A Lesson That Had an Impact on My Gullible Self.

    After hearing one side of a tale, it is difficult to maintain objectivity about the situation. According to what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie explains in her Ted Talk titled "The Danger of a Single Story," the side of the story that is spoken more loudly is the one that gets heard. According to what was discussed in the lecture, one side of a story may be powerful regardless of whether or not it is accurate. We all hear a variety of tales on a wide range of subjects, including problems, occurrences, events, individuals, and many more. Sadly, we have the propensity to form assumptions. It's a basic fact that gaps irritate the human mind. The problem is that the mind fills in these blanks by creating a picture based on what it has heard, and here is where the problem resides.        

    This dilemma is one that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie encounters from both points of view. She has formed certain preconceived notions about Fidea, a disadvantaged young man she once knew. She would go on believing that this youngster and his family were unable to enjoy the simplest of pleasures, such as the consumption of a single meal. She had almost finished writing the second part of the narrative when she received an invitation to the boy's home, which completely derailed everything she had worked on. She was aware of the whole tale; therefore, her imagination was no longer required to create a picture for it.

    Chimamanda, too, has experienced having others make assumptions about her. This was something that she had gone through with a friend of hers who had no prior knowledge of Africa. Chimamanda had to leave Nigeria in order to further her education in the United States. Chimamanda's roommate was someone who understood very little about Africa other than a singular perspective on the continent's widespread poverty. Their mutual acquaintances from the United States treated them the same way Chimamanda treated Fidea. Chimamanda later said that at the same time, she had an epiphany about the need to tell one's own side of the story.

    If one side of a narrative isn't heard, then the other side of the story may as well not exist. One of the clearest signs of ignorance is when someone only considers and acts on one side of an issue. When just one side of the narrative is considered, it is impossible to avoid making incorrect assumptions and conclusions.

    Everyone is guilty of making snap judgments on a situation after hearing just one side of the story. I make an effort not to be sucked into believing just one side of a tale, but I've found that it's not as simple as it seems to avoid doing so. Because we are all humans, we are all prone to making snap judgments about other people, cultures, circumstances, etc.

    Though I would want to provide a visual example, here is a comical drawing of a rabbit claiming that he has the bigger carrot, despite the fact that, as seen in the illustration, the situation is exactly the reverse of what the rabbit perceives it to be. This is significant because it exemplifies today's lesson: the carrot stem represents a very small amount of the "story," which is the carrot, and what is believed to be the truth is the larger stem, but this is not the realm of reality. That's all there is to it. It's only a narrative.

 

And with that, I will end my blog here, but remember... 
"stories can break the dignity of people, but stories can also repair that dignity."

 

—Chimamanda Adichie