The Danger of a Single Story

As a speech, “The Danger of a Single Story” is written to be heard, not read. One of the ways Adichie makes her points clear and memorable for her audience is through repetition. In providing examples of single stories, Adichie consistently uses the same phrase to communicate this key idea. She says that she was “saved […] from having a single story of what books are” (2:28), and that Fide’s family’s “poverty was [her] single story of them” (3:35). Describing her American roommate, she recalls, “My roommate had a single story of Africa: a single story of catastrophe. In this single story, there was no possibility of Africans being similar to her in any way” (04:41). Over and over again, Adichie uses the phrase “single story,” defining it and connecting it to clear examples. After hearing the speech just one time, listeners can therefore identify Adichie’s concept of “the single story” and understand what she means by it. 

Throughout her speech, Adichie uses juxtaposition to contrast a flat, single story with alternative views. Adichie’s experience in Mexico is one example of this. Through American media, Adichie encountered “endless stories of Mexicans as people who were fleecing the healthcare system, sneaking across the border, being arrested at the border, that sort of thing” (8:12). She then traveled to the Mexican city of Guadalajara and watched “the people going to work, rolling up tortillas in the marketplace, smoking, laughing” (8:45). By first describing the American media’s portrayal of Mexicans and then the details of visiting Mexico, Adichie uses juxtaposition to undermine the single story. 

In “The Danger of a Single Story,” Adichie discusses the weighty topic of dismantling stereotypes. She recounts her own experiences of being misjudged and minimized based on stereotypes; she shares moments when, to her shame, she misjudged others.

However, serious as the topic is, Adichie still weaves humor throughout her speech. When Adichie examines the roots of Western literature’s single story about Africa, she shares a quote from John Lok, a British sailor who was one of the pioneers of the transatlantic slave trade. He describes Africans as “people without heads, having their mouth and eyes in their breasts" (6:26). The quote reveals Lok’s view of Africans as completely foreign and even subhuman. Immediately after sharing this quote, Adichie says, “Now, I’ve laughed every time I’ve read this” (6:56). By referring to humor in the face of a disturbing quotation, Adichie highlights the absurdity of it.

Throughout the recorded speech, Adichie also invites her live audience into moments of laughter. She does this through pauses, juxtaposition, and her use of irony. When describing herself as a child, Adichie contrasts the details of her life in Nigeria with the lives of characters she read about in literature; the irony of herself, as a Nigerian child, writing about snow and people drinking ginger beer is humorous. Adichie’s use of humor keeps her audience engaged and more likely to self-reflect rather than feel defensive.