The Danger of a Single Story Quiz

Which of the following describes Adichie as a child?

• She was unhealthily obsessed with Western culture.

• She was strongly impacted by Western culture.

• She was encouraged to learn about Western culture.

• She was uninterested in Nigerian culture.

How did reading books by African writers affect Adichie?

• It exposed her to different stories, specifically ones she could relate to.

• It made her grateful for the American and British stories she grew up with.

• It encouraged her to write about characters from a variety of cultures.

• It made her realize how relatively few African writers there were.

How were Adichie’s interactions with Fide’s family similar to her interactions with her college roommate?

• Adichie felt pity for Fide’s family, as her roommate felt pity for her based on a single story.

• Adichie didn’t try to get to know Fide’s family, as her roommate didn’t not try to get to know her.

• Adichie decided she had nothing in common with Fide’s family before she met them, just as her roommate did.

• Adichie had high expectations for Fide’s family, as her roommate did for her based on a single story.

Which of the following describes the common single story for Africa?

• The inhabitants of Africa live exciting and luxurious lives.

• The inhabitants of Africa want to come to the United States.

• The inhabitants of Africa live diverse and full lives.

• The inhabitants of Africa are all disadvantaged in some way.

What role does power play in constructing a single story?

• The people in power have the ability to ignore stories that they don’t agree with.

• The people in power cannot be influenced by the effect of a single story.

• The people in power tell the story that best suits their interest, and control its content and distribution.

• The people in power have no need to construct or spread single stories about others.

What does Adichie believe a better version of storytelling looks like?

• She believes that it includes several stories that focus on the positives.

• She believes that it includes several different stories from different perspectives.

• She believes that stories need to be more widely available in order to improve.

• She doesn’t believe storytelling needs to change, but rather the way people respond to stories.

What is the effect of knowing the full story?

• You have a richer and more complete understanding of other people and places.

• You realize that different people and places aren’t so different.

• You will stop viewing yourself and your culture as superior to others.

• You will realize that what you once thought was true was a complete lie.

PART A: Which of the following identifies the central idea of the text?

• By only exposing ourselves to a single story, we run the risk of constructing overly-simplistic understandings of other people and places.

• By only reading a single story, we cheat ourselves of experiencing different cultures from different perspectives.

• Literature is reflective of the stories that are most popular and that people are most likely to identify with.

• Literature primarily shapes the understanding of children, while adults are less likely to construct their views of the world based on a single story.

PART B: Which section from the text best supports the answer to Part A?

• “What this demonstrates, I think, is how impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story, particularly as children.” (Paragraph 8)

• “Like our economic and political worlds, stories too are defined by the principle of nkali: How they are told, who tells them, when they're told, how many stories are told, are really dependent on power.” (Paragraph 26)

• “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” (Paragraph 38)

• “What if my roommate knew about the female lawyer who recently went to court in Nigeria to challenge a ridiculous law that required women to get their husband's consent before renewing their passports?” (Paragraph 47) “What if my roommate knew about the female lawyer who recently went to court in Nigeria to challenge a ridiculous law that required women to get their husband's consent before renewing their passports?” (Paragraph 47)

PART A: What is the author’s purpose in the text?

• Adichie wants to warn people that if they primarily consume stories of Western culture, they have likely been influenced by a single story.

• Adichie wants to show how important it is to acknowledge more than a single story in order to fully understand what you are unfamiliar with.

• Adichie wants to prove how limited the United States’ understanding of other cultures is, as most of her experiences with single stories have been in the U.S.

• Adichie wants to show people how she has managed to avoid being influenced by a single story, so that they can do the same. Adichie wants to show people how she has managed to avoid being influenced by a single story, so that they can do the same.