January 22

English 1A Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie’s, “The Danger of A Single Story” Due Sundays before class 9 am.

The Danger of A Single Story: TEDtalk with Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie

View the above TEDtalk. You may activate the closed caption service and read along with the talk. As you listen, make note of Adichie’s position. Answer the following questions here on this blog site.  After you view the video, return here and type your response at the foot of this page. 

Include your first name and last initial in your response.

1) How does the author introduce her topic?

2) Why is it relevant that she began in this way?

3) What evidence does she provide to support her position?

4) Apply her reflection to your own experiences. Have you ever re-thought your own opinions of a situation or condition? Have you ever had a flat view of other people? If so, explain. Be precise.

Directions: Click the title, then scroll down. You should see a white box titled, “comment”. That’s where you will type your answer. Be sure to copy your work before you click “submit”. Type your email address or at least one that looks like an email address in the blank. You do not need to type a website address on that line; but, you do need to type the spam filter code. Again, be sure to copy and save your work before you submit because sometimes student’s work is lost. Then submit.

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Posted January 22, 2018 by tashak38 in category Uncategorized

About the Author

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area--Big Up to the East Bay

19 thoughts on “English 1A Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie’s, “The Danger of A Single Story” Due Sundays before class 9 am.

  1. Rozina Berhane

    1. The speaker begins her speech by telling the audience that it is a story about her life. She explains that she has been reading and writing starting at a young age. She also lets the audience know that she always read American books focusing on American culture. She had a preconceived notion of what it was like to be a white American. based solely off the books she read as a child.

    2. I believe it was important for her to start off this way because it gives her immediate credibility. She may not speak like the average “American” but she is well educated and well read. She wanted to get her point across that she had these ideas of what it was like to be American based off of the books she read. Now that she has the ability to write single-sided stories, she is using that platform to expand the minds of readers everywhere. She wants for people to find the good with the bad and the bad with the good.

    3. One example is when she talks about her houseboy Filly. She says that she had this idea of him and his family as well as where he came from. She thought that they were poor and had nothing when in reality, they had what they needed.

    4. Personally, it took me until college to completely stop letting my preconceived notions determine how I felt about somebody. I started serving at a restaurant and I saw all different types of people with different races, socioeconomic backgrounds, and ages. I used to hate serving young kids because they typically never tipped well or at all. I used to hate serving people from my own country because I always felt like they felt entitled to discounts and free stuff because our ancestors came from the same country. Eventually, I stopped letting the negative stereotypes impact my serving and I began treating everyone EQUAL. Now in my serving career, I get blessed by young diners and people from my country. It is important to treat everyone equal.

    Reply
  2. Isaiah Velasquez-Clark

    1. The author inteoduces her topic by explaining to the audience that her language arts skills, such as reading and writinf atarted at a very young age . She also goes on to explain how her reading and writing were influenced by peopl of caucasian decent since she read mostly books that were american and had american culture.
    2. It is relevant that she began her topic this way because it shows the reader what her story made her realize is that one story can change the midset of people in so many ways. While reading american and britain piblished books, her mindset was influenced and she explained how many peoples opiions and beliefs today are influenced by writing of ones opinion.
    3.one piece of evidence that the author provides is that from a young age she was only reading british and american published books. Doing this led to her opnionated mindset from the cultural perspective of american and british culture. Another piece of evidence is the houseboy named fide that used to work for the family. She explained how fide gave her a different perspective of a persons life who was not as lavish as her own.
    4. In many cases i have changed my opnions and thoughts about things but for the most parrt my mindset is sort of narrow. Sorry to say that but i usually know what i want and what i dont want. My opnions of things are usually set and it is usually hard to change my mind about someone or something. When looking or talking about a person, i usually just have a flat view of them at first. There are some people in my life whos first impression hust gave me a view of someone who is not necessarily needed in my life. On the other hand , i view some friends in happier and funnier ways and some not so much.

    Reply
  3. Robby Oliva

    Robby Oliva

    1) How does the author introduce her topic?

    The author introduced herself by letting her know that she was an early reader and writer. She introduced her topic by explaining that when she began writing as a kid, the characters were American based appearance, for example, having blue-eyes, pale skin. She appreciates seeing what other cultures appear to be.

    2) Why is it relevant that she began in this way?

    Because she is explaining how a single story can change many people’s minds quickly with assumptions and that there’s power in stories. Ngozi, as a writer wants to create the same power and make everyone realize to many more stories than one.

    3) What evidence does she provide to support her position?

    That as a kid she believed in single stories that Americans have white skin, blue-eyes, having great weather, she also fell for the stereotype of the media telling stories about Mexicans being immigrants. She also explained how her roommate believed that she was poor just because she came from Nigeria, and that she needed help. Single stories like these are very powerful because it controls everyone minds and keeps us all close minded and mind full of assumptions.

    4) Apply her reflection to your own experiences. Have you ever re-thought your own opinions of a situation or condition? Have you ever had a flat view of other people? If so, explain. Be precise.

    As a kid who was born from the Philippines, I experienced similar situations as her. Even though I grew up in the Bay Area where it’s very diverse, there are some who assume life are completely different in other countries. As a kid I always had my eyes open minded, since I seen two complete different countries. Before I moved here, I was around 9, I also believed that everyone would be pale skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair. I also fell for the stereotype until I realized that there are many cultures in the Bay Area that it was completely different from what I imagined. I thought everyone was also living the American Dream here, and didn’t understand that there are similar problems here just like in the Philippines.

    Reply
  4. Josh Gilman-Chun

    #1.How does the author introduce her topic?

    Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie introduces her topic by telling stories of her childhood. She tells us about the books she had read and how they all had one thing in common, they all were focused around white, blue eye’d children even though white children were almost non-existent within her community.She tells us how she read more English literature than she did African and how it changed her perspective on reality versus literature.

    #2. Why is it relevant that she began in this way?

    It is relevant that Adichie approached this topic the way she did to notify the reader her personal views on this issue, allowing the reader to understand where she come’s from when discussing this issue.

    #3. What evidence does she provide to support her position?

    Adichie starts off by showing the vast majority of literature circled around the globe and how they all seem the to feature the same descriptions of characters. She then begins to describe her experiences at her university where her European roommate treated her as if Adichie had no knowledge outside of a third world country.

    #4. Apply her reflection to your own experiences. Have you ever re-thought your own opinions of a situation or condition? Have you ever had a flat view of other people? If so, explain. Be precise.

    Being in the Bay Area has always opened my eyes to different cultures and standpoint’s on today’s societal issues. Throughout my childhood on the other hand, I had no idea the issues of diversity and cultural standpoints our society faced. I remember in the first grade I was jealous of my best friend because his skin was black. I remember going around saying how I wanted to be black with blonde hair, having no idea what struggles the color of ones skin brought to people. But as I grew up I slowly began to learn the difficulties brought upon with race and diversity and that’s when I began to understand my viewpoint on modern societal issues. I now believe I have a vast understanding when it comes to cultural differences, yet I do understand I will never truly understand the struggles those differences make.

    Reply
  5. nasir

    Nasir Gulaqa

    1. the author introduces her self by telling us how she learned to read at the age of 2 but the only thing she read was British and American books. she tells us how she learned literature at such a young age she learned to write at 7 and she wrote stories but all she read where American books never any African or any other books so when she wrote stories that’s all she knew and that’s how she merges her talk into that there is always more to what it seems as she grew up she learned that there are all kinds of literature, not all have blue eyes girls .

    2. it was relevant to begin this way because she talks about how people always have one mindset there is always more to what we hear and see the limited information we receive sometimes shapes peoples thoughts she gives us a brief example of how her reading was limited and it caused her to limit her imagination in her writing.

    3. as evidence she tells us when her roommates wondered where she had learned English so well, her roommates probably thought since Nigeria is a pour country everyone is illiterate or doesn’t speak English. that image of poor Nigeria has led her to believe there is nothing more, but in Nigeria English is the official language and there are people with successful lives

    4. coming from a middle eastern family I would always hear racist remarks, they weren’t from hate they were from what my community made it seem like coming to America I was told black people are dangerous, Asians can’t drive white people are racist. those are the things my parents heard so they told us but it was something that changes as I grew up I happened to become best friends with an African American, my Asian neighbours taught me how to do burnouts and race and some of the nicest people I’ve met are white growing up it was hard to have an open mindset but I learned not everything has one side and not everyone is the same

    Reply
  6. Christopher J.

    1. Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie, the author of, “The Danger of the Single Story,” starts her topic off by stating that she was born in an Oxford College, and at an early age excelled in reading and writing, creating stories for her mother to read. Adichie explains that in these stories, the characters were mainly white, blue eyed people, enjoying things that are not common in Nigeria.

    2. The way Adichie started this topic is important, because it set the standard for how she would view the world and its people as she grows up in life. The “single story,” or having a single view point using the information that was given to you.

    3. Adichie provides a few different pieces of evidence for this point. When Adichie was younger she had a new house boy, whom she knew of as poor and thus he couldn’t be anything but. Another example being in her college years, her white roommate couldn’t believe that she spoke English so well, and also wanted to listen to “tribal music.” Adichie quotes a Palestinian Prime Minister who explains to bring down a group of people start with “secondly.” Making one story, the only story.

    4. When I was younger of course I thought about things the way they were told to me. Asians cannot drive, White people are racist, and if your black you have to be a rapper to succeed. Going through life you find out that things aren’t as black and white as you thought, at least that is how it was for me. I grew up all over the bay area, and I’ve met people from all walks of life, so my perception of reality vastly changed. I try not to judge people based on my first thought of them and I start to notice how people view or talk to me after first meeting me. I’ve had someone tell me that they thought I was uneducated when they first saw me, then after having a conversation their perspective changed. I try and live my life with the notion that not everyone is how they seem, and I allow people to show me who they are and in turn I do the same.

    Reply
  7. Ignacio Sanchez

    Ignacio S.

    1.) Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie introduces her topic, “The Dangers Of A Single Story,” in a short segment when she began to read as a child. Adichie recalls being able to read at the age of about four years old and started off reading foreign books. The books provided to her were that of British and American children books which had characters that were white and had blue eyes. These foreign books allowed her to realize that life outside of Nigeria was far different to what she exposed to.

    2.) It is relevant that the author introduces her topic the way she did because it shows how anyone can easily establish a fixed opinion about something based on the information given to them. It later becomes dangerous as a single story would only blur one’s idea of something to what they want to see it compared to what it truly is.

    3.) Adichie provides a few examples in her past to support her claim. When she was younger she became a victim of creating a single story about a new houseboy, Fide. Adichie goes on to believe that since because fide and his family were very poor, they had little to nothing and could not produce anything of value. Her constant reminder of Fide’s family being poor made her only create a simple and single idea of them thus making it impossible for her to see them as anything else. She was shocked when she saw that Fide’s brother had handcrafted a beautiful basket. Her single story did not let her see the other side of the poor family and their strengths.

    Adichie’s second example is when she went to university and roommate had a single story about her. Since Adichie is from Nigeria, her roommate had thought she came from a village and had not adapted to modern civilization. Her roommate’s single story of all of Africa was nothing more than poor and only had pity for them. A single story like Adichie’s roommate is a prime example of how single stories can be dangerous because many people have the same perception. Many people have the same single story of Africa having amazing wildlife and landscapes but the inhabitants are not as smart nor wealthy as them and how they die of starvation and all kinds of diseases. Furthermore, the media occasionally pushes these ideas and makes people not want to visit or learn the truth of Africa, but everyone is quick to feel nothing more than pity.

    4.) Most of my single stories had their pages burned, but I still have a couple. One of my most recent single story is how I thought foreign countries had little to no influence of the english language. Although it is not like an offensive stereotype like how Asians can’t drive well, it is still one I never took the time to think about. Like I thought foreign countries like Germany or France have many places where people speak English. I was under the impression that I would have to learn the language or hire someone to help me get around. I even recently learned that Nigeria and numerous amount of countries have English as their official language. That being said, I can travel to other beautiful countries without the struggle of learning a new language.

    Reply
  8. arlene valrey

    Arlene V.
    1. Adichie is a story teller, her topic was A danger of the single story. She was a early reader started reading around age two or four. She was a early writer at age seven, she read British and American children’s books where she learn to write stories about little girls that was white with blue eyes and played in the snow and other characters drank ginger beer.

    2. It was relevant she began this way because she thought all books was written by British and American writers. She did not know that books was written by African Literatures also.

    3. The evidence she provided was her roommate ask her how she spoke English very well coming from Nigeria, not knowing English was on of Nigeria’s main languages. Her roommate judge her the way she was taught on the single story she grew up on.

    4. All the years I have been on this earth I’ve been blessed people never treated me differently because of the color of my skin. I never had a flat view of other people because of my family is consist of many colors and nationalities.

    Reply
  9. Diana A Moctezuma

    1Q: How does the Author introduce her topic?
    1A: Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie introduces her topic by starting off as she is a storyteller.

    2Q: Why is it relevant that she began in this way?
    2A: Its relevant that she stared that way because she stated that she began reading English British books that influenced her to start writing her own stories. But because she had only read English British books her only reference was that only style her own writing style was limited until she expanded her knowledge to other authors. Also this is were the topic “The Danger of A Single Story” is introduce. If you only hear one story you will hold people accountable and expect people to fit and meet every single detail of the story even thought it may or may not be true.

    3Q: What evidence does she provide to support her position?
    3A: Chimimanda provides prior experience of having the mind set of just one story. An example she gave was that when she was growing up she had servants and one of the servants was a little boy close to the narrators age at that time his name was Fide. The mother explain to Chimimanda that Fide was poor. One day the narrators family went to go visit Fide’s Village. Chimimanda was shock to see that Fides village wasn’t as the narrator imagine. They seemed happy hard working, who also created such beautiful things. Chimimanda felt ashamed of her self because what if her mother had told her even though Fide is poor he has loving parents who are hard works then her judgment/expectation wouldn’t revolve or focus on the fact that Fide’s family was poor.

    4Q: Apply her reflection to your own experiences. Have you ever re-thought your own opinions of a situation or condition? Have you ever had a flat view of other people? If so, explain. Be precise
    4A: When I was 12 years old I took a trip to Mexico to visit my family. I have hear in the news that Mexico wasn’t safe that their was a lot of drug cartels and homicides also that they lack recourses and that it was so poor people were so skinny as a tree because they lack nutrition. When I arrived their I thought I will probably be the only person who speaks English. When I arrived in my village I heard English music Demi Lovato was playing. I felt so disorientated I felt like could it be everything I hear was a lie? To my surprised some houses looked very elegant. But what really blew my mind was that they had a Walmart in Mexico. At the end of the day I felt foolish and disappointed in my self how could I have felt more superior to them when all of us are maid of flesh and blood. Ever Since that Day I live by the quote ” Don’t judge a book based on its cover”.

    Reply
  10. Anonymous

    1) the author introduces her topic by telling the story about reading & writing at an early age and that by just being exposed to American/European books and authors it made an impact on her writing. Her novel characters were of white origin, drinking foreign beer and was not relatable to her life in anyway.

    2) It is relevant that she starts off her speech topic in this way because it helped formulate her writing style at an early age. That it was these European/ American books that she based her characters for her own stories on. Also, by having one story and not many stories of a situation or culture of people it can create a shameful consequence at times.

    3) The evidence she provides:
    * her roommate at university having the opinion that Chimimanda is maybe of the lower caste being from Africa but being shocked that she too knew how to work a stove, speak English, and listen to the same type of pop culture music.
    *Also, as a kid, she herself formed the opinion that because Fides family was poor it was something to pity and look down on not realizing that there was more to the family then meets the eye. Then later on in her adulthood, because of the media coverage on Mexicans she thought them only has the never-ending immigrant and was ashamed of herself when experiencing differently.

    4) For this question about reflecting on my own experiences, it took me but a min to think upon it. I myself, could not think of an experience I had to rethink but I do live in a situation where I hope the thinking changes in my parents:

    Being the only disabled member of my family, I grew up with physical challenges that my cousins or older brother could not understand obviously. I was treated no different within the family but of course my parents knew the hardships dealing with my disability but they each had a strange take on it. My dad is the opinion of yes be healthy but don’t strive for a career that would be too taxing. My mother is a bit more open-minded, but I still catch her making misguided remarks. Example being we volunteered for a bicycle ride benefiting a special needs program and she commented to a family with a child with my disability that it was so inspiring to see what all these children/adults were able to accomplish. Now my mom may think she didn’t say anything in the wrong but to me my life isn’t inspiring, it’s just my life… that I have experienced in a different way from another.

    Reply
  11. Pinky Rose Samonte

    1. The author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie introduces her topic by telling her audience that she is a storyteller. She started to read British and American books by the age of 2 and at the age of 7 she started to write. Due to the nature of books she read, she writes her characters are described blue -eyed, white skinned, European-American traits and she describes her setting as a cold and snowy weather. As she grew older she read and learned other Literature like African Literature and then realized that she is a victim of a single story or what she called “unintended consequence”.
    2. This is relevant because she wants to emphasis how a single story can change or influence the view of an individual.
    3. The evidence she provided to support her position is like how she was treated by her roommate in college and also that she knows Fide’s family is poor and she doesn’t know how Fide’s brother makes beautiful crafts to support the family.
    4. I was born and raised in Philippines and I came to the United States in 2007. My father petitioned me and my sister to migrate in the US. I would say we are a typical conventional people in Philippines but my father wants us to be together and try job opportunities in the US. Before I migrated here in the US I don’t know anything about the history of US. I just knew that it is a country full of dreams, white skinned people. One of the reason why I was really anxious and scared to migrate in the US. But when I came to California everything changed, I learned that American is built by people of color not only one color. I also realized that if you don’t work hard enough you will really have a hard time especially in the bay area. It is possible to reach your dreams as long as you work hard for it.

    Reply
  12. Jonathan Park

    Jonathan P.

    1. Chimamanda Ngozi introduced herself by stating that she is a writer and that she had started reading at a young age. She has read children books, which predominately has people of European origin and although she later mentioned that she had loved those books, it has affixed her imagination to be based on European culture and only found out later that people of African descent can be included in literature.

    2. Her introduction is relevant to her the rest of her speech because in her talk, she will be talking about that stories can be used, intentionally or unintentionally, to influence people to have a fixed mindset on something.

    3. She had many evidences to support her position. One is when she was in Nigeria living in a middle-class family and had domestic workers in the house. She was Ngozi was told that a boy worker, Fide, was from a poor family and words that came into her mind when thinking about Fide’s family was nothing but poor, and was accordingly surprised to see that Fide’s family could produce such a beautiful basket. Another example was her time in the U.S. when her roommate thought of Ngozi as a poor, primitive, and naive African woman, only to be surprised by her fluent English (due to Nigeria’s official language being the afforementioned language) and to listen to Ngozi’s compilation of Mariah Carey music. A third was prior to Ngozi’s trip to Mexico. Because of her exposure to the heated debate of immigration between the U.S. and Mexico, the word ‘immigration’ was synonymous to Mexicans. All these are evidences of people having one story about something or someone.

    4. I am just as guilty as the next person of having a single story. One particular instance was somewhere in the 1st grade when one of my classmate said she was going to her home country of India for the holiday, and the first thing that came into my mind was a bunch of Native Americans skipping around in circles in a ritualistic manner. It took me several years to figure out that her family was from India, as in the Republic of India in Southern Asia, bordering Pakistan, Nepal, and China. Another instance of me having one story on something particular is not about a race, but a profession, and that is law enforcement. When I was young, I was pretty scared of the police because I just see them arresting people. I didn’t have any irrational fear around them, but I still had a negative look on them. Around 2014-2015, I saw videos on YouTube of riot police pushing people around, and I thought, “Hey, that doesn’t seem right, they shouldn’t be doing that to those people”. A year later, I saw that the Hayward Police was hosting a week long program. I’d thought I apply just to see what was going on. I soon found out that the police were not some “pigs”, “automatons”, or “slaves of the government”. They’re people doing their jobs of enforcing the law, hence the job title “Law Enforcement”. I am currently a Police Explorer at Hayward PD as a Squad Leader and waiting to attain the rank of Sergeant.

    Reply
  13. Danica Demadura

    Danica D

    1.)The author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie introduces her topic by mentioning that she’s a storyteller. She begins to explain that she likes to read and write stories, but only based on white people with blue eyes as a young girl. With the discovery of literature from Africa, she explained how it changed her opinion on how there are more than one type of literature.

    2.)This is relevant because it explains how one person’s opinions can change we think about stuff. When you know more than one perspective, it shows that the more information people share can impact on people think.

    3.)The evidence that the author provides is when she first mentioned how she only read British and American children’s which only provided her one perspective as a young girl. Another piece of evidence is when she explained the story about Fide the poor houseboy that worked for her family which showed how she learned information from a different perspective. Also the fact when common stereotypes were used as her roommate knew little information assuming where the author came from.

    4.)I was born in Daly City, CA while both of my parents were born in the Philippines. As a child, I would be taught lessons on how to not waste my food and to always be grateful for what I have. When I was 5, I remember taking a trip down to Philippines to see my parent’s relatives. To be honest, I was pretty selfish with my toys that time like I would refuse to share with my little cousins. As a grew older, it made me realize that I need to be grateful for all of the hard work my parents put in to give me all the stuff I need. In reality, not everyone knows the story about their life and often can judge on the things they don’t have. People often judge from what they learned from other people

    Reply
  14. Ethan Kevin

    1. Adichi introduces her story by telling the audience that as a child at the age of two, or roughly around age four, she has already begun to read books; books that are from America and Britain.
    2. It is relevant that she started her story this way because in those stories the only idea she had of American and British people are that they were white and blue-eyed, played in the snow, ate apples, and talked about the weather.
    3. The evidence she provides about this is that she lived in NIgeria and has never left. She continues to say that she, and those who lived in Nigeria, only ate mangoes, didn’t have snow, and never talked about the weather.
    4. I never saw or thought of anyone based on what I’ve heard in any form of media. Everyone is similar, yes, but they are quite different from one another. To understand this, I make friends with these sort of people and understand their part of the story. Recently, during my high school career in Junior Year, I have learned to be circumspect; to be aware of what is around you in multiple views instead of just one. I then connect the stories and see if they are similar or different. If they are similar then all rumors and stories are true. If they are different, then the more I have to look into it.

    ethankevin21flores@gmail.com

    Reply
  15. Stacey Vecchiolli

    Stacey Vecchiolli

    1. How does the author introduce her topic?
    The author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, begins by saying “I am a story teller”. She goes on to tell a story of her childhood, where she was exposed to only American children’s books and therefor made the assumption that all literature was comprised of the same elements ex: blue eyed, white skinned characters. She did not know that literature could include someone like her, or anything similar to her own views and experiences of life.

    2. Why is it relevant that she began this way?
    She is explaining the power that a single story had, and how this effected her views. Now she, as a story teller, has the power to tell a single story. She is using that power to open people’s minds to the dangers of a single story and how it can marginalize a whole culture or race or group of people.

    3. What evidence does she provide to support her position?
    Each story that she told within her talk was in support of her position. Such as the story of Fide. She only knew that his family was poor, and was surprised to learn that his brother could make beautiful works of art in basket form to provide for their family. Or the story of her trip to Mexico when she herself became the victim of a single story, one that made the people of Mexico out to be the quintessential immigrant.

    4. Apply her reflection to your own experiences.
    I will use our class discussion about one truth and one lie. My truth was that I had dropped out of high school. So now this becomes the single story about me that every one in class knows. This could and most likely leads to the assumption that I am a slacker, or not too bright. This has been my experience in the past and has often times kept me from job positions. I’ve been looked down upon and overlooked for that matter. Little do you know that I got all A’s through out high school or that I was given an award for having the highest biology grade in the entire high school. Or that I got a scholarship for academics. Or that I’ve been working full time since 17. Or that I am now working, attending college, and supporting myself my 2 children and my husband, which all makes me far from a slacker.
    This is an example of how a single story can create stereotypes. We should all remember that the person sitting across from us is not just a single thing, but is made up of many stories, experiences, and knowledge that could be similar or different to your own. When we accept the single story we marginalize ourselves and others.

    Reply
  16. Ivan Soledad

    Ivan S.

    1.)How does the author introduce her topic?

    The author of ” The danger of a single story ”, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie introduces her topic by articulating that she is a storyteller, she shares that as a young child she obtained and developed her knowledge of reading and writing in English by reading British and American English children’s books. Due to the nature of these book’s origin, the characters are depicted as melanin deficient white skinned and blue eyed individuals as for the weather is cold and snowy, despite Adichie’s original sub-Saharan biome she has developed her mentality based upon these European-American traits, biomes, and customs. An example of a custom Adichie provides is eating apples which are unfamiliar and nor native nor imported to Adichie’s habitat. As Adichie grew older she observed herself falling victim to what she refers to as the ”unintended consequence.”

    2.)Why is it relevant she began this way?

    It is relevant Adichie began this way due to her strategic approach by providing the audience with the schema for the main point which is the moral of her story.

    3.)What evidence does she provide to support her position?

    Adichie provides a vast amount of evidence, for instance she retrospects to her own personal approach on the matter, Adichie mentions she has single-sided judged a country and its inhabitants, Adichie visited Guadalajara in Mexico which she had a preconcieved notion of as a place where its people flee into the US due to their own country being a place which lacks quality or value. Upon acknowledging her prejudice mentality she felt ashamed and embarrassed that she has fallen victim to the ”unintended consequence” as she spectated the people in Guadalajara be joyful and hardworking people who seem to be nonchalant no matter what they are preoccupied with.

    4.) Apply her reflection to your own experiences. Have you ever re-thought your own opinions of a situation or condition? Have you ever had a flat view of other people? If so, explain. Be precise.

    Born and raised in the Bay Area I was brought up with people of different colors, morals, and beliefs. I respect everyone until proven it should be otherwise, but I have often been judged as a wit deficient/lazy Mexican or something similar. I have taken responsibility for this notion due to my grades never reaching to be over a D- ,I had no initiative toward prospering in life and I no longer hid report cards from my mom after 7th grade because despite the deep deception I caused her she knew there was no point in arguments with me regarding them. From close relatives to distant relatives to best friends to acquaintances, everyone had the notion that I would never be someone in life and I would be lucky to even graduate from high school if I didn’t drop out beforehand. I’ve determined myself to change my entire being and am relentless toward proving them wrong about me, today I am a 17-year-old typing up homework for my English 1a course which is my first English class in College.

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  17. mohamed kaaid

    Mohamed Kaaid

    1) the author introduces her topic by giving personal stories of her own when she was a child and the stories she read through her childhood, and by that she managed to make a clearer point further on, and merging to her main point.

    2) In my opinion, her introduction was relevant to the point she’s trying to deliver. The personal stories she announced through her speech showed us what she thought about the things she read and how she compared it with her experience.

    3) the author has provided many or plenty evidence to support her position, for instance, the story of her roommate back in college, also another evidence would be the story of Feds and his family. In my opinion, a good evidence I notice would be the example she gave during her speech when she comments “If you say the fail Africa states rather then the colonial states you will find it a whole different story”. This clearly shows that one story could have an impact on what people think of that particular thing.

    4) I was born and grew up in Oakland, half of my parents is from the middle east. I had heard many stories about my father countries, In fact, I always thought that my father country would have some house in the middle of the desert and people riding camels. As I read couple books through my childhood I find a knowledge of what I mentioned earlier. And for those who came to the US, I thought that they have no knowledge about the modern life but I was wrong. I discover later on when I decide to visit my father that his hometown is magnificent and the cities they have are a paradise on earth. After that life has shown me that books and stories we hear only a small part of the puzzle and I fully agree with the point the author is trying to persuade.

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  18. Kim Carr-Pierce

    The Danger of A Single Story: TEDtalk with Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie
    English 1A Assignment Jan 22, 2018
    Kim C.

    1) How does the author introduce her topic?

    • The author, Chiminada Ngozi Adichie introduces her topic by letting us know that she is a storyteller. She shares with us a story of her childhood reading material. She also shares that when she started writing her own stories as a child, she was rewriting the stories she knew. As she grew older and learned of other literature, specifically African Literature, she realized that the “unintended consequence” was that she had known only one story up to that point.

    2) Why is it relevant that she began in this way?

    • It is relevant that she began this way to set up the lesson that there is always more to a person’s story than what you see or are told. The limited information we are sometimes given will shape ones thoughts on a subject or person. There are many perspectives and ways to shape one’s thoughts.
    • “Show a people as one thing, as only one thing and that is what they become.” Chiminada Ngozi Adichie

    3) What evidence does she provide to support her position?
    • Her experiences as a child reading British and American children’s books. She thought that this was how all stories were until she discovered other authors and literature.
    • Her mother telling her that Fide, the new houseboy was poor, that her mother would send food home with him for his family and get upset with her for not finishing her food when his family had very little. When her family went to visit his family in Fide’s village, Fide’s mother showed them a basket that his bother had made out of raffia. She realized that there was more to Fide and who he was than just a poor houseboy.
    • Her university roommate seeing her as different, unknowledgeable about basic living and that she only listened to tribal music. The roommate was stunned when she pulled out her Mariah Carey cassette tape to share with her. Her roommate had had only one story and had only made decisions and judgment based on the single story that she knew.

    4) Apply her reflection to your own experiences. Have you ever re-thought your own opinions of a situation or condition? Have you ever had a flat view of other people? If so, explain. Be precise.

    • I had to take some time to reflect on this question. Yes, I have had to rethink my thoughts and opinions on many things over the years of my life. Let me share some of my single story that has become a multi-faceted diamond.

    I grew up in a household that was racist and homophobic; I am going to focus on the racist part though.

    I grew up as the youngest of three children, my siblings being twenty-six and twenty-two years older than I. My parents were part of the Greatest Generation. My father was retired from the Air Force and worked at Hughes Aircraft and my mother had always been a mother. My mother had instilled in me the need to be perfect, not to share anything about our family and if you were going to do something (cleaning) do it right the first time. There was no room for error. By the time I came along, my sister and brother had moved out of the house and had started their own lives. My sister had been a hippie had “gotten saved” in the early ‘70s and my brother had just married to his first wife and was “pretty sure” he was the father of the child she was carrying. He did what you were supposed to do, get a girl pregnant and marry her. I grew up thinking that everything was just this way.

    In retrospect, my parents (specifically my father) came with some ideology that I do not agree with. I was taught that “we were better than that” and everyone else that was not like us was not as good. I do not recall my parents having more than one black (or any other ethnicity) family that they talked about or associated with. This family was OK because they “didn’t walk around with a chip on their shoulder” and they were nice “folk.” I grew up with my dad telling me jokes I thought were funny because he laughed so I laughed. I did not know what he was really saying and what was being taught to me. Sadly, I did not know that these were racist slurs and I had to learn the hard way about the world I had grown up in. I had grown up with a singe story.

    I moved to California. It was the beginning of the new stories.

    I moved to Sacramento, CA to live with my sister. She was the mother figure my mother had never really been to me.
    We lived in the Oak Park area of Sacramento. There were drug dealers, pimps and hookers on the corner of our block and all the neighbors looked out for each other. Our next door neighbors were a Pastor and his family of the church we attended. My sister let some of the Hmong ladies in the neighborhood use the backyard as their garden and they shared their bounty with everyone.

    Within the week that I moved in with my sister, my car was broken into and I found out I was pregnant. Here I was, suddenly less than, not going to marry the biological father of my unborn child, living in a diverse, unfamiliar neighborhood and everything that was opposite of what I knew. Very quickly the bubble that I had grown up in was burst and it took years really to deflate. I was going to learn multiple stories and did not know it.

    As part of the younger group of people at the church, I made friends with the college group although I was not in school and I had given birth to a daughter I gave up for adoption. My story was one they did not know. I was working as a hairstylist and had no intention of going to school. I made friends with some of the young single ladies and a couple of those friendships are still with me twenty-two years later. One of those dear friends, Someca, passed away about ten years ago after battling cancer twice before she was 32. She is who had the largest impact on my life, story and learning. Someca was one of the most forgiving, caring, empathetic, kind, thoughtful and funny souls I have ever met. I have not laughed as hard as I did when we were together. Someca was black. I miss her dearly. Everyday. I know she is speaking to me when ever Prince’s 1999 comes on or I hear it. It was her favorite song along with Ricky Martin’s Livin’ La Vida Loca.

    One day, I was driving around with a car full of friends and we were all telling jokes. It was my turn. I shared one of my dad’s jokes. No one laughed. The energy in the car changed from fun and light hearted to shock, horror and cold silence. I. Did. Not. Know. Why. I looked in the rearview mirror and I could tell Someca was mad. We went back to my place and there we all had a talk. I was schooled that day. I have never felt as HORRID as I did that day at the revelation that I was a racist and I needed to get an education and change my thinking. NOW! I asked questions and they answered; Someca answered. Someca forgave me. I learned and changed my thinking. I was determined to be different.

    Fast-forward many years. I met my ex-husband in late 2006. I was working with my brother from his home at the time and brought Jefferson over to meet my brother. I was working on getting to know my brother and I learned a lot the night Jefferson came to dinner. We were all cooking and carrying on and I forget what the subject of conversation was, however, I do remember my brother dropped the “N” word. I dropped my knife. I was silent. He did not hear my bother. Jefferson is biracial. I spoke with Jefferson in private later that night. He never really got to know my brother and he did not want to. I have seen him since. My brother did not attend our wedding. I regret that I was silent that night. I am not silent anymore.

    Over the years I have thought about how I came out of my family, how my sister never came out to our family and how my brother is someone just like my father. I think now about my daughter. I can see the places she needs to change her single story. I have the power to help her start her story with the positive. I continue to have the power to help those around me see their story and change it for the better.

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