"All of these stories make me who I am. But to insist on only these negative stories is to flatten my experience and to overlook the many other stories that formed me. The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story."
The narrative arc of a story bares close resemblance to the personal journeys experienced by individuals as they seek better understanding of themselves and those they share this world with. By exposing the link between stories and understanding, Adichie invites her listeners to consider how their view of others may be limited or severely impacted by a lack of detail and truth. What this means in regards to journeys is that people must seek to understand whilst also remembering that a person or a culture is the culmination of many journeys and stories, making it nearly impossible to define with any sense of confidence.
If we consider Adichie’s idea of ‘stories’ as ‘journeys’, then we can grasp their immense power in helping us understand ourselves and the world we live in. In a holistic sense, Adichie’s presentation is the telling of a journey in itself; a journey from naivete to understanding, innocence to experience. Those whom she encounters on her journey who rely on one dimensional stories of people and places are shown to be lacking a true grasp of how others can live and are exposed as naively foolish because of this. Adichie twice places herself as this person lacking awareness as she explores her realisations about her family’s “house boy”, Fide.
“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. Their poverty was my single story of them.”
Despite this realisation, Adichie later catches herself in reducing the lives of Mexicans simply as immigrants; a perception that is immediately challenged upon her visit to the country. Therefore, there is a journey in understanding others by understanding the journeys that they them- selves have embarked upon. Who a person is, and how they experience the world, is the result of many journeys that have led them to become who they are. Adichie points out that we are all poorer for not recognising this and that a passage to greater understanding and empathy is possible when one opens themselves up to that which they know very little about.
The connection between stories and our own personal journeys is shown throughout Adichie’s presentation as she recalls events from the past which have shaped her ability to know herself and to see the world in the way in which she does. The ultimate arc of one’s journey through life can therefore be seen as a collection of stories and journeys that have shaped them along the way. Whilst Adichie’s journey is most definitely not at its ending, there is a sense of resolution in the manner in which she speaks to the audience about her experiences and how they have led her to that moment. The personal journey that one embarks upon is therefore exhibited as one of constant learning and experience. There is a need for people to be open in their perceptions of others in order to better grasp the experiences of those around them.
The “power” that is stripped of people when they are defined by a single story is also shown as having the opposite effect when those peoples’ stories are shared widely with others. Thus, the journey towards greater understanding and empathy is shown as vitally important as Adichie speaks of a world full of people and their individual stories, coming together to form a larger cultural identify.
The teaching package from where this reading has been taken from is available on our resources page. Please reachout if you would like any further support with your teaching of this area of study.
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