GCSE Anthology Revision

The Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

How Adichie shares her experiences and presents her ideas about the Danger of a Single Story:

  • Lists

    • “All my characters were white and blue-eyed, they played in the snow, they ate apples, and they talked about the weather”

      • Demonstrates how easily a single perspective can influence people

  • Metaphors

    • “They stirred my imagination”

    • “They opened up new worlds for me”

      • Highlights the influences of American and English literature

  • Short Paragraphs

    • “She assumed that I did not know how to use a stove”

      • Shocks the audience with a small amount of information through one sentence

      • Emphasises the shared susceptibility to ignorance depending on the stories that we engage with

  • Repetition of short sentences

    • “I’m a storyteller”

    • “Stories matter”

    • “Many stories matter”

      • Repetition of 'the word ‘story’ highlights the powerful impact that stories can create on a reader and their beliefs

  • Juxtaposition and anecdotes

    • “His mother showed us a beautifully patterned basket … that his brother had made. I was startled. It had not occurred to me that anybody in his family could actually make something. All I had heard about them was how poor they were”

      • The beautiful basket is juxtaposed with the assumed poverty of the family

      • The single-story Adichie has of the family makes her assume that these poor people would lack any skills

  • Collective Pronouns

    • “We didn’t have snow, we ate mangoes, and we never talked about the weather”

      • The pronoun “we” contrasts the actual behaviour of Nigerians with their assumed behaviour in Western media

      • Demonstrates how unrelatable these stories were to her

  • Plosive Alliteration

    • “a kind of patronizing, well-meaning pity”

      • The repetition of a plosive ‘p’ sound portrays the anger she feels towards the stereotypical views of her roommate

  • Emotive Language

    • “What this demonstrates, I think, is how impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story, particularly as children”

      • The emotive language is used to create a serious tone, encouraging reflection amongst the audience on their personal views born from a single story

  • Chronological Structure

    • The story begins with Adichie’s early reading and youthful writing, ending with her visit to Mexico

A Passage to Africa by George Alagiah

How Alagiah presents his views:

  • Similes

    • “The search for the most shocking is like the craving for a drug”

      • The search is addictive and dangerous

      • Suggests the search is selfish

  • Ellipsis

    • “Like a ghost village…”

      • This leaves the scene more open to the reader’s interpretation

  • Rhetorical Questions

    • “How could it be?”

    • “What was it about that smile?”

      • It gives the reader an insight into the thoughts of Alagiah

      • Poses questions to the reader

  • Lists of Three

    • “Simple, frictionless, motionless”

    • “Hungry, lean, scared”

      • Very descriptive, painting a vivid picture of the suffering present

  • Sensory Description

    • “The smell of decaying flesh”

    • “You could see it in her sick yellow eyes and smell it in the putrid air she recycled”

      • Adds to the shock and horror

      • “Decaying” and “putrid” create a hopeless image

      • “recycled” suggests that she is no longer human and that resources are minimal

  • Metaphors

    • “The ghoulish manner of journalists on the hunt for the most striking pictures”

      • Implies that journalists can be callous or heartless, lacking empathy for their subjects

  • Repetition

    • “It was rotting; she was rotting”

    • “No rage, no whimpering, just a passing of life”

      • “Rotting” is visceral and gruesome, painting a nauseating scene

      • “No” emphasises the hopelessness of the situation and normalises the suffering in Somalia

  • Non-chronological Structure

    • References the eery smile at the beginning of the text to draw in the curiosity of the reader

  • Varied Sentence Structure

    • “Habiba had died”

    • “Take the Badale road….”

      • Short sentence emphasises the normality of death in Somalia, while long sentences enable effective portrayal of detailed descriptions

  • One Sentence Introductory Paragraph

    • “I saw a thousand hungry, scared and betrayed faces…but there is one I will never forget.”

      • Powerful adjectives grab the reader’s attention depicting all the suffering in Somalia and curiosity of the unforgettable face