Some Single Stories Are More Dangerous Than Others

Essay from the year 2017 in the subject Literature - Africa, grade: 9.5, , course: English VO3A Accelerated English Composition, language: English, abstract: Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's lecture starts off with Adichie as a "e;story teller,"e; wanting to illuminate "e;The Danger of the Single Story."e; Some single stories are as dangerous as the people who push those stories to become a personal truth, a national truth, or even a global truth. Hitler promoted hatred, torture and death through anti-Semitism. Famous Shock Jock Howard Stern, on the morning of the Oklahoma Bombing, 1995, announced on the radio, he knew "e;Towelheads"e; were responsible. Donald Trump is busy trying to grow Islamophobic ideology as truth. These leaders work(ed) hard to put blinders on their citizens and the world, to further their own agendas. It is important to take in others information, rather than rely on what we think we know and judge them. Cultural Humility encourages one to think and feel, another's point of view, similar to walking that proverbial mile in another person's shoes. Recognizing single stories allows people to reflect and become vulnerable. If a person bases life on a single story, they will have very limited personal experiences, Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding (NPR/TED). [...]