"single story" — the central metaphor. A story that replaces complexity with a single, reductive narrative.
Anecdote about Fide's family: shows how poverty became the "only" story Adichie knew about them. Subverted when she sees Fide's brother weaving a basket.
American roommate episode: irony and gentle humour — the roommate's assumptions mirror exactly what Adichie had done.
"It robs people of dignity" — short, punchy, declarative. The most powerful statement in the passage.
Tricolon at end: "It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition...It emphasizes..." — accumulating effect of the single story.
Key extract — The Danger of a Single Story
I come from a conventional, middle-class Nigerian family. My father was a professor. My mother was an administrator. And so we had, as was the norm, live-in domestic help, who would often come from nearby rural villages. So, the year I turned eight, we got a new house boy. His name was Fide. The only thing my mother told us about him was that his family was very poor. [...]
Years later, I thought about this when I left Nigeria to go to university in the United States. I was 19. My American roommate was shocked by me. She asked where I had learned to speak English so well, and was confused when I said that Nigeria happened to have English as its official language. She asked if she could listen to what she called my "tribal music," and was consequently very disappointed when I produced my tape of Mariah Carey. [...]
I have always felt that it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place and person. The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.
Model analysis (Q4 style): Adichie uses the personal anecdote about her American roommate to engage the reader. The word "shocked" reveals the roommate's prejudged assumptions, mirroring Adichie's own earlier prejudice about Fide. This creates an ironic parallel that makes Adichie's argument about stereotyping feel universal rather than accusatory. The rhythm of the final tricolon — "It robs... It makes... It emphasizes" — builds to a powerful conclusion, each short declarative sentence adding weight to her indictment of the single story.
Exam practice — 3 questions · 15 marks · 4EA1 style
⚡ Quote and analyse. Use Point → Evidence → Effect (PEE) or similar. The AI marks against the real 4EA1 mark scheme descriptors.
1 markPurpose4EA1 Paper 1 style
What is Adichie's main purpose in this text?
A To describe her childhood in Nigeria
B To persuade the reader that a single story about a person or place is reductive and dangerous
C To argue that Nigerian culture is superior to American culture
D To entertain with humorous stories about cultural misunderstandings
5 marksThoughts and feelings4EA1 Q3 style
Using the full extract, explain the writer's thoughts and feelings about the "single story." Refer to the text in your answer. (5 marks)
Hint: Find at least 5 different feelings. Quote briefly to support each. Think about: what does Adichie feel about her own past assumptions? About the roommate? About the effect of single stories?
+50 XP
10 marksLanguage and structure analysis4EA1 Q4 style
Analyse how Adichie uses language and structure to present her ideas about single stories. (10 marks)
Hint: Write 4–5 PEE paragraphs. Name each technique. Quote precisely. Analyse the effect on the reader. Consider structure as well as language.