Danger of a single story Flashcards
I’m a storyteller
> Simple declarative sentence with a personal pronoun
Allows her to introduce herself
Stories are important to her
engages audience
Why does Adichie use 1st person
It’s a personal account of her life with anecdotes.
-it’s personal talking to you
what are impressionable and vulnerable (adichie)
strong adjectives
What makes adichie open about her opinion
She is open and understanding that everyone has made the mistake of a single story before
What does adichie say when comparing english and african books
-Repetition of ‘they’ to solidify that it is what ‘they’ did and not what she did
-There is a physical barrier between what ‘they’ do and what ‘we’ do through the change in paragraph
Why does adichie use the proper nouns of ‘Chinua Achebe’ and ‘Camara Laye’
They provide a pivotal moment for adichie
gives recognition and identity
Why do the american and british books stir adichie’s imagination
she has never been to england
How does Fide affect adichie’s perception of a single story
-Fide comes from a poor family
-She makes the assumption that poverty will prevent them from doing anything apart from being poor
-Adichie critiques herself
What does ‘People like Fide’s family’ tell us
-She makes it seem that being poor is Fide and his family’s only trait
-His family can’t be creative or have craftsmanship because they are poor
Why is adichie’s roommate surprised when adichie listens to mariah carey
Her roommate is surprised that they are not so different and actually quite alike
-the reference to popular culture is contrast
What does the isolated sentence ‘she assumed I did not know how to use a stove’ tell us
-She assumes that they are behind, more traditional and less advanced.
-The short sentence equals a limited view
‘my roommate had a single story of africa’
assumes africa is less advanced because she has only heard one thing
‘we regain a kind of paradise’
it is a powerful metaphor, if we reject the single story we get more happiness.
-we is an inclusive pronoun and quite powerful
-paradise has connotations of being positive, luxurious and free
‘well-meaning’ -adichie
language choice has an empathetic view
‘I too am just as guilty’ adichie
she critiques herself
