The Danger Of A Single Story In the present world, there are students who lives by developing their own identities, certainly all students has different appearances, cultures, thoughts, and their own stories. They share the stories about themselves and others, get information, and share information to let others know. At this point, there may be a lot of errors and wrong points in the stories, but students normally do not have a chance to know if there are errors or not. During the ability to discern and judge has not yet grown, they usually believe what they heard of the story, and share the story before make their own experience, then stereotypes unconsciously instilled into their minds. Of course, there will be no problem if the story …show more content…
is proven fact, but if the story is not true or there are errors, it can be a big problem. However, the danger of the single story is not because they are not fact. The danger of the single story is that the story is not whole of the information. A single story limits the student’s curiosity, it makes them lose the opportunity to create and develop their identities and experiences.
Finally, a single story creates stereotypes of person and humanity before they create their own, it would impacts to themselves, their family, humanity, and education. This would be the most reason why students have to tell ‘multiple stories’ when they inform about something, not a ‘single story’. If a student talks multiple stories, they can fix the errors in the story because they get more information. A single story can create stereotypes of a person’s humanity before they create their own, it can even harm a dignity of a person. From the speech “The Danger of a Single Story” from the series of “Ted Talk” by Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie, Adichie argues about the danger of a single story in her life experience about how a medias in our society can influence what people think about someone from another country. “The single story creates stereotypes” Adichie says, “show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become… the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story” (Adichie). She gives several examples of a single …show more content…
story, one of her example, she was talking with one of American student who read her written novel about a Nigerian abusive. He sorrowed to Adichie that Nigerian men were abusive, that was the only single story of Nigeria. Adichie kept her mind cool and took his pity back. Having read American Psycho, she said, “all young American men are serial killers” (Adichie). For another example, Adichie addressed about her roommate when she left Nigeria to go to university in the United States. Her roommate was shocked by her, and asked where she had learned to speak English well, and was confused when She said that Nigeria happened to have English as its official language. Her roommate asked if she could listen to what she called her “tribal music,” and was very disappointed when she produced her tape to Mariah Carey. Her roommate had a single story of Africa, Adichie said “ there was no possibility of Africans being similar to her in any way, no possibility of feelings more complex than pity, no possibility of a connection as human equals” (Adichie). Her point was that when people inform about something, they should tell stories, more than one story about something. “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity” (Adichie). Everyone and everything has many stories to introduce, multiple stories help people to think many ways about something. From the article “Aria : Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” by Richard Rodriguez, the author Rodriguez wrote about how a single story impacts on his family and education. He discussed his youth life that he had to learn and confused of public language and private language for his family and society. Rodriguez was born as a son of two immigrants and his born language was Spanish, he was struggling to learn English and felt intimacy to speak Spanish, because his family spoke their language at home. At his school, Rodriguez couldn't look at the teacher while speaking because he felt it was not his language to speak. After the nuns visit his house and encouraged his parents to practice English at home, they finally started to speak English at home. While learning a new language, when Rodriguez was comfortable enough to make friends and volunteer in class, he felt distant at home and didn’t communicate a lot as past. Later he became fluent to speak English, he no longer needed to pay attention to the sounds people were making when they would speak, then he figured how a single story of his family and language impacted his youth life and education. He felt he had to give up his Spanish identity in order to open himself up to learning English, thought he would lose the connection to family because of language. He also felt guilt about not speaking Spanish as fluently because he thought he’s losing the connection and intimacy that was within his language, loss of language equals the loss of family and identity. After he learned English, the language wasn’t as intimidating as he thought before.“Intimacy is not trapped within words” (Rodriguez 343). Rodriguez figured out the multiple story about his life, after learning English, he was able to experience new life and became successful. There is another author who also got impacted by a single story of language and society.
In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, Gloria Anzaldua talks about her feelings about social and cultural difficulties that Mexican immigrants face when being raised in the United States. Anzaldua was raised speaking Spanish, but had to change her language because she was living in the United States, she had to speak a public language to survive in public society. “Pocho, cultural traitor, you’re speaking the oppressor’s language by speaking English, you’re ruining the Spanish language,” (Anzaldua 35). She was confused because she couldn’t speak every English and Spanish words. When she became a teacher, she was supposed to teach “American” and English literature, but soon she got fired because she taught her students about Chicano short stories, poems, a play. People thought the language Anzaldua use, ‘Tex-Mex’ is distorted, neither Mexican or American didn’t accept that language Anzaldua use. Anzaldua had to learn the English language in order to feel comfortable in public society. The single story told about Anzaldua is that the language she speaks is considered incorrect in this society, she was forced to learn English, because English is considered the language that should be spoken in her society. She mentions that people would tell her that she was speaking incorrectly when she states “In childhood we are told that our language is wrong. Repeated attacks on our native tongue diminish our
sense of self” (Anzaldua 39). A single story impacts her education, “I remember being sent to the corner of the classroom for ‘talking back’ to the Anglo teacher when all I was trying to do was tell her how to pronounce my name. ‘If you want to be American, speak ‘American.’ If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong” (Anzaldua 34), this quote shows how she faces discrimination due to the language she spoke. At the last part of the story, she found out the multiple stories of her identity, there were also a society for Tex-Mex speakers. “We are synergy of two cultures with various degrees of Mexicanness or Angloness” (Anzaldua 43). She spelled that they are also a distinct people, she could find her multiple stories. Therefore, both of those two authors, Rodriguez and Anzaldua showed that they had a negative impact on their education by the single story when they were students. But afterwards they found out the multiple stories about themselves and other information they had to know for creating multiple stories, and finally they could become successful to create their multiple stories. This shows others who are facing similar limitations that they can also fight to have their identities, and they also have an opportunity to create their multiple stories by their own, to be successful.
Gloria Anzaldua, wrote the essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” communicating and describing her adolescence in a society brimming with sexism, cultural imperialism, racism, low self-esteem, and identity formation. The reason one comes to America is to finer themselves academically, and intellectually. One must learn to speak English to live among the American’s, because that is the language they speak. Though, no one has the right to deprive you of your familiar tongue. At a young age, Anzaldua was scolded, even mistreated for speaking her native “Chicano” tongue. Anzaldúa described this ignorance, cruelty, and discrimination when she states: “I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess – that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler.” She overcomes this hostility throughout her life.
In “Se Habla Español,” the author, Tanya, talks about her personal experience with dealing with language issues. Tanya was born in Guatemala and moved to the U.S when she was only three years old. Tanya’s mother did not want her to speak Spanish, because they believed that when they moved to the U.S speaking only English would help her blend in. For so long Tanya believed that speaking Spanish went hand in hand with being poor and speaking only English made her feel superior. After many years she has tried to learn Spanish but has found it quite difficult because although that is her native language it was like trying to learning a whole new language for her. In “Mother Tongue,” Amy’s explains how she has come to the realization that she speaks more than one “English,” meaning that the way she speaks in front of a crowd is different than the way she speaks with her mother. The way Amy speaks with her mother is still English although it is not proper. Amy expresses how she does not really like the phrase “broken English,” because if something is broken it needs to be fixed and she does not feel that her mother’s English needs to be
In the beginning of the essay, Anzaldua speaks about a time when she was in class and was trying to give her teacher an explanation about something, but instead, she immediately got punished in which they considered her “talking back”. The teacher then proceeded to tell her, if she wanted to live in America, she will have to speak American, and if she didn’t like it, she could go back to Mexico where she belongs. From a very young age, young girls are taught not to talk back and not ask too many questions as where the adults would take this as a f...
Anzaldua grew up in the United States but spoke mostly Spanish, however, her essay discusses how the elements of language began to define her identity and culture. She was living in an English speaking environment, but was not White. She describes the difficulty of straddling the delicate changing language of Chicano Spanish. Chicano Spanish can even differ from state to state; these variations as well as and the whole Chicano language, is considered a lesser form of Spanish, which is where Anzaldua has a problem. The language a person speaks is a part...
The definition of a stereotype is the ”A generalization, usually exaggerated or oversimplified and often offensive, that is used to describe or distinguish a group” (Dictionary.com,2017). It is precisely this unjust generalization of others which Chimamanda Adichie addresses in her speech on Ted Talks. However, Adichie confronts this issue through the telling of stories and through mundane language, rather than through condemnation and convoluted language. Through these stories, Adichie effectively approaches and evaluates stereotyping and discrimination through the appeals to ethos and pathos, as well as her use of parallelism, and her tone.
The author began the story by using a metaphor, she compares the process of acculturation to a painful dentist visit where the dentist is trying to control and hold down her tongue, which is a representation of her language (Anzaldua 8). She appeals to the readers by using a clever metaphor comparing her tongue to freedom of speech or language, and the dentist to the oppressors of her culture and language the people who are apart of the dominant culture. Anzaldua also discusses how different cultures and influences determine which language people use to speak to one another. Anzaldua herself writes, “ Often with Mexicanas and Latinas we’ll speak English as a neutral language” (Anzaldua 8). Anzaldua’s point is that it is difficult to know which language to speak when feeling afraid or ashamed of what others may think. Moreover, Anzaldua discusses problems such as not being allowed to speak her native language. She writes about remembering as a child how during school speaking Spanish was forbidden and being caught speaking it would mean you would be reprimanded. Anzaldua writes “ I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess--that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler” (Anzaldua 5). In making this comment she is showing us that throughout the school day you’re
According to Anzaldua, “ Chicano Spanish is considered by the purist and by most Latinos deficient, a mutilation of Spanish”(Anzaldua 32). The Chicano Spanish versus Spanish conflict that occurs in Latino society is a prime example of people considering themselves to be right in a situation where there is not a right answer. The Latino’s who speak Spanish that they believe to be normal are disturbed by the Spanish language changing. They believe that their own views are being challenged, they believe that they are correct, and they believe that anyone who challenges their views is inferior. The people who view all other views are, in reality, just trying to make themselves look more powerful. Like in Tan’s essay, people demeaned others in order to promote their own views, therefore, gaining power over the others who they demeaned. According to Tan, “ She said they would not give her any more information(...) And when the doctor finally called her daughter, me, who spoke in perfect english-- lo and behold-- we had assurances the CAT scan would be found”(Tan 2). The doctors treated Tan’s mother differently due to her use of what they considered “broken language”, leading to her being treated inadequately. People have an image of what they consider to be the right English, anyone who does not speak the right English is usually considered to be uneducated. In both Tan’s and Anzaldua’s essays, the lack of open-mindedness is one of the reasons that people want to become more powerful than others. People fail to realize that what they believe in is not always the right answer, like with stereotypes, the people are trying to gain power over others in order to make themselves seem more
Chimamanda Adichie, in one of her eye-opening speeches, The Danger of a Single Story, provides the audience with a new insight into the negative impacts that can occur as a result of viewing a story from a single perspective and not putting in an effort to know it from all available viewpoints. Adichie in her simple, yet well-grounded speech, filled with anecdotes of her personal experiences effectively puts across her argument against believing in stereotypes and limiting oneself to just a single story using a remarkable opening, the elements of logos, pathos and ethos, repetitions, as well as maintaining a good flow of thoughts throughout the speech.
In her TED talk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks through the role of perception in her life and the way that it changes social relationships. We have all had plenty of experiences that surprise us in regard to perception, such as the first time we meet someone from another culture, or meeting someone from our past in a new light. We have been inundated with stereotypes and preconceived notions since we were children, through stories, media, parents, teachers, and friends. Moreover, these presuppositions that we carry are rarely, if ever, based on anything substantial, yet they show up in every aspect of our life. Adichie calls the notion of this one-sided preconceived bias the “single story.” This “single story” is interesting due to the fact that even if we can overcome it, we are still affected by it. Adichie speaks about how even though she had become enlightened to this dilemma, she is still subject to it. As for her experience, she states that,
Watch this Ted Talk, The Danger of a Single Story: https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en (Links to an external site.)
In 2009 Chimamanda Adichie gave a TED talk about the ‘danger of a single story’. A single story meaning, one thought or one example of a person becoming what we think about all people that fit that description, a stereotype if you will. In today’s America, I believe that we have all felt the wave of stereotypical views at some point or another. Adichie gives many relatable examples throughout her life of how she has been affected by the single story. Her story brings about an issue that all humans, from every inch of the earth, have come to understand on some level. A young child reading only foreign books, a domestic helper that she only perceived as poor. Her college roommates single story about Africans and her own formation of a single
The purpose of the speech provided by Chimamanda Adichie is to portray the various impacts a single story can have on both an individual and a society. This is because of the usage of stereotypes provided by the media which creates an overall image, that everyone believes to be true. This is prominent when she says “A single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.” Having a single story also confines the world to generalized outlooks on cultures, religions and nationalities. Due to this, individuals must seek for diversity and different perspectives, in which everyone should be able to see the world as it is, not just the aspect that the media portrays. Through
One risk when we tell these single stories is the idea of stereotypes. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but they are incomplete.” This being said, the single story only tells one side of a story. The single story has a limited viewpoint because it is from one person and not from the eyes of many different people. I also agreed with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's idea about how single stories can create a misunderstanding between the individuals in conversation. The person from one culture might have a certain slang that the other person had never heard, and if there is no other person describing the story there might be a misunderstanding involved. Single stories have the potential to be dangerous, especially if we do not strive to learn more about the culture or the individuals in the
As he comments later on, “neither was as much a creature of free will as a human being ought to be,” C.R. p. 69) but the promise of fitting in, wooing girls, and etiquette lead him down the path to being an atypical Asian.... ... middle of paper ... ... Mastering a second language allows her to articulate her and her mother’s thoughts; it is a foundation for her pride and a foundation to express herself. For Gloria Anzaldua, instead of choosing one language over the other, she chose a mix of the two and fought for it.
Men are always stronger and smarter than women; all teenagers are rebels and rarely follow parents’ instructions; all Chinese are good at math—all of these statements are spread through the entire world although most people know they are not completely true. On the opposite viewpoint, when we evaluate those statements, it is controversial to judge and blame the individuals who spread these kinds of information out and keep saying them over and over again, because most of these things are partly true. This is that we call stereotypes, “which are types of generalizations, or assumptions, that people make about the characteristics of all members of a group, based on an image about what people in that group are like” (Burgess).Also, Chimamanda Adichie, the famous renowned writer, scholar, and the speaker of “The Danger of Single Story” in Ted Talks, once said, “stereotypes are created by single stories, the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but they are incomplete.” At this point, single stories are the pattern of the lack of understanding, uncorroborated assumptions, and some special cultural myths. Thus, at a certain level, stereotyping is an approach where people show their misunderstanding with each other based on their own personal, regional, and cultural perspectives, which is the consequence of the institutionalization and socialization of their environmental backgrounds.