Rhetorical Analysis - The Danger of a Single Story

Rhetorical Artifact Analysis

Topic: The Danger of a Single Story – By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the rhetorical methods and devices used by Chimamanda Adichie in her speech titled, “The Danger of a Single Story”.

Thesis:

Upon review of this assignment, my first thought was to conduct my rhetorical artifact analysis on one of my favorite speakers, John F. Kennedy.  Then, I thought about it later and decided that I would prefer to conduct my analysis on a speech that is more recent and one which I, being from the islands, could also identify with.

Introduction

1. Chimamanda Adichie’s speech surrounds a theme that she calls, “The Danger of a Single Story” which in fact means the danger of stereotyping.  Stereotype is defined in Webster’s Dictionary online as, “An often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things of a particular characteristic”.
2. Adichie exposes the stereotypes she has encountered and uses those experiences to teach a lesson on the danger of telling or knowing only single story, point or perspective on a people or thing.
3. I have listened to this speech several times and each time it resonates with me. Again, it could be because we have shared similar situations being from another country but more importantly, because she uses credibility (ethos), logos (logic), and emotional appeal (pathos), to convey her points.
4. This speech identifies the flaws in stereotyping – even if it is done with empathy, and it shows how knowing or identifying other aspects of a people or thing are equally important in telling a fair and impartial story of people or things.
5. Adichie is a skilled speaker who was able to tell her story via the canons of rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery.
6. This analysis will focus on the topic that gave rise to her speech and it will analyze her use of ethos, pathos and logos that she used to bring her point across resoundingly to her audience.

First, let me introduce the speaker and then the context that surrounded the speech.

 

1. The rhetorical situation/context of the speech, “The Danger of a Single Story”

1. The speaker, Amamanda Adichie, is a Nigerian author and writer who has been called ‘the most prominent of a procession of critically acclaimed young Anglophone authors that is succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African literature.” – Wikepedia
2. Adichie was born in the city of Enugu, Nigeria, where she grew up the fifth of six children.  She has written three books and given many speeches and her work has been endorsed by celebrities such as Beyonce who uses Adichie’s work in her song, “Flawless”.
3. Adichie delivers her speech in front of an audience which appears to be mostly white and sponsored by TED Talks.

Body

Now that the scene is set, let’s discuss the appeals she uses to argue her position:

1. Analysis of rhetorical devices
   1. She uses ethos (credibility), as a well-known “audience grabber” to capture and keep their focus
      1. She tells stories, beginning with herself as a child which her audience can also relate to.
      2. She included a story about the then, and still now, recent debate about the immigration situation in America.
   2. She appeals to the audiences emotions with a strong sense of pathos as follows:
      1. She tells the story of her house helper who was a little boy whose family was very poor.
      2. She uses humor to bring across the ridiculous nature of stereotyping by telling the story of her room-mate who was American and who felt sorry for her even before she met her, simply because she was from Africa.
      3. She tells the story of her being approached and being told a stereotype about her book and her African characters and her sarcastically responding to the person with her own stereotype of a book she read with American characters.
   3. She uses logos (the arrangement of all her ideas and experiences) to add power to her message in a way that is quite appealing:
      1. She supports the claims of her thesis with eloquent language and poignant examples.
         1. She speaks fluent and proper English and begins with her childhood and how the “single story” was portray to her from an early age.
         2. She uses situations that are of national debate, notable books, well-known artists, such as Mariah Carey to tell her story that others can identify with.
      2. She uses her own experience and failure in stereotyping others to further connect with the audience. Essentially, she critiqued her own self to show that she is subject to this behavior as well.
         1. She emphasizes that we must start with the positive stories of a people to get a clearer picture of their story.

Ms. Adichie sets an audacious tone in this introduction – one that carries through the rest of the speech. She connects and holds the audience captive with each story or situation she will make to bring her point across.  Since the stories are personal and not fictitious, they  

 

 

 

Conclusion

1. Amamanda Adiche reveals in a very powerful but soft-spoken, eloquent and convincing manner to the audience the many ways that people stereotype people or things.
2. Ms. Adichie provides stories, lessons learned, topics of national debate and even makes suggestions as to how to tell a story or stories to avoid stereotyping.
3. Ms. Adichie uses all the cannons of rhetoric involving ethos, pathos and logos to capture and engage her audience.
4. This artfully delivered speech inspired me the first time I heard it and listening to it again, it still does.  I intend to emulate Ms. Adichie’s style and delivery in producing my own speech.

 

Bibliography (References)

1. Ted Talks -  http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en
2. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary definition of Stereotype:
   http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stereotype