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Isabella Ferrara

Professor Mario E. Martinez

ENGL 1301-302

28 June 2022

Destroying Labels

In her TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story,” Chimamanda Adichie has exposed the

truth behind negative labels. Adichie explains the creation of stereotypes and how they change

the way people perceive individuals with different identities. This Nigerian author utilizes the

rhetorical devices of logical reasoning, credibility, and emotional appeal as she recounts her

personal experience with negative labels. Adichie delivered a compelling speech by arguing that

people of power develop stereotypes that taint the image of minorities.

Undoubtedly, Adichie successfully employs logical reasoning to argue the origin of

single stories. In her speech, she references the Igbo word nkali, which means “to be greater than

another,” to emphasize how people of power control the content of single stories for selfish

reasons (Adichie 9:49). For example, Adichie details how the white man has manipulated stories

about Africans for centuries. She purposely mentions John Locke, a London merchant from the

1500s, and how he stereotyped Africans as “beasts who have no houses” (6:52). Due to Locke’s

economic and political power, the label of Africans as savages gained popularity. As a result, this

image allowed the white man to rationalize the enslavement and mistreatment of Africans.

Societal power hierarchy permitted the white man to be greater than the minority.

Furthermore, this Nigerian author utilizes logos to support her argument that stereotypes

are incomplete stories about marginalized groups. These labels are established solely on the

“negative stories that flatten one’s experience,” which completely ignores the positive stories
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that also encompass a minority’s identity (Adichie 13:00). Adichie corroborates this idea with

evidence of how the media publicizes the story of a catastrophic Africa, filling the public with

pity and horror for Africans. Specifically, the media covers Congo’s high levels of rape and how

“5,000 people apply for one job vacancy in Nigeria” (13:13). Adichie exposes the media for

neglecting the truth because the reality that most Africans live similarly to middle-class

Americans does not follow the stereotype of a savage African needing to be saved by the white

man.

Granted that TED conferences acknowledged Adichie’s experience as credible, the

Nigerian writer was allowed to use logical reasoning while describing how negative labels

personally affected her. She uses herself as an example to recount an experience with her

American roommate at Drexel University. Upon meeting, her roommate was surprised at how

well Adichie could speak English and how her “tribal music” was Mariah Carey (Adichie 4:40).

Before meeting Adichie, her roommate had the tainted image that all Africans were illiterate,

uncultured, and in need of being saved by the white man. Adichie’s encounter exemplifies the

roommate’s overexposure to the African stereotype that upholds societal standards of the

minority. This experience also explains Adichie’s reason for addressing the naivety of

stereotypes as a sociological issue.

Inspired by her life in Nigeria and in North America, Adichie has written multiple novels

that bring representation on how people live in Africa. Some of her works include Purple

Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun (MacFarquhar line 36). The Nigerian writer brings a fresh

perspective to the true African lifestyle to combat the negative stereotypes developed by the

single story of a violent and poor Africa. Adichie has also addressed negative labels about

females in We Should All Be Feminists (line 79). For her outstanding work, she has been
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recognized as a National Book Critics Circle Award winner (line 80). Today, she continues to

address the sociological issue of negative labels.

Based on her reputation and notable advocacy, Adichie uses ethos to promise the idea of

restoring personal dignity. She describes how stereotypes restrict the ability to interact with

people of a different identity. She emphasizes that “it makes our recognition of our equal

humanity difficult,” meaning that negative labels unevenly divide social power (Adichie 14:00).

Single stories completely disregard that humans were made to be equal. Adichie argues that

stereotypes steal a person’s dignity by making people react destructively towards the labeled

group. In learning about different perspectives and backgrounds, humans regain “a paradise” and

their dignity (18:28). In rejecting the single story about a group, Adichie promises a heavenly

society where labels do not limit the opportunities for equality and peace.

Moreover, Adichie supports her argument by borrowing credibility from other African

writers who have also addressed negative labels. She references Chinua Achebe, a renowned

figure in African literature, and his idea of promoting “a balance of stories” (Adichie 14:29).

Achebe established the idea that reducing the stories of a poor and uncivilized Africa and

exposing the presence of all socioeconomic statuses in the country can demolish African

stereotypes. As a result of borrowing credibility from Achebe, Adichie strengthens her argument

about introducing diverse perspectives to the public. In exposing the people to different

viewpoints about a marginalized group, there is a complete understanding of the minority’s

identity and state of living.

To reinforce her credibility, the Nigerian writer shows her listeners that she has also

mistakenly bought into the stereotypes about a group. An example Adichie gave was how the

media depicts Mexicans as immigrants “fleecing the healthcare system and sneaking across the
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border” (Adichie 8:44). On a trip to Guadalajara, she realized that the stereotype overgeneralized

Mexicans once she witnessed the reality of life in Mexico. She described how she observed

“people going to work, rolling tortillas in the marketplace, and smoking” rather than seeing

behaviors relative to the media’s undignified Mexican immigrant (8:42). Through this

experience, Adichie establishes her credibility as someone who believed single stories, but who

became open to change upon realizing how stereotypes damage a group’s image. Therefore, she

allows her audience to relate to her story and become motivated to learn about diverse

backgrounds.

Throughout her speech, Adichie utilizes emotional appeal to emphasize the urgency of

fighting against stereotypes. She first stimulates guilt as she recounts a story about Fide, a young

boy who helped clean her family’s home. When Adichie refused to finish her food, her mother

would shame her for not appreciating what she had, using Fide’s family as an example of a poor

family. Due to her mother’s power over Fide’s story, Adichie developed a close-minded

stereotype describing Fide as poor and incapable of doing anything besides housework. On a

visit to Fide’s village, Adichie observed his family’s artistic abilities in basket weaving.

Immediately, Adichie felt guilty for believing it was “impossible to see them as anything else but

poor” (Adichie 4:04). This story successfully stimulates guilt as Adichie uses an experience that

many people can relate to: being scolded at for not being grateful. Her story emphasizes the

responsibility towards becoming more aware of people’s actual situations instead of relying on a

single perspective. Her listeners are also guilted for being close-minded, which serves as a

motivator to fight against stereotypes.

Additionally, Adichie utilizes pathos to spark anger among her listeners. In explaining the

effects of stereotypes, she recounts an experience with a professor reviewing her work. The
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professor considered her work “not authentically African” because her novel’s characters were

educated and of the middle-class (Adichie 8:06). Adichie had written her characters as a classic

American, which conflicts with African stereotypes. The professor seemed to want a story about

tribal savages fighting to survive on the African savannah. The professor’s tainted image on

Africans made him take a bigoted approach toward Adichie’s writing because of his

overexposure to the stereotypes. Adichie uses this example to enrage her listeners and make

them feel her frustration at being told that she failed to represent her identity. She stimulates

frustration from failure to persuade her listeners to destroy labels.

In conclusion, Chimamanda Adichie convincingly argues how overexposure to

stereotypes can taint a person’s image. Strategically, Adichie uses rhetorical devices to describe

her encounters with labels and relate to her audience. “The Danger of a Single Story” unmasked

society’s power hierarchy. In understanding the diverse viewpoints about a group in society,

people can be granted equal opportunity without the risk of being labeled due to a single story.
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Works Cited

Adichie, Chimamanda N. “The Danger of a Single Story.” Youtube, uploaded by TED, 7 Oct.

2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg.

MacFarquhar, Larissa. “Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Comes to Terms With Global Fame.” The

New Yorker, 28 May 2018.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/06/04/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-comes-to-

terms-with-global-fame.