The Danger of a Single Story- Rhetorical Analysis
Thesis
Have you ever heard a rumor that completely contrasts with your true self or someone close to you? It has been well portrayed by Adiche in her story “The Danger of a Single Story”. She explains how a story can be a danger to oneself, and it affects her and people around her. The purpose of this thesis is to inform about devices and rhetorical methods used by chamamanda Adiche in her speech.
Introduction
Adiche speech surrounds a theme that she terms as the “danger of a single story” which in real sense means the danger of stereotyping. In the Webster’s dictionary, the term stereotyping is defined as “an often and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic”. She exposes all the stereotypes she has ever encountered and uses those experiences to enlighten a lesson of the danger of knowing or telling only a single story, perspective or a point of people or thing. I have listened to this speech on youtube.com and it resonates with me every time it plays. This is true because we might have experienced similar situations as her. But the most obvious reason am always hooked to her speech is her intelligent use of logos (logic), credibility (ethos), and emotional appeal (pathos), to drive her points.
Her speech points out the flaws of stereotyping whether it is done on empathy or not; it identifies why it is important to consider the other side of a coin before judging a person or a situation, so as to give an impartial and a fair story of people or things. This Nigerian speaker seems to be very skilled in driving her story in canons of rhetoric, arrangements, invention, memory, style and delivery. This thesis analyzes all the subjects that gave rise to her speech and also analyzes her use of pathos, ethos, and logos that she employed to drive her points to the audience.