisions on whether or not to read the book. For example, boring covers or summaries that inspire zero interest are immediately ignored even though the summary is only a small part of the story and the cover rarely gives any information. While these instincts on deciding whether or not a book would be good may sometimes be correct, other times we may be completely wrong. For example, the title “Hamlet” is so weird and the story is not about ham but the content has survived so many years because the whole play is intricate and interesting storyline. However, I would never have picked it up because I have no interest in reading a book about ham. In a single reading, you need to think about what was written and what it means before really grasping what it said. However when reading books by authors like Charles Dickens, the old style of writing and paragraph long sentences become the main point and I judge the writing more than the content and don’t have a full idea of what was really written. However, if I read the novel focusing on what is written rather than how, then I hold a new appreciation for the themes and ideas which are artfully places in the book.
ReplyDeleteThis weekend, much to my dismay, my friends were eager to see “It Chapter 2.” Since I don't consider sitting in a state of tense fear for three hours fun, I was not super excited. However, now that school has started, time with friends seems more valuable, so I obliged and came along. Unfortunately, I lasted for a pitiful 10 minutes before I decided I had had enough. On my phone, I looked up what other movies were playing at the same time and on the same side of the Loop Theater as the current movie so I wouldn’t have to buy another ticket. The only other option was a Bollywood Drama, it was in Hindi with English subtitles and the plot seemed kind of bland, but honestly I would have watched a documentary on floor tiles before sitting in a state of panic in the theater I was currently in. My friends laughed as I told them where I was going and honestly I did not have high hopes for the Bollywood film either, the only experience I had with them was when my friend from elementary school would complain when her parents watched them. So, it was to my surprise as much as my friends when I stumbled back into the theater two and a half hours later as the horror movie was coming to a close, with tears in my eyes exclaiming what a good movie it was! Probably due to the fact that this all happened yesterday, my movie debacle was the first thing that I thought of while watching Chimimanda Ngozi Adiche’s speech, “The Danger of a Single Story”. However, it is probably one of the many times I have been too comfortable placing a judgment of something I have only been able to view from one perspective. The problem isn't that one story may be untrue, the real danger is that one story isn't the WHOLE truth. When I think of the risk that accompanies a single story, I think of history textbooks, not because these texts are false but because they aren't complete. Yes, Columbus did “sail the ocean blue” but he also inflicted horrendous suffering on native people. Yes, Martin Luther King Jr. is renowned today for his fights for equal rights, but at the time he was under surveillance of the FBI, but we don't learn this in school because it looks it speaks negatively on our nation's government. The musical Hamilton challenges the “single story” narrative by humanizing Arron Burr, who shot Hamilton. He has his own song after the duel where he cries “The world was big enough for both Hamilton and I”. This duality of character is crucial to telling WHOLE stories.
ReplyDeleteOn the website, I noticed the emphasis on interconnectedness and competency discussing contemporary issues. From elementary school, through my English class last year, there has been a deep study of the classics. Do you have any thoughts on setting a balance between learning from the past but also being well versed on today’s world? The novels we read in school have a major effect on what we learn, in what way would you change the books we read in school to guide us towards the type of global learning on which the website is focused?
Leah Parrott
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have fallen victim to judging people by a single story many times. One example is of the author Virginia Woolf. Last year in AP Lang we read Virginia Woolf's "Death of a Moth". This essay gave me the impression that Woolf wrote complicated and symbolic short works that were just plain heavy. It was well written, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. But the impression it gave me was one of a typical old author whom I couldn't relate to and was writing in a time where authors often took little things and built meaning out of them. There wasn't an entertaining story involved. Since then, I have read her "Angel in the House" and been influenced by The Hours. I did my own research and found how revolutionary, outspoken, and tortured she actually was. I now realize that she wasn't just any boring author: she is an inspiration and fell to magnificent tragedy throughout her life. Because I had at first only seen a single side of her, I was not impressed. Now that I can see the whole story, I am thoroughly infatuated with how and what she created and am excited to read Mrs. Dalloway. "The Danger of a Single Story" opened my eyes to how often I have actually done this, to real people and to characters. I will now take the time to learn all I can before judging anything based on a single glance, which is really what the danger of a single story is. It is how quickly we give up on finding the whole truth, just instantly absorbing what is given to us, without putting work in to see why we are being told what we are being told and what is missing.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that our country, or just our school community, have begun to shift to a more global outlook in terms of English classes? Is our curriculum touching on a variety of cultures in the world? Or is it just beginning to do that? We have read a lot of beautiful and meaningful novels like The Great Gatsby and Hard Times that center around western culture. Are the books we will be reading this year give us a more broad viewing of the world? I think it would be important for this to happen everywhere because it is giving the students another side of a story that they may see with a limited scope at the moment. There is very little space for a busy student to find time and learn in depth about everything that they know little about. In my opinion, it would both influence people to be global citizens (as you say is important on your website, and I agree) and to see every side of a story. Which really is the basis of a global citizen, in my eyes.
wowowoow nice jobbbb sophhhh. I like the example you used Virginia months literary pieces, very interesting.
Delete“The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie truly moved me. Not because I hadn’t heard this before, but because of the way she brought examples from her own childhood and life into this lesson. She showed the way that people judge not only other people, but also countries and cultures, just by the way they see it. Others take generalized ideas from the media and their surroundings, and take it as what they know and what they believe. But, what I’ve always wondered is how would you know what something is like if you haven’t experienced it firsthand? Although generic, this story also goes along with the very famous quote, “don’t judge a book by its cover” because reading the summary of a novel gives you a generalized statement about what a book is about. But, what it doesn’t include is the many themes, lessons, characters, or actual ideas of what is inside the covers. You would not know what the whole story brings to life when you haven’t read it fully. The same way when you meet someone for the first time. A first impression gives an overview about the way a person may act but it does not represent who they fully are as a person. You wouldn’t be able to tell what a person brings to the table and what they believe in by only meeting them once - but actually understanding what they are about, who and what they involve themselves with, and where they are from, extends out of this idea of a ‘single story’. In the TedTalk, Chimamanda said, “Show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become.'' This quote was necessary for me to write down because I needed to read it multiple times to understand what it truly meant. A time I definitely judged an author by a single reading was the one-and-only Shakespeare. Everyone knows Shakespeare for his works, including Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and many others. When I first read his work being, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, my single story of Shakespeare was brought out, thinking that I would never read any of his work because I did not understand any of his language. I was blown away at how anyone could read something of such confusion with his own kind of writing. But, I was also puzzled at why he wrote this way, leading me to research and then read two more of his popular works, Romeo and Juliet of course, and Macbeth. Although not as serious as Adichie’s single story, it showed me I need to take a deeper look into authors’ works before making an assumption.
ReplyDeleteI read that you were a host teacher in Costa Rica as part of a program! I am definitely interested in what kinds of books they read and are taught - whether we have similar curriculum in our education. I love to travel and would also love to see lots of pictures you have taken when traveling to many of the countries you have!
I like how you included the quote "“don’t judge a book by its cover” because it really fits with what Chimamanda was saying in her video.
DeleteI think that there are a lot of stories that are written to change our immediate perception of a character or an idea. One episode of the TV show Louis explores the downside of first impressions and the importance of viewing a situation from multiple angles.
ReplyDeleteIn the episode, the character Louis is at a diner with his date and is threatened to be beaten up by a teenager just for asking him and his friends to quiet down. Refusing to fight, Louis’s date leaves him and he decides to secretly follow the kid home. When he rings the doorbell, the boys father begins to beat his son when Louis tells him what had happened, but Louis intravines and accuses the father of his sons behavior.
One can see that the teenagers behavior was not truly evil, but caused by problems in with his family. A lot of literature portrays the bully as the antagonist, but one can see that they have reasons for their behavior other than chaotic evilness. The ultimate message of this story and Adichie’s is that you shouldn’t just a book by it’s cover, or the first chapter. A character's true moral development is not defined by the single story in that there is no limit to the truth no matter how close you get to it. Many bullies are portrayed as the source of evil just as Africa is portrayed as the center of catastrophe. Yet, it takes more than one story to show that maybe the bully at school is being bullied at home. There is no limit to the potential reasoning behind the bully, but the truth is more visible when the perspectives increase.
I appreciate the connection to a relatable story told on T.V. It is interesting to think about the other side of a bully's story. Typically, one would not care to take the time and effort to learn why a bully is mean to them, they would simply feel hatred. In order to achieve understanding and compassion, it is an important reminder to look at why a person acts, instead of just what they do.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn Chimamanda’s Ted talk she explained that our misunderstandings and limited perspective are universal. She states, “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” I thoroughly agree with her that there is danger in a single story. Only listening to one story can lead to judgement and conflict as well as risking a critical misunderstanding.
ReplyDeleteEven though I agree that judging someone by one moment is completely erroneous I still have done it in the past even with characters from a book I read. For instance, last year in British Literature the first novel we were given to read was Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Darcy a prominent character in this book was heavily judged by me. I certainly did not like his snobby prideful self the first time I met this character. His first impression was unquestionably not the best and I sided with everyone else in that book that he is an ignorant person that is too full of himself. My opinion of him did change throughout the book as I saw there was more to him than a prideful person. I learned that I shouldn’t always judge someone based on their first impression.
On a different note I really love your global education blog. Having the opportunity to go teach students in Indonesia sounds like an experience you won’t forget! I like that you made a blog to share your experiences with other people and show them the many pictures you took there.
I definitely agree that characters aren't always who they seem to be in the first few chapters. Last year, I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the beginning, I did not like Jim because he seemed only like the crazy stereotype of a slave, like Mark Twain was trying to show with satire. However, there was more to his character, and I really liked him by the end of the book because he was like a father figure to Huck.
DeleteThis post shows how distressing the issue of a single story is. I think it is very important that we are all learning from our mistakes. Great answer Talayy
DeleteI have seen this talk so many times and every time it has a really strong impact on me. Adichie’s perspective is so interesting and is something that I think about frequently now. I think that as Americans we more often than not make impulse judgements about things. In most instances it is inevitable- it seems like sometimes we feel like we have all of the answers as Americans. People all over the world seem to know many stories of Americans but our knowledge of other cultures is so much more limited. I was thinking about the fact that we group all of Africa together into one single thing when in reality it is made up of so many different countries and cultures and people with completely different stories. Is that ignorance or just indifference? Probably a little bit of both.
ReplyDeleteSomething I do is that I judge people based off of social media, before I even meet them in person. I tend to overanalyze and make assumptions about people based off of a single social media page. I guess our online presence is just a single story out of all that makes a person.
I think I define people primarily on how they look. I think that someone’s style shows a lot about them but definitely not everything. I feel like I am generally drawn towards people who look like they would be interested in the same things as me but it is also true that people’s interests and personality only show a little bit at the surface, you really need to get to know someone and all of their stories before you can actually define them.
I definitely judge authors and characters by a single reading. When I read, I tend to make very quick and definite judgements. If I don’t like a character I am instantly put off by the book and in turn the author. I only know one side of their story and although I should probably dive deeper, I usually don’t.
I have had plenty of experiences where my opinion changed for people and authors. If I am turned off by a book, but then go back and give it another try- I sometimes find that the things that bothered me were either intentional or something that I grew to have a deeper appreciation for. This goes the same for people, it is not fair to define someone by one single story. It takes many many stories to make up a person.
It can be difficult to remind yourself not to judge based on a single experience or story. In society today, we have access to a huge variety of stories. But oftentimes it can be difficult to not take one story as what is the absolute truth. News channels will feature a certain story, but it is important to remember that the stories that we see on the news are not the only ones. News stories cover the extremes in order to get more views. They don’t show the average stories because they are considered less interesting.
ReplyDeleteI am guilty of judging over one experience. I find myself having an opinion of someone after meeting them once that is totally inaccurate. People have many sides to them and one experience with someone is not always representative of who they really are.
Often in literature, writers will intentionally develop a character by showing a new side of them. Telling a different story can be used to show a more vulnerable side of a character in literature. I have found myself judging a character early on in a story only to have my opinion changed later on once another side of them is shown. People are a collection of different experiences, ideas, and characteristics. They cannot be defined solely by one story. The same goes for different cultures. The sooner people realize this, the sooner people can start to truly understand each other.
Off of what you said about news stories, there are also many news sources that are extremely biased and will only show one side. If you read an article by CNN then another article by Fox about the same thing, you will read two wildly different articles. Also, I as well can relate to having my initial judgement changed, whether it's about a person or a character. I personally enjoy when authors depict their characters differently throughout the story, as I feel more of a connection to them.
DeleteI like how you talked about the news and how they only share one side of one story and then relating it to literature and how authors try to share multiple stories in order for the reader to understand more about a character.
DeleteI really enjoy what you wrote, I agree with what you said about the news stories and how they only show bad things to get more views and to show more "interesting" topics, even though they are mostly devastating. I also agree that people are a collection of their different stories, and by focusing on only that first story can teach us to ignore the good parts about others.
DeleteWe are a “judge a book by its cover” society. The stereotypes of people are prominent whether they are true or not. That is the danger of the single story as Ngozi speaks of, the assumption of a stereotype to be true before truly knowing a person. I know that we are all victims of stereotypes and unfortunate proponents of stereotypes, usually ignorantly. Especially as children, we unknowingly talk about these stereotypes, simply because we don’t know better. I remember not understanding why some people go to church and some people don’t. And I have heard countless times about stereotypes based upon my own race. But I understand, because sometimes it’s hard not to define someone by race. It’s something we fill out on most forms, for the SAT or school or other important papers. It’s central to us, and to our own culture sometimes. And I have judged a character before knowing their true nature. For instance, Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. I remember reading an excerpt and writing him off as a proud man, just as Elizabeth does. But his true nature is much kinder, as we find out by looking closer and reading deeper. And I as a reader realized that I was wrong, because I assumed he was a rich, arrogant snob, but he proved that though he may have had some tendencies, he ended up being someone who could change for the better, an even better characteristic than simple born kindness. The ability to change and look past stereotypes is incredibly valuable, especially in the changing world of today.
ReplyDeleteI thought of the same example and used it as my intro to the topic
DeleteI like how you brought in the real life example of being in a society to compare to the danger of a single story.
DeleteI like how you related the speech to real life and your own experiences. It is an interesting perspective that I have not thought about before.
Deletevery true how we are victims of stereotypes totally agree hundred percent. I also used the same novel as you when we talked about judging characters from another book!
Deleteoverall job well done
While watching and listening to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Ted Talk it had me thinking about how many people are judged just based off of where they are from. She was talking about her roommate in college that would ask her many questions about her “cultural music” and if she could play some of it for her. Her roommate just assumed that her music was different from any other college student. As humans it is an instinct to assume you can know everything about a person from seeing what they are wearing, or hearing a single story, or the way they talk. For me often times I judge people based off of if they are shy and quiet when they first start off at my work, which is exactly how I was when I first started at my job as well, so I am also hypocritical. As these girls become more comfortable being in the crazy environment I call work they are the sweetest girls you have ever met. It takes time for everyone to become comfortable being around new people, or new environments, this is why you cannot judge people just from one interaction.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA saying that plagues us from the time we were little: don’t judge a book by it’s cover. A metaphoric way of saying look beyond the outer image and beyond your first impressions to the deeper content within- the pages of the books and the words written across them. Yet for as much as it’s said, it seems to equally amount to people judging from only one-side of the story and first impressions. A person always giving their opinion and/or the answer to a problem in class is scene as geeky and an overachiever; Gatsby seems like a careless, wealthy man in the beginning of The Great Gatsby; Tim O’Brien, a man who writes mostly (if not solely) about the Vietnam War, almost appears to be capable of thinking about nothing else. But in truth said geek could be an opinionated individual who is focusing on a career in soccer, Gatsby was a man in love, and Tim O’Brien works and does workshops on creative writing with a side career in novels.
ReplyDeleteAll of the aforementioned assumptions I’ve been guilty of making myself. It’s not only hard not to judge people based on first impressions, but basically impossible. It is in our human nature to assess and make judgements about something or someone, whether from first impressions or the thousandth impression. Yet it is not our first judgements that so much matter as the actions we choose to conduct ourselves with accordingly. Because within the grand story of life, first impressions are never enough to truly act upon in the most dignified and appropriate manner, but require time and effort to fully develop an understanding where we can then perhaps take the step to create judgements and reasonings behind our conduct. Whether it be Gastby who you give the whole length of 218 pages to explain himself, or Tim O’Brien who you research in more depth about his life, or the girl in your class with endless thoughts that speech can never quite settle- first judgements will never paint the full picture of Gatsby’s love, Tim O'Brien's life of writing, or the girls preference for sports over school in the end.
I like how you incorporate Gatsby in your piece, and how we often don't see characters or people as capable on complex feelings only because we don't know them as well. Very cool, 10/10
DeleteI like the connection to Gatsby and Tim O'Brien. I also agree with the struggle of keeping an open mind when we meet someone, as we instinctively and unconsciously make little judgements.
DeleteI like the point you made that it's really difficult not to judge people when you first meet them saying "It is in our human nature to assess and make judgements about something or someone, whether from first impressions or the thousandth impression," and that it is imortant to be aware of this.
DeleteIt is human nature to fall prey to “The Danger of a Single Story”, and yet we must fight this natural tendency with all that we can. According to research, when one person meets another, they have seven seconds to make a first impression, and it can even take as little as a tenth of a second to begin determining traits like trustworthiness. Everyone does this, whether they mean to or not. Similarly, we naturally gather info, and extrapolate and draw conclusions from what we have, be it one story or twenty. The problem comes when it IS one story, and these conclusions are wildly inaccurate. Of course, this quick to judge mentality carries over to novels and authors. When I began reading the first “Harry Potter” novel in second grade, I found it to be extremely boring. I read one chapter (which spent a lot of time doing introductions and background compared to any other book I had read at that point), and did not want to keep reading. Keep in mind, I was a second grader at the time, and my attention span was quite short. However, I thought that reading a big book such as “Harry Potter” would make me cooler and more accomplished, so I pressed on. Of course, I loved it, what child doesn't. However, had I stuck with my initial perception, I never would have discovered this fact. On a different note, I started reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak as a part of my summer reading for freshman year, and I simply could not finish it. I had a very tough time getting interested in the novel, and therefore, despite it being a very well received novel, if you ask me i'll simply tell you it is “boring”. That is the result of only having a piece of the story.
ReplyDeleteWhile looking through the website, I noticed your blog titled “The First Day of School”, and came across the question that the Muslim students frequently asked you: "Why do Americans hate Muslims? Don't they know that the terrorists are only a very small few?". Personally, I have had limited experience with religions, especially Islam, excluding what I learn in school and what I see on the news. Therefore, after all of the negative rhetoric around Muslims in the U.S., I have come to associate the word “Terrorist” more with the word “Muslim” than with any other group, despite knowing the extreme unfairness of such a thing. I know that terrorists can be of any race, and I know that Muslims are just like any other people, yet the unconscious association is still there, even with the fact that I am aware of it's falseness, and consciously don’t believe it in the slightest. This is the product of a single story being pushed to America through the media, and figures such as the current President, who waste no time in blaming “Radical Islam” when any sort of attack occurs. Hearing stories like the one on your blog helps to actively and consciously remind that there is not just this negative view from the media, and abolish this sort of lazy, casual stereotyping and racism that is so dangerous in society. I found your site to be very interesting, and I hope one day I will have a similar opportunity to immerse myself in, and learn from, other cultures.
I feel the same way when about the single story in literature, but for me it occurs with characters instead of the whole story itself.
DeleteI think that younger children, such as yourself in second grade are the most susceptible to the single story because their view of the world is limited compared to a child in high school or even middle school. I think that it is important to enforce the idea that kids can have their own opinions about a book or a subject.
DeleteI feel like it's very easy to simply look at someone and create a whole story out of what they look like. These automatic assumptions have created a tension between people and their willingness to connect. The idea of “judging a book by its cover” relates not only to literature but everyday life, from who we decide to talk to, from which cashier at Target we go to, these little judgements draws us to or from something. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s comment on the danger of a single story is highlighting the uniformity that is often displayed in literature. Her growing up as a Nigerian girl eating mangoes, but reading about British children drinking ginger beer greatly affected her views on normality. Not having any representation of her own culture in the books that she had access to, creates a stigma about not only her identity but others in other countries. Her comment, “I did not think people like me could exist in literature” reflects the normalization contributed in western literature. The single story of Africans that is portrayed became apparent in her time in America, where her identity became the first thing people noticed. It became harder to feel equal and accepted as her race and ethnicity was the first thing someone saw.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you mention representation and how it the lack of it can change our perceptions of ourselves and the world around us.
DeleteIn both literature and the real world, we form expectations of people based on our first encounter. Though a one encounter is not sufficient to make assumptions about someone, it still happens in our mind subconsciously, and these assumptions are very hard to break. Though I am not proud of it, I do judge people by a single story, and that single story happens to be education. It is not so much that I look down upon people who have lower levels of education, I just hold people with higher levels of education in greater regard. Whenever I find out that someone went to a top university, my mindset shifts when regarding that person. I look up to them as if they are experts in their fields. Though this may be true sometimes, it is not always the case. Graduating from a top tier university is not synonymous with knowledge and success.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to literature, my single story originates from a character’s actions and values. Whenever characters are introduced in a book, I judge them as good or bad. Like any other forms of judgement, it is very hard to break these molds in my mind. In “Unaccustomed Earth” when I was introduced to Kaushik’s mother I was appalled. She “smoked in the bathroom” and overstayed her visit by “not settling for anything less than a palace” (245). These actions by her made me think that she was selfish, but again that is only one story. Once I found out about the story of her having cancer, my thoughts shifted. I was fine with her actions and felt that they were justified. Forming initial expectations is something many people do, but a “good person” is one that forms no judgements off of any stories.
"The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was a very relatable speech to me. I must admit I entered it a bit closed minded, as I was expecting a speech purely about a minority asking the majority to view her people differently. This in itself is an example of me judging something by a single thing I’ve heard of. Luckily, this expectation was quickly erased, as I was blown away by the perspectives Adichie was able to give. In a similar way, politics of the school marching band are based on a single action observed once. Competition for solos or leadership positions is fierce, and oftentimes, entire gossip circles will form around a single person’s actions and how that relates to the likelihood of them receiving a position from the band director. The results of these analyses are often wrong, because one person’s outburst at the end of rehearsal or absence does not define them as a band member, or their ability to have whichever position they want.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of novels and authors, I must admit that I have harshly judged Tim O’Brien after a single reading of his book, In the Lake of the Woods. I will admit that I did not like that the ending was uncertain, and was biased against this book after disliking The Things They Carried sophomore year. After returning to In the Lake of the Woods for the previous blog post, I have a greater appreciation for it. I still do not like the book, but after studying it more, I understand it better. I understand Tim O’Brien’s choice to leave the end of the novel in the air, because that offers a greater truth than a simple “happily ever after” ending or even a “they all died” ending.
In society today, it is so easy to overlook the whole story. It has become a habit for us to draw conclusions and make judgements about someone at first glance. We think we know the whole story, when in reality, we know nothing. We are so “impressionable and vulnerable in the face of a story, particularly as children.” And it is so hard to grow out of a mindset once it has been developed. And although creating our own stories for people develops imagination and creativity, it blocks out the truth. The story that Adichie shared about her houseboy stuck with me after watching it. I think that it is very common for us to jump to conclusions about people who are less fortunate than us, we pity them and we think about how bad their lives are, simply because they don’t have as many “things” as we do. But when Adichie went to her houseboy’s village and saw a decorated homemade vase, she was genuinely surprised because just because someone wasn’t as well off as her, she thought they couldn’t do the same things that she could. She wrote her own story for her houseboys, she thought knew what his life was like and pitied him for it. But when in reality, she knew nothing about the boy, and her pity was unnecessary. The same thing happened to Adichie herself when she moved to the US for college. Her roommate pitied her simply because she was from Africa. The roommate had developed a story for Adichie before they ever even meet and was surprised that she could speak english, knew how to use a stove, etc. There is a single story of Africa that outsiders know and everyone from Africa falls into that same story in the eyes of society. And although there may be different versions of this single story, they all make Africa out to be a “place of negatives.”
ReplyDeleteToday especially it is particularly easy to believe in single stories. We believe everything we see online, media coverage doesn’t record good times, they just show us the bad times, like people struggling to survive with diseases and little money. But we need to realize that single stories create untrue and unrealistic stereotypes. Even though it is important to read and learn about negative times, it is important to learn about the positives as well. By doing this we will be able to understand the entire story of less fortunate communities.
What stood out to me on the website, was the emphasis on living in one global community, rather than a bunch of smaller communities. It is important for everyone to relate global competence to their everyday lives in order to truly live in an interconnected world and end global challenges. Dan Rather’s interview with Linda Darling-Hammond was interesting because she stresses how important a role education plays in producing global citizens. She explains how hard it is for teachers to teach such a wide range of learners, and how important teachers are because they are the ones who are shaping the future members of a global community.
I really like how you talked about social media and online presence. What a legend
DeleteI like your connection to modern media coverage. The constant negative news is a great example of a single story because of the lack of acknowledgement on the good parts. That's a great example of another "side" of a story that I never thought of.
DeleteIn Chimamanda Adichie’s speech, “The Danger of a Single Story” the writer alludes to society’s need to judge and categorize individuals by their perception of what someone seems to be. Utilizing a one sided view, and subsequently, misinformed opinions, we as a whole form biased conclusions about someone’s lifestyle, background and behavior; however, what we perceive is often not the entirety of their narrative. You may see the same people everyday in your AP Literature class for example, but never know critical components of their story. When we create ideals for what we expect people to be, we often assume the straightforward version of them, and are often bewildered once we realize the complexity of their story.
ReplyDeleteBut she also suggests the hypocrisy within us all, and how we are all subject to erroneously adopting someone’s single story as the only truth, often because it is the only one available. While being critical of those who improperly judge Nigeria to be a country of extreme poverty and decadence, Adichie is also understanding of the lack of nuanced content available on mainstream media, and how that affects overall perception of her country. She goes even further to exemplify her point, acknowledging how she, with only a single story, assumed Mexicans to be miserable immigrants, since that was the information available to her. But upon visiting Mexico, she realized that she too, could fall victim to narrow perspectives, since the country was buried with its own rich culture.
Something similar happened to me upon moving to the United States, while I was horrified with people’s perspectives of Brazil, as solely a country of soccer, poverty and corruption, I also became aware of my own biases towards other cultures. Prior to moving here I had never meet an Indian person, or any non-Brazilian, and thus had a very narrow view of what India was like, but once I became more and more aware of its nuances, I was able to see past my preconceived notions of what I thought the country was, and gain a more well rounded view of all of its marvelous complexities. We are not where we came from, but the places we’ve been are a part of us, and our own complexity.
Once we understand one’s motive, and gain a new nuanced part of their identity, we can piece together and try to better understand their actions. By assuming simplicity we open space for common mediocrity, one must not confine, but rather explore the self, for we are not creatures resulting from a single story, but rather a never ending series of novels, with convoluted metaphors, character development, crossovers and spinoffs.
"The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie really opened my eyes to how quick people can be to judge one another and the consequences of doing so. I really liked this TED talk because the information wasn't just blurted out at once, it was shown to you through many different mini stories. In the end, these smaller stories came together to show a broader message. Adichie explains that there is a universal problem of limited knowledge and misconceptions. This quote really spoke to me, “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” I thought about this statement a lot and realized how easy it is to believe something because it's been said so many times. I have many times believed things without really looking into them further. I think this is an important realization as it is unfair to take one single story and make it the whole truth. Its unsettling that one single thing can blanket over everything else. This can play into literature as well. I remember reading The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and not really enjoying it. Due to this, I wasn’t looking forward to reading In the Lake of the Woods but I actually ended up really liking it. This was surprising to me as I hadn't liked Tim O'Brien's other book. By judging O’Brien off one book I didn't particularly enjoy, I limited my understanding of him as an author. He isn't just defined by one book. This also plays into people. I have found myself many times judging someone after only meeting them one time. This is unfair because I don’t truly know them or their full story.To create a set opinion of someone in this manner isn't fair. Overall, it isn't fair to form an opinion on something or someone when you don't have all of the facts. It's also important to realize that everything you hear has bias and may have information left out.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that came to mind when I was thinking about how I judged an author on a single story was Jane Austen. I am so happy that we read Pride and Prejudice before Persuasion because if we did it the other way, i'm not sure I would have been so hopeful about P&P. I relate this to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s idea on the dangers of a single story because, if I judged Jane Austen on the one story that I didn't like too much, then I wouldn't have the appreciation for her writing like I do now. For those who do not know, Persuasion was written in a time of Austen's life where she was experiencing a lot of low points. The book was a reflection on the time in her life when it was written, the tone being very solemn and somewhat dull, it was just way to predictable and too “cookie cutter” in my opinion. Compared to P&P, where you could guess the outcome of the overall story, but we're guessing what events would lead us there. I understand now that it is unfair to judge the book so harshly, especially when comparing it to, in my opinion, one of Jane's best works. That's why we should all look into reading more than one story from an author that we like, or even ones that we dislike. I also think that this applies to everyone, not just authors. I'm not too keen on the “first impressions mean everything,” in some ways its very closed minded. We should all understand that people go through tough times where its hard to give a good first impression, to be cheerful and personable all day everyday. I think that we should allow growth and development in a person. Yes, first impressions are still important, but I think that if we allow ourselves to get to know a person from all sides and all angles, then we would have more meaningful and personal relationships with people and have a better understanding of each other.
ReplyDeleteI love Jane Austen and although she can be tedious at times, it's nice you gained an appreciation for her and didn't just dismiss her after the first time because she has a lot of great books
DeleteI love how you used actual stories and the order in which we read them to relate to the single story. I also think reading Pride first was pivotal in understanding Jane Austen through her works.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhile listening to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk, I was reminded of how harshly we judge celebrities for their actions. Celebrities may say or do one controversial thing, and suddenly they are “cancelled” and they could lose the majority of their followers, whom in many cases fuel their income. While this can be justified, it is important to keep in mind that these are people too, and they may have said things they regret. As discussed in the TED Talk, there is also another side to the story that most people choose to ignore. As explained through Mr. Pellerin’s website, the best way to go about this is to keep an open mind, and listen. When a celebrity is “cancelled” for allegedly doing something terrible, listening to their point of view may change how you see the situation entirely. Finding the facts and basing an opinion off of that is ideal. Similarly, with politics it is important to find the facts on a situation, rather than a biased report. This allows for an individual to form their own thoughts and opinions on the matter, rather than simply believing someone else’s review. In our society where we have such easy access to just about any information we want, it is often difficult to find the truth on a situation, but doing so will be better for everyone. Not only would it benefit someone wrongly accused of something, or a “cancelled” celebrity, but it would also help society as fewer people would be misinformed. If one person does not have accurate information, then that may spread to their friends, and it will continue spreading. People have a responsibility to attempt to properly inform themselves, particularly when it comes to politics, so that we as a society may make educated decisions.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting view on this topic. I agree that it is important to seek out both sides of a story in order to try to discover the truth. Opinions can be formed through biased one sided stories so it it important to not just look at one story so you can truly have all the information and make the most informed opinion.
DeleteI really like the real world connection you used. I didn't even think about that, very interesting. I also do agree that we shouldn't judge people so harshly with only one side of the story.
DeleteThe purpose of TED Talks themselves is to expand our knowledge in understanding the infinite other stories that exist. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie uses a TED Talk to explain the importance of such concept. The final line of her speech and summarizing call to action states, “When we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place. We regain a kind of paradise.” To see a single story as the whole truth is a danger that is unfortunately very common. In society today, we are so quick to believe first impressions or stereotypes. There are countless examples of this but one that comes to my mind immediately is a concept called Orientalsim which was constructed by historian, Edward Said. The book that broke such concept explains the distorted view the West often has of the East, illustrating the East as a mysterious, exotic place inhabited by violent barbarians. This view is has no factual base, it is formed on stereotypes from media and historical context among other sources. A prime example of this is the original movie Aladdin. A Disney classic that plants orientalist ideas in the minds of young children to believe that Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East as magical and mysterious. After the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, news media outlets reported that the bombing was at the hands of terrorists from the Middle East. It was later revealed that the killing of 168 people was at the hands of a native born American. This jumping to conclusions is the result of a single story. The same is to say about characters in literature. Authors typically develop a character over time so it is easy to judge a character by their introduction. This judgment is often changed as the story progresses. To not seek other stories is to be content with a false narrative, misinforming you of important realities.
ReplyDeleteDuring the video Adichie shares with us many times where she is judged based on either her looks or by one moment of her life. This is something that I believe everyone is guilty of doing. Upon seeing a new person we immediately try to categorize them in our heads and give them a role. However, often times our first judgements on people are incorrect. I agree with Adichie that we should take time to learn more about another person before we label or mark them in our own heads, however I also believe it’s natural for us to do this. I personally have made judgements on people based off of one encounter with them and been completely wrong about it. I also believe it’s important to revisit people you may have written off in the past, people are subject to change at any point in their life and you don’t want to miss on a potential life long friend.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about people being able to change at any point in their lives. As humans we are constantly growing as individuals all the time, so I believe it is important to go back to people in the future you may not have had a good experience with, because they are capable of changing your mind if you give them another chance to show you who they are as a person now.
DeleteThe effects of the single story are very prominent in day to day life - even for a highschool student. Two areas in which I feel the single story has affected me the most is in social media or the news and word of mouth through a friends. Nowadays, the media has such an impact on day to day life as more and more adolescents are speaking up for what they believe in and taking actions where maybe a couple years ago nobody was even talking about it. However, what makes this risky is that the way a lot of kids get information is through various news sources and through their friends. The problem with certain news sources is that they can be biased; they can showcase facts and intertwined stories in a way that fits their political or philosophical views. Yet, we consider it as fact because we are so conditioned to believe that everything on the news must be true - yet it can work in the opposite way too where once we start to doubt the media to an extent where we don't know what the truth is anymore and what to believe. One recent example could be the burning of the Amazon rainforest. Many of my friends had posted info about the burning of the Amazon rainforest and based on the way they were posting it I assumed it had to do with global warming and stuff like that. However, I then saw a video by Hank Green on youtube and in my opinion he is pretty trustworthy - and he said how it's misleading to say the amazon rainforests are burning instead they should read “the amazon rainforest is being burnt” due to how they are actively being burned by people employed by the braziallian government to create more farmland to make more money. My entire conception of what was going on hundreds of miles away had been changed just like that. The dangers of the single story are also prevalent with novels in the sense how are prenotions on certain things make us read the book differently than others. One example of when I was reading a novel and made judgments that later changed could be when I was reading The Death Of A Salesman. Initially I was a bit hard on a certain character in the book and was questioning how he could be so cruel to his dad. However, certain things that were happening in my own life made me relate to the character so much more. This ability to relate to the character more allowed me to put myself in his position and see why he acted the way he acted. I had recently made a trip to Maine
ReplyDeletei didnt mean to have that last sentence-anuraag
DeleteThe same experience you had with a character in The Death Of A Salesman, occurred to me in Unaccustomed Earth. I first was appalled by Kaushik's mother's actions, but after I learned about her having cancer, my judgements about her changed.
DeleteYes, I agree with your point about "social media activism" I think this is a great way to get a brief overview of issues but it can not be where the discussion ends. After seeing those posts about the Amazon Rainforest, yes I knew there was an issue but I needed clarification in further articles from trusted sources. Also, posts don't equal votes, I appreciate your interest but please turn it, if not into further activism, at least into a vote.
ReplyDeletethis is Leah
ReplyDelete