Comprehension & Analysis: "The Danger of a Single Story"

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.

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

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.

How do stories of the West compare to stories of Africa?

• Stories of Western culture discuss a greater variety of experiences, while African stories are more limited.

• Stories of Western culture are more readily available across the world, while there are fewer African writers and their stories are less accessible in other countries.

• Stories of Western culture are more popular because more people can identify with them, while African stories provide limited identifiable experiences.

• Stories of Western culture are more popular because most people are unaware of the current work of African writers.

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 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.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2