Question.672 - Reflect on Adichie’s "The Danger of the Single Story," and consider this quote from her closing remarks: Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity. (17:36) Share something from your own experience where you were guilty of buying into a "single story." Share something from your own experience of how "many stories" changed what you thought you knew from a "single story." How has this course changed the way you read books, watch movies, etc.?
Answer Below:
Share something from your own experience where you were guilty of buying into a "single story." Single stories are very dangerous and harmful in our lives that ruin everything because when we know something from someone, we only learn one part of the story or only one perspective and not the entire story. This makes us biased and prejudiced, which makes us believe in whatever we hear from that particular story. For example, one day, I was complaining to my mother that I saw my cousin today on the road and he did not even wave or smile at me. But the other part of the truth is that my cousin did not see me when I called him and asked about it. This is a simple example that creates misunderstanding and becomes a huge issue in our life. Share something from your own experience of how "many stories" changed what you thought you knew from a "single story." The more I am growing, the more I am learning that a single story leads to confusion and miscommunication that ruins relationships and affects our personal life. Whenever I read novels from different writers of the contemporary age, I get an insight into various meaning and interpretation that helps me to understand different opinions and also allows me to analyze a particular text from my understanding. This helps me not to be biased and believe whatever the author says. Moreover, whenever any individual performs the gender roles unconventionally, which opposes the norms of society, people start assuming that those people are homosexuals or queers, but there is a possibility of opposing the conventional norms and doing gender-neutral activities in order to bring change in society. How has this course changed the way you read books, watch movies, etc.? ? ? ? ?My way of reading books and watching movies totally changed the way I used to do when I was a kid. While reading books, I don't believe or don't get involved with the characters because I try to see from other lenses and analyze the text. This helps me give multiple meanings and interpretations from one text. Moreover, when any new movie is released, I don't go with the reviews and decide whether to watch the movie or not; rather, I feel I myself should watch and understand and then evaluate because we all have different outlooks and perspectives to analyze a movie or a book.More Articles From English