"The Danger of a Single Story"
Consider Adichie's words as well as what you read in or perceived before you read Born a Crime.
Metonymy, or The Husband's Revenge
Metonymy, or the Husband's Revenge Rachel de Queiroz Metonymy. I learned the word in 1930 and shall never forget it. I had just published my first novel. A literary critic had scolded me because my hero went out into the night “chest unbuttoned.” “What deplorable nonsense!” wrote this eminently sensible gentleman. “Why does she not say what she means? Obviously, it was his shirt that was unbuttoned, not his chest.” I accepted his rebuke with humility, indeed with shame. But my illustrious Latin professor, Dr. Matos Peixoto came to my rescue. He said that what I had written was perfectly correct; that I had used a respectable figure of speech known as metonymy; and that this figure consisted in the use of one word for another word associated with it—for example, a word representing a cause instead of the effect, or representing the container when the content is intended. The classic instance, he told me, is “the sparkling cup”; in reality, not the cup but the wine in it is sparkli...
Prejudice emerges from one being exposed to incomplete information.
ReplyDelete“Single stories” contribute to the construction of prejudice because they are one story of something or someone, which will likely cause a reader to draw an incorrect conclusion because they likely did not develop at least a somewhat-full understanding of the topic with which they could confidently and accurately extrapolate their way to a full understanding.
The formation of unwanted, unnecessary, or harmful prejudice could be combated by opting to not draw a conclusion after being exposed to only a few facets of a topic.
I agree with everything you said! Simply put--- too little information = prejudice or false conclusions. Simple and logical reasoning.
DeleteTypically it is human nature for us to judge something or someone within the first mere seconds of hearing/meeting them. It is simply impossible to simply just decide not to form opinions; it is possible, however, for us to go out after hearing about it and come to a better understanding.
Deletei said simply a lot but yes
DeleteI can and I'm super sure you can too: you're just doing it unconsciously --> when kids would cough without covering their mouths near me, I would ignore them and forget about it so I'm not thinking something like "Wow! What, did their parents not bother to teach them how to cough without spreading germs? How could they not teach that--it takes seconds?" So the prejudice I would have created about those parents, in such a situation--which happens often--just doesn't form. Now, yeah obviously I remember that some kids did cough without covering their mouths, I just don't have that information connected with a person, which is why there's no prejudice toward one of those people.
DeleteI hope that example scenario makes sense
Prejudice/stereotypes emerge when one is only given one story as an example for an entire culture or set of people. Single stories contribute to the construction of prejudice by leaving no room for other stories as proof of diversity. These prejudices can be combated if people choose to take on others' perspectives before drawing a conclusion---empathy. Additionally, more than one person's account should be taken because one person's story or experience is not everyone's story or experience.
ReplyDeleteI agree with single stories leaving no room for other stories. People think just because they learn one thing then they know everything about someone which isn't the case. And yeah, actually learning about the people would help much more than listening to one story.
DeletePrejudice can emerge through little information, but also through your upbringing. Single stories contribute to prejudice because you are only taught one thing about a certain group. You will clump everyone together because that is all the information you have on them. This can be combated through either getting more information on those people or just getting to know those individuals. The more you learn about different people the more you can realize how similar everyone is.
ReplyDeleteWell, yeah, "your upbringing" could be a cause, but isn't that still just "through little information" at the root of it? I agree. Yeah that would probably happen because one wouldn't be able to differentiate people, yep. Yeah and also just not forming some prejudice or not thinking about it could prevent the problem. Sure, that sounds right.
Deletei don’t know why it says google account as my user but this is bethaney
ReplyDeletePrejudices are emerged typically through the lack of or misguided information given to people. Without the full story or more information on the topic at hand, ideas can be formed that aren’t necessarily 100% accurate. Single stories can be halting, for they cause individuals to morph opinions and viewpoints when they do not have all the information needed to make a sure decision or views. This can be combatted through our own observations and discoveries. We need to be willing to dig a little deeper and learn more about the topic at hand in order to get that full story; it is not up to others to do that for us at the end of the day.
I completely agree with this!! I feel like we need to be willing to look through others perspectives and have all information. However, I also understand that not everyone is willing to do that. I feel like in order to actually cause change, the media needs to display more than their one sided opinion and I feel like there needs to be accountability for false information.
DeletePrejudices form when people are fed false information by the media/people in power. Single stories, in my opinion, are one of the main things that cause prejudice because they teach lies. They are used to make people think that a country is great or horrible for EVERYONE. A common day example of this, I believe is people stating that everyone from the Middle East is a "terrorist" which is so incredibly false but that's an idea that many possess because of these single stories. In order to stop this stories, we need to put in more individuals viewpoints and realize that no one is in the exact same situation. For example, Trevor Noah and Adichie both lived in Africa during apartheid; however, they had completely different life experiences. Adiche's family was quite well off and never struggled too intensely. Noah's family, on the other hand, struggled through most of his childhood.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about the media pushing single stories. I don't think people think "everyone" from the Middle East is a terrorist necessarily. It's probably just more of prejudice towards the population as a whole. I don't think the media pushes the single story that everyone from the Middle East is a terrorist. The media reports (MOSTLY) truthful and really impactful stories about terrorist attacks from said people ---> people listen ---> people are emotional and upset over the stories ----> they assume things and form prejudice. In this scenario, it's not the media's fault, it's the consumer's. There's just a lot of stupid racist people who hear these stories and think "oh so all of those people must be terrorists then." But yeah I get what you're saying.
DeletePrejudice forms from having eyes to see and ears to hear. We are constantly exposed to single stories that affect our perspectives on certain topics and people. Single stories primarily contribute to one's prejudice towards something or someone. By forming preconceived notions on something, we are already tainted by having an authentic and honest reaction when we encounter them. In Adiche's case, her roomate already had a preconceived notion about her before she met her. We can combat this by not relying on the news and media when it comes to everything. I only watch the local news, as they are less bias and more trustworthy compared to the many national news programs that report based on their political affiliation. Basically, learn about these topics yourself and try to understand them more before coming to a conclusion.
ReplyDeleteI'm just trying to say stuff that wasn't already said so sorry if this doesn't make sense
I agree with you and think what you said makes perfect sense. I like the way you started. It is true that people automatically form prejudice just "from having eyes to see and ears to hear." After all, our brains do often function and make decisions based on patterns. I would say this is only good, communication/people wise, when you are in danger. In any other situation it's pretty horrible to act based on assumptions and patterns. I think prejudice in inevitable but the important thing is to recognize that and do what we can to move past it and try to be better.
Delete"Single Stories" create prejudice because they cause people to be stuck on one image of something. People then apply this one image to anything similar which can obviously lead to false conceptions. Prejudice emerges from over generalization, a refusal to look deeper, from assumptions, from misinformation. It is the same as in Born a Crime. People are made to think a certain way and therefore form prejudice by accepting the status quo. The only way to combat this would be to normalize questioning what is one the surface and looking deeper. People need to learn to discover the truth for themselves and keep an open mind rather than categorizing others based on stereotypes and initial glances.
ReplyDeleteYour viewpoint is fairly centric to the content we saw, but there is a good deal of truth to it so yeah. However, combating prejudice comes down to several factors. Additionally, the term "normalization" grates my nerves to no end. I don't know why it does, it just does. Although the basic idea is fine.
DeletePrejudice emerges when false ideas are portrayed, taught, and encouraged to society. When only one story is told, it leads people to form an inaccurate idea considering the minuscule amount of information they have concerning that place, person, and etc. This ultimately results in people reciting what they heard, whether or not it is completely true, and causing others to form an opinion based on the tiny degree of knowledge they receive. An important step to combat prejudice is to not allow ourselves to draw conclusions prematurely and to ensure the information we receive from third parties is true and comes from a well rounded viewpoint. If society continues to believe everything they hear without obtaining any verification, prejudice will never be deconstructed.
ReplyDeletePrejudice is the product of an incomplete education on a certain topic. Obviously single stories play a large part in this, but even that does not fully encapsulate the birth of prejudice. Humans have relied upon pattern matching for a very long time in order to survive, so prejudice has its origins far earlier than the earliest societies. Nowadays, the patterns are the single stories people are fed without counters. With a single story, a minority of negative cases can become the perceived majority. Which was the entire point but yeah. The way you combat prejudice is through exposure. Obviously education helps too, but most of the time prejudice is based upon a lack of exposure to the thing that is "different." I can safely say that I have had an extremely personal experience with this and that was how I learned. Anyway I look forward to some other thoughts.
ReplyDeletePrejudice is the offspring of ignorance. We receive information from those around us, but if they are only feeding us one story (typically from a POV wherein they are benefitted -- ie. Native Americans are savages, so we're actually doing them a favor by taking their land and stripping them of their culture!!! benefits the colonist mindset) then our perspective skews and we make assumptions that are not true. But it is up to each individual to set aside this predisposition for prejudice and search for the truth themselves by hearing out the stories and experiences of others.
ReplyDeleteAdding onto this, some people CHOOSE to be ignorant because they are comfortable with contributing to oppression and truly believe themselves to be superior, so even if you shove the truth down their throats, they will never believe you simply because it doesn't fit their original idea of a culture.
DeleteI’m going to start off my post by saying that, as of right now, I believe single stories are inevitable. Every nation in the world, every group of people, we all have preconceived notions about peoples and places we have never seen. Not all of them are malicious or grandeur by nature, but they are there nonetheless. These small preconceived notions can shape the entire view of an entire nation. A great example of this was mentioned in Adichie’s transcript. She talks about how many Americans are raised with the idea that the entire continent of Africa is a poor and barren wasteland with tiny shacks and constant violence. However false this may be, people who are taught this may form prejudices against African people based off of these claims. This is because prejudices emerge from ignorance and miss information. To have the audacity to say that an entire continent shares the same economic struggles, or that an entire demographic of people behave exactly the same clearly proves this. This can be combated, obviously, through education. True and unbiased education really does have the power to solve everything. If children were taught about other people and places without any type of underlying prejudice or bias, that is how this problem would be solved. But I think it’s safe to say that is nearly impossible if not completely.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that it does not seem realistic to expect to ever completely dispel prejudice and single stories. Of course it is an effort still worth pursuing, but nithing in the world ever truly ends perfectly and a complete lack of prejudice seems to classify as a “perfect” solution. Regardless, it will still be beneficial to change the mindset of a large percentage of the world.
DeleteI completely agree with you that education has the power to solve many problems. Maybe not everything because I think some things are too far beyond our control, but if people were educated more about other nations and ethnicities and cultures, there wouldn't be as much prejudice. I think people would then realize that everybody isn't so different and I bet they could find any similarities between each other. I also agree that prejudice will always exist, but I do believe there is much we can do to lower it.
DeletePrejudices form when people are fed misinformation or when they are told some facts, but not all the facts. When someone is told a story regarding something they are unfamiliar with, they make it their number one stereotype or description and form an opinion based off of it -- this is where the single story is formed. Once the single story is developed, it tends to be hard for people to change their thoughts, but if people are willing to research more about the topic and become familiar with it, they can then form an opinion about it, and prejudice may not be as big a problem. I think a couple people already talked about this, but I also agree with what Adichie mentioned about media fueling prejudices and creating single stories which make it even harder for people to form their own opinions based on facts.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree! Media is the primary creator of the single story. And seeing as it is broadcasted over the entire country, it is, unfortunately, completely understandable that so maybe Americans are ignorant and inconsiderate toward others.
DeletePrejudice emerges when people are oblivious to the true lives of others. The single story, typically based on stereotypes, plays a significant role in developing prejudice. A certain viewpoint toward a group of people becomes their only possible way of living (for example, once the single story of Mexicans being illegal immigrants took off, they faced, and are still facing, this toxic stereotype). This can be combatted simply by education. It may seem daunting, but informing oneself of the culture of others undoubtedly will bring understanding and respect amongst the human race. Prejudice arises from a place of ignorance; the simple lack of knowledge leaves room for people to create their own narrative for a group of people. Taking the time to learn about cultures and countries that differ from one’s own will play an important part in undoing the single stories embedded in too many groups of people.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you put that -- especially with "A certain viewpoint toward a group of people becomes their only possible way of living ." Stereotypes are harmful and applying only one narrative to an entire culture and group of people can change their entire life. For example, an hiring manager may not hire someone because they know their race to be "lazy and unmotivated," but will hire someone else because they are "smart and go-getters." Rather than looking at the person themselves, they take into consideration the one story they know.
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