Danijela Kaurin on Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche : “The Danger of a Single Story”

As I watched Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche explain her thoughts on “The Danger of a Single Story”, she is very persistent on the note that everything has more than one story, more than one view or opinion. Chimamanda mentions her families new house boy, Fide, who she knew to be poor and only poor.

A single side to a story is very commonly done, a thought the speaker very clearly explained. Adiche explains to the audience about the affects of only knowing one thing, one story about someone or something. For example, while at a family dinner, she did not finish all her food at which point her mother confronted her explaining that people like Fide do not have such a luxury of this meal, “they have nothing.” Adiche felt “enormous pity” for Fide and his family. She thought that this boy had very few meals, was not intelligent and was incapable of doing creative things all until she came face to face with his family.

I have lived in Chicago for all my life and I have witnessed the many homeless people in the alley corners and park benches, and with that many thoughts have gone through my head. I have thought of them as having no family, no talents, no lives, but just as Adiche explains, they do. Fide, the young house boy, has a family who has talents of basket weaving and things alike. As I walk down the city streets, I have found homeless/poor people who have not eaten or showered in days that can dance like J-Lo and can sing like Frank Sinatra. Just like myself Adiche suprises herself with the many capabilities these people have, and not the “single story” we once knew.

A misconception of our day and age about poor people is that they are all stupid and incompetent. In this article ( bbc.com ), President Trump explains how he refuses to hire a “poor person”; implying that he believes they are not capable of such high business positions. Just as Chimamanda thought Feda and his family were not capable of making baskets, Mr. President believes “poor people” are not capable of being in a business.

Poor people are people, not stupid wild animals, so why do others insist on creating this picture of them and not try re-painting it?