“Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie 

Before You Listen: 

What do people assume about you based on your  When people look at me they think i steal when i go into 
appearance, religion, the way you speak (accent), where  white people stores i be follow maybe because am black 
you live, etc?  or they don´t trust people the way i speak they think am 
nice they also think i live in a ghetto area   

 
While You Listen: 
1. Where is Chimamanda from?  She is from enugu nigeria but grew up on a university 
campus in esatern nigeria  

2. Why did Chimamanda believe all the characters in  She became convinced that books by the very natural 
her stories needed to be foreign?  had to had foreign as in them and had to be about things 
she personality identific   

3. What made Chimamanda realize she could write  It save her from having a single story of what books are  
about people and things she was familiar with? 

4. What does Chimamanda mean by a “single story”?  To describe the overly simplistic and sometimes false 
perceptions they form about individuals groups or 
countries.  

5. Why does Chimamanda feel like she suffered from a  Because she came from a conventional middle class 
“single story” in regards to Fide?  nigerian family  

6. Why was Chimamanda’s college roommate  Her roommate was shocked because chimamanda´s 
shocked and disappointed with her?  could speak english very well and she was disappointed 
when she played her mariah carey she assume that she 
didn't know how use a stove  

7. Besides Chimamanda’s single story about Fide,  She realized that she had been so immersed in the mind 
what “single story” does she say she was guilty of  the abject immigrant  
believing? 
 8. What is “nkali” and how does it relate to stories?  It a noun that loosely translates to be greater than 
another like our economic and political defined by the 
principle of nkali  

9. According to Chimamanda, what is power?  Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another 
person but it the definitive story of that person  

 
 
Questions to answer after listening: 
 
10. ​Why does Chimamanda believe “single stories” are  he single story creates stereotypes, and the problem 
dangerous? Why does she say it’s important to have  with stereotypes is not that they are untrue 
“a balance of stories”? 

11. ​Create an identity chart for Chimamanda Adichie.  ● She speak english with an accent  
Which labels on the chart represent how she sees  ● Self deprecating  
her own identity? Which ones represent how some 
others view her?  
 
 
 

12. ​Is there a single story that others often use to  Nope well i'm nice very caring good at sports smart  
 define you? Can you think of other examples of 
“single stories” that may be part of your own 
worldview? Where do those “single stories” come 
from? How can we find a “balance of stories”? 

13. ​Adichie herself admits to sometimes defining  When we do something right, a pathway is 
others with a single story. Why is it that people  created. Unfortunately, a pathway is also 
sometimes make the same mistakes that they so  created when something is wrong. We 
easily see others making? 
basically build habits this way, both good 
and bad