Read the excerpt from "The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.I grew up under repressive military governments that devalued education, so that sometimes, my parents were not paid their salaries. And so, as a child, I saw jam disappear from the breakfast table, then margarine disappeared, then bread became too expensive, then milk became rationed. And most of all, a kind of normalized political fear invaded our lives.
Read the excerpt from "The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.The American writer Alice Walker wrote this about her Southern relatives who had moved to the North. She introduced them to a book about the Southern life that they had left behind. "They sat around, reading the book themselves, listening to me read the book, and a kind of paradise was regained.”I would like to end with this thought: That when we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise.
Read the excerpt from a commercial.Our new stain-fighting formula will remove most spots and significantly reduce the appearance of any grubbiness your clothing may have. In our studies, up to 90 percent of all grease marks, food spills, and grass stains were completely removed. If you have a tough stain, you need our reliable whitening, brightening, color-safe detergent. Just follow the directions on the package, and your fabrics will look brand new in no time!
Andrea is preparing for a group discussion about Adichie’s use of rhetorical strategies. Read the excerpt from "The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.But the truth is that I had a very happy childhood, full of laughter and love, in a very close-knit family. But I also had grandfathers who died in refugee camps. My cousin Polle died because he could not get adequate healthcare. One of my closest friends, Okoloma, died in a plane crash because our fire trucks did not have water.
Read the scenario. Jamal is discussing why he thinks a speaker uses ethos in her speech. He explains that the speaker’s reference to a NASA study supports her purpose.
Read the scenario.Curtis is participating in a group discussion about an author’s use of metaphor. He listens to a group member explain their perspective on the metaphor. Then, another group member offers a different view on the meaning and use of the metaphor.
Read the excerpt from "The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Because all I had read were books in which characters were foreign, I had become convinced that books by their very nature had to have foreigners in them and had to be about things with which I could not personally identify. Now, things changed when I discovered African books.
Manuel is preparing for a group discussion about Adichie’s use of rhetorical strategies. Read the excerpt from "The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person. The Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti writes that if you want to dispossess a people, the simplest way to do it is to tell their story and to start with, "secondly.” Start the story with the arrows of the Native Americans, and not with the arrival of the British, and you have an entirely different story.
Read the excerpt from a school political campaign. A vote for me means a vote for the things you want. I will lead the way in pushing for longer lunch periods, less homework, and more choice in electives. We deserve greater freedom in our day and our education. We work hard! We should be rewarded. Vote for me to get what you are entitled to!
Read the scenario.Olav is participating in a formal group discussion about rhetorical strategies used in a speech. While he is describing the speaker’s use of rhetorical questions, he notices that several group members look confused.
Read the scenario.Chase is listening to Beatriz’s view of a speaker’s use of ethos. She explains that the speaker’s mention of Malcolm X supports the credibility of the speech.
Read the scenario.Davi is participating in a formal group discussion about how the use of simile supports the purpose of a speech. Davi says the similes do not support the purpose well. Zoe responds to show how the similes do support the speaker’s purpose.
Anthony is preparing for a group discussion about how a speaker uses rhetorical appeals in a speech.Which question would be most appropriate for the discussion?
Read the excerpt from "The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her default position toward me, as an African, was a kind of patronizing, well-meaning pity. My roommate had a single story of Africa: a single story of catastrophe. In this single story, there was no possibility of Africans being similar to her in any way, no possibility of feelings more complex than pity, no possibility of a connection as human equals.
Read the scenario. Kimi and Sunil are having a formal discussion about rhetorical questions in a speech. Kimi states that the rhetorical questions provide examples of how the audience can engage in political action. She says this supports the speaker’s purpose of encouraging participation in political initiatives.
Read the scenario. Kira is engaging in a discussion about the use of rhetorical strategies in a speech. She has just explained her ideas about the speaker’s use of metaphor. Parvati is responding to Kira’s ideas.
Did you find these answers helpful?