Paired Texts > The Danger of a Single Story

In "America's Shifting Views on Immigration," Mike Kubic discusses the history of immigration in the United States, from immigrants' initial passage through Ellis Island to immigration today.

Native American author Chuck Larsen adds key details that are missing from story of the "First Thanksgiving."

In Marcel Proust's "Excerpt from Swann's Way," a narrator's past and present blur together as he is on the verge of sleep.

In Wole Soyinka's poem "Telephone Conversation" the speaker is asked to disclose how dark they are when they attempt to rent an apartment.

In the informational text "The Hero's Journey," Jessica McBirney discusses a common structure among many stories across genres.

In the informational text "The Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan Scandal," Jessica McBirney discusses the incident between the two figure skaters that captured the nation.

In "How It Feels to Be Colored Me," Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) offers her personal and unique perspective on race and identity as a Black woman coming of age in the United States.

A speaker explores stories from generations of his family members and hopes for an end to the injustices facing the Black community.

In "Five Times Shiva Met Harry," a teenage girl challenges her love interest to learn about different perspectives.

In "Born Black and Female," Robert Nemiroff writes about Lorraine Hansberry's life and the impact of her writing. Pair “The Danger of a Single story” with “Born Black and Female” and ask students to discuss how writing can disrupt stereotypes. According to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in “The Danger of a Single Story” what is the danger of believing stereotypes based on a limited understanding of other cultures? According to Robert Nemiroff in “Born Black and Female” how did Lorraine Hansberry’s writing offer a powerful perspective on the lives of Black people in the United States? How could Hansberry’s life have been affected by a “single story” about Black people in the United States? How might Hansberry have used her writing and activism to disrupt this single story?

In "Notes from a Fragmented Daughter," Elena Tajima Creef uses form to explore an evolving perspective on her Japanese American identity. Pair “The Danger of a Single Story” with “Notes from a Fragmented Daughter” and ask students to apply Adichie’s arguments about “the single story” to Creef’s memoir. According to “The Danger of a Single Story,” what is the impact of “showing a people as one thing, and only one thing, over and over again” (Paragraph 25)? According to Adichie, what is the main problem with stereotypes? What is the most significant consequence of the single story? In “Notes from a Fragmented Daughter,” what are some of the ways in which the people around Elena fail to recognize her humanity as equal to their own? How do these experiences make Elena feel? In what ways does Elena fall victim to the single story, herself? How do her feelings about and perceptions of her mother affect the way that Elena feels about herself? How does Elena go about creating “a balance of stories” in her life, as described in paragraph 40 of “The Danger of a Single Story”?