Analysis Essay of "The Danger of a Single Story"

        We all know the importance and necessity of being objective, but the world is still full of prejudice. We all know the dangers of stereotypes, but we inevitably stereotype something. (Try to avoid too much repetition.) Just as we are told the dangers of stereotypes; however, we are all inevitably prejudiced about something or someone. What causes this? In the essay “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie, describes the author describes the negative influences of perceiving things from a single perspective. Adichie believes stories matter, but the single creates stereotypes. She considers the problem with stereotypes is that they are incomplete, and people often perceive a person, a situation, even a country from a single story. From my point of view, although we cannot clear up stop the single story, I think it’s important to recognize our own complexity and other people’s so that we can know more about ourselves and others from multiple perspectives and minimize the adverse effects of stereotypes.

        One way we can reduce the harmful impact of stereotypes by recognizing how complex we are is by spreading diverse stories in opposition to focusing on just one. According to Adichie, she indicates that “Stories matter. Many stories matter” (p. 5). In this way, she claims the importance of spreading diverse stories rather than focusing on just one. (Since you already said this, it's best to try to paraphrase another way.) In this way, she explains the power of story and the danger of believing one story about a region or group instead of acknowledging the complexity of many stories. She uses herself as an example; she “had bought into the single story of Mexicans”; she had associated all Mexicans with immigration because of the intense media coverage on Mexican immigration. (You could include more information about why the "single story" of Mexicans affected Adichie, and remember that you are also analyzing the text, so you can include more thoughts on what this meant for her and how this might have changed her way of thinking.) At the same time, Adichie herself wasn’t immune to stereotyping. While living in America, Adichie encountered so much anti-immigration rhetoric from the media so that she “had bought into the single story of Mexicans” — she had associated all Mexicans with immigration. In fact, the media plays a significant role in creating and spreading these stereotypes. In America, there was intense media coverage on Mexican immigration within the United States; on the other hand, the experience of traveling to Mexico and witnessing its diversity surprised Adichie. It shows that the single story creates stereotypes, but one story should not define a group of people.

        (The second body paragraph is missing a topic sentence) Also, we need to recognize the negative effects of stereotypes by seeking out different perspectives. Additionally, Adichie points out that “when we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise” (p. 5). She explains that the rejection of the single story phenomenon allows one to “regain a kind of paradise.” In other words, she believes that the single story might create incomplete stereotypes; thus, we need to know about a person or a thing from different perspectives. She reminds us we live in a diverse world expressed through billions of stories. In other words, she encourages us to reject single narratives in favor of embracing the fascinating complexity of our world. For example, in Adichie’s essay, she mentions that she recently spoke at a university where a student told her that it was such a shame that Nigerian men were physical abusers like the father character in that student’s novel. The people are complex; however, the student got to know Nigerian men from a single perspective by reading a single story. The student, in that case, was trying to criticize all Nigerian men as physical abusers based on his very sole understanding or perspective from a book he had read. From this story, we can see the importance for us to break down the single story by looking for different perspectives.

        The single story might create stereotypes. To avoid stereotypes, we need to recognize our own complexity as well as other people’s. Furthermore, it is essential for us to hear a multitude of stories and see people as more than just one incomplete idea. As a proverb says, “you can't judge a tree by its bark."

Grades: A-

Analysis Essay - Guidelines and Rubric

Description:

This assignment asks you to develop an original and arguable thesis in response to the following question:

Do you think it’s important to recognize our own complexity, as well as other people’s? Why or why not?

While you may use some of your own personal experiences, the majority of your supporting evidence should result from a close reading of passages from Chimamanda Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story.”

Length: 500 words minimum
Format: Double-spaced. Size 12 Times New Roman Font.

Suggestions on Writing:

1. Begin by expressing an original answer to the question you are being asked. This will be your paper’s thesis statement.
2. Now that you have a thesis statement, come up with at least two points of support for the argument you are making These will be the topic sentences of your body paragraphs.
3. Locate passages from the reading that illustrate each of the supporting points you make. These passages will be your evidence. As we discussed in class, we cannot simply quote the reading and assume our work is done. We must follow each quotation with an explanation of exactly how the passage supports our argument.
4. Remember that this is an academic writing context. As such, your tone and language must be formal in nature. You should thus avoid conversational phrases, like “a lot,” or direct references to the reader, as in “you.”
5. Also, remember: we refer to authors by their full names or by their last names. We never refer to writers by their first names.
6. Lastly, be sure to include in-text citations whenever you quote or paraphrase the reading.

Grading Rubric:

Your grade for this assignment will be comprised of four separate components: the strength of your thesis statement, the structure of your essay, your use of evidence, and your writing’s mechanics.

Each of these components is weighted the same at 25%.

Thesis Statement (25%)

A – Paper presents a specific, engaging and analytical thesis statement in response to the reading the student has selected (“While I disagree with how the writer communicates their argument, I ultimately agree with their main idea that…”)

Organization (25%)

A – After establishing a central idea, the writer presents his/her evidence in an orderly and natural fashion. One idea flows clearly into the next through the use of transitional phrases, when necessary.

Evidence (25%)

A – The paper draws on and analyzes pertinent passages in order to support its thesis statement. Moreover, the author is sure to carefully analyze each of the passages quoted in the paper. In other words, the paper does not simply jump from one passage to the next.

Mechanics (grammar, punctuation, syntax, MLA citations, tone) (25%)

A – The paper is without any mechanical errors or MLA citation issues. It even includes in-text citations for the reading it is quoting/paraphrasing: ex. (Smith 2).