The Danger of a Single Story (Edexcel IGCSE English Language A)

Revision Note

Written by: Deb Orrock

Reviewed by: Kate Lee

The Danger of a Single Story Analysis

Students studying the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Language A qualification must study all ten of the non-fiction texts in Part 1 of the Edexcel IGCSE English Language Anthology in preparation for Paper 1. You will be given one of the ten texts in your exam, along with another unseen text, which is thematically linked. Section A, Question 4 will be specifically about the anthology text, and Question 5 will ask you to compare the anthology text with the unseen text.

The following guide to The Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie contains:

The Danger of a Single Story overview
The Danger of a Single Story summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in The Danger of a Single Story
The Danger of a Single Story language

The Danger of a Single Story overview

The Danger of a Single Story is a 2009 TED Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It explores the negative influences that a “single story” can have and examines where these stories come from. Adichie is a Nigerian writer, and in her speech she discusses some of the issues she faced when she moved to America from Africa to attend university.

The Danger of a Single Story summary

The talk begins with Adichie reflecting on her childhood in Nigeria and how, as an early writer, she began to write stories that did not reflect her reality. She thought that, because of the books she read as a child, the characters in her writing had to look a certain way and her stories should be about things with which she could not relate to. This changed when she discovered African writers, as she realised that there was no “single story” of what books and stories should be.

When Adichie went to university in the US, she had to deal with her American classmates’ and teachers’ stereotypical ideas about her and her background, which were often based on a narrow perspective or a “single story” they had been given. She also shares that she, too, was guilty of stereotyping or basing what she thinks on one given perspective. She ends by reflecting on the dangers of showing people as only one thing, over and over again, until that is what they become; Adichie makes the argument that stories really do matter to the way we see ourselves and other people.

Themes, ideas and perspectives in The Danger of a Single Story

Paper 1, Question 4 will ask you to explore how the writer has used language and structure to present a theme or idea within their text. Paper 1, Question 5 will ask you to compare how the writer presents their ideas and perspectives with the unseen text.

What are the key themes in The Danger of a Single Story?

Theme	Analysis
Stereotyping, prejudice and preconceptions	Adichie suggests that only looking at the world from one perspective can lead to incomplete or incorrect assumptions: “She assumed that I did not know how to use a stove.”
	Operating from the context of just one perspective, or story, can prevent us from seeing the whole picture: “In this single story, there was no possibility of Africans being similar to her in any way”
	Having only a single story can change the way we view, value and interact with those around us
	By challenging us to consider the power, both positive and negative, of a single story, Adichie suggests that we can both change and shape stereotypes and be more empathetic towards others: “Stories matter. Many stories matter.”
The presentation of people, culture and societies through the media and books	By controlling the single story, or the narrative, it is possible for one group to dominate or define another group: “Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign...”
	The influence of the media means that anyone can believe the story with which they are presented
	Adichie herself admits to believing single stories about other people: “I had bought into the single story of Mexicans”
	She argues that those without power are more vulnerable to a single story’s misrepresentation of them: “All I had heard about them was how poor they were, so that it had become impossible for me to see them as anything else but poor.”
	Adichie especially struggles with the single story representation of Africans in Western literature and media, stemming from a history of European colonialism
	The responsibility of those in power is not to use that power to create and promote stories only from their perspective: “Stories can also be used to empower and to humanise”

How does Adichie present her ideas and perspectives?

Adichie uses a variety of techniques to present her ideas and perspectives. These also include how she structures her writing in order to achieve her desired effects.

Technique	Analysis
First-person perspective	This demonstrates that this particular story is from Adichie’s perspective
Anecdote	Personal anecdotes are used to illustrate how these examples affected the way Adichie thought This is a persuasive technique used to add reliability to her arguments
Inclusive pronouns	People in Nigeria are referred to using “we”, suggesting that perhaps Adichie is more comfortable in Nigeria Adichie changes to the inclusive “we” at the end, imploring the audience to reject the single story and that we all can play a part in making this happen
Discourse markers	Starting sentences with discourse markers such as “so” and “now” generates an element of informality in keeping with the form of a speech
Humour	Adichie introduces irony and humour in paragraph two by describing the stories her “poor mother was obligated to read” This gives us a sense of her character and why she thinks of herself as a “storyteller” The light-hearted tone contrasts with the serious message
Single-line paragraphs	These are used to reflect a limited view For example: “She assumed that I didn’t know how to use a stove.”

The Danger of a Single Story language

The language choices made by a writer contribute to the overall effect they wish to portray.

Language	Analysis
Title	The use of the word “danger” in the title implies that single stories can be harmful This foreshadows the main argument in the speech
Childlike language	“Whose kinky hair could not form ponytails” and “crayon illustrations” demonstrate that we are fed these single stories from a young age
Justification	“As was the norm” emphasises that the single story we are often presented with becomes our version of normal
Syntactic parallelism	“We never talked about the weather” parallels with “they talked a lot about the weather”, indicating the difference between a story and reality
Juxtaposition	Adichie juxtaposes the “single” story with “a few personal stories” that she wants to tell us This highlights that there is always more than one narrative
Emotive language	Adichie uses “impressionable and vulnerable” to reflect on the harmfulness of these stories She uses words with negative connotations, such as “fleecing” and “sneaking” to highlight how negatively the media can present certain cultures
Repetition	The repetition of “stories” and “stories matter” emphasise their huge importance in how the world is shaped