The danger of a single story

• Intro - GAP and ATQ

  GAP

  • Genre: Speech/autobiographical TED talk (non-fiction)
  • Audience: Global listeners/readers, particularly those interested in race, literature, and cultural understanding
  • Purpose: To challenge stereotypes by showing how hearing only one perspective can lead to ignorance and misunderstanding

  ATQ

  • Adichie uses structure, language and personal anecdotes to illustrate the harmful effects of stereotyping. She encourages the reader to understand the importance of hearing multiple stories to build a more balanced worldview.
• Main Body 1 - Beginning: SPEAR

  • S: The speech open with Adichie describing her childhood reading habits and how they shaped her early writing
  • P: She begins by showing hoe even she was influenced by a “single story — in this case, Western literature
  • E: “All my characters were white and blue-eyed… they played in the snow, they ate apples…”
  • A: 1)Anecdote - makes the message persona and relatable
  • A: 2) Listing - “Played in the snow, ate apples” highlights cultural disconnection
  • A: 3)Contrast - between her reality and her imagined worlds shows the influence of limited representation
  • R: The reader sees how powerful and limiting repeated exposure to one cultural narrative can be, even for a Nigerian child like Adichie.
• Main Body 2 - Early MIddle: SPEAR

  • S: Adichie recalls how her American roommate held a stereotypical view of Africans.
  • P: This story illustrates how people absorb narrow worldviews when exposed to only one kind of narrative.
  • E: "She was shocked... that I knew how to use a stove."
  • A: 1) Humour and Irony - makes the ignorance more a virus but not aggressive
  • A: 2) Dialogue - helps dramatise the moment and invite reader unto the story
  • A: 3) Tone - calm but cutting; Adichie doesn’t mock her roommate but exposes the roots of the stereotype
  • R: The reader is likely shocked and perhaps embarrassed by how real and common these assumptions are, even among educated individuals.
• Main Body 3 - Late Middle: SPEAR

  • S: Adichie discusses how people see Africa as a continent defined only by poverty and conflict.
  • P: She expands her argument, showing how the West's portrayal of Africa has created a dangerous, dominant narrative.
  • E: "Show a people as one thing... and that is what they become."
  • A: 1) Repetition - ”one thing, over and over again” reinforces the hypnotic effect of the single story
  • A: 2) Abstract nouns - like “power” and “story” elevate the argument from anecdote to global concept
  • R: The reader is urged to reflect on how media and literature shape their own understanding of other cultures, often unfairly.
• Main Body 4 - End: SPEAR

  • S: Adichie ends with a hopeful message: telling diverse stories can restore dignity and power.
  • P: She concludes that rejecting the single story can lead to greater empathy and understanding.
  • E: "When we reject the single story... we regain a kind of paradise."
  • A: 1) Metaphor - “regain a kind of paradise” suggests beauty, truth, and redemption in diversity
  • A: 2) 1st person plural - “we” creates unity between speaker and audience
  • A: 3) Uplifting tone - leaves the reader inspired and empowered to challenge stereotypes
  • R: The reader is left with a sense of responsibility and hope, motivated to seek out and share a range of voices and perspectives
• Conclusion

  Adichie uses a careful blend of anecdote, rhetorical structure, and thoughtful tone to argue that hearing only one side of a story distorts truth. Her speech urges the audience to seek complexity, reject stereotypes, and celebrate multiple narratives — reminding us all of the power stories hold.