Fiction as Fact: Children and the Single Story

            Children are the future; therefore, it is logical that they should be provided with the most complete education possible. They are more likely to believe what they are taught, either through the media, social norms or even the education system itself. None of them seem to be particularly keen on spending time on the development of critical thinking, for the new generations to be able to question what they might read, see or be taught in the first place. The younger human beings are, the more they absorb what happens around them, like a sponge, and will likely follow the norms they are taught. This can turn into the naturalization of what they see, or better said, what they are shown, as what it is, not realizing the implications that come with it, or that there is always another point of view, another side of the story. The purpose of this essay is to show how children, by being exposed to a limited and one-sided version of reality, or the “single story”, through literature, in their upbringing and through education, can grow up with an incomplete version of the world (regarding cultures and their own identities, among others), develop a narrower mind and possibly become less capable of being more empathetic. 

         Children can learn better from the stories that they read or that they are told. Their lives, their cultures, are composed of many stories. African novelist Chimamanda Adichie, in her TED talk “The Danger of a Single Story”, tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice as an adult and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. She uses stories as a metaphor and in a literal way: if children read books with characters with white skin and blue eyes, then that’s what is good or “normal”, as the rest is kept in the dark or barely mentioned. Children from other cultures could lose their identity in the world if they cannot see themselves represented. How can they know any better if they are not shown anything else? In her TED Talk, Adichie states: “When I began to write, at about the age of seven, stories in pencil with crayon illustrations that my poor mother was obligated to read, I wrote exactly the kinds of stories I was reading.” Adichie’s purpose is not to scold her audience for their lack of knowledge, but rather to explain that these misunderstandings and limited perspectives are universal. By opening with her own tale about Fide and his family’s poverty, she admits to be part of the same circle of ignorance or “incomplete knowledge”. The problem is not that stereotypes created by the single story do not communicate the truth, but rather a limited and incomplete part of it. Children are the most vulnerable to these incomplete truths, probably accepting them as the whole truth, if they are not taught or shown otherwise.

     Children naturalize “stories” as truth, instead of a mere opinion based on an adult’s personal upbringing. Research made over the years states that no human is born with the idea of discrimination, but that discrimination is rather induced through the prejudices and point of view of adults, who are responsible for raising and educating those children. The education they receive in those early stages may be the most crucial element for their development as adults in society and on how to interact with others. Taking the example from a stand-up routine of American comedian Bill Burr, he tells the story of an 80-year-old man, born in 1934, thirteen years before the first black baseball player entered the national league. Prior to this event, he had only watched white players, which was normal for him. He then mentions that his parents formed part of the generation who ostracized native-americans, finishing his routine with how the boy was probably taught his abc’s: A-B-C-D … Get that savage of my property! Get out! I thought we killed all your people! H-I-G-K... Needless to say, those who were born during extremely conservative times were basically shown just one side of the coin, being prevented from seeing other people, different from them, as a whole. Different cultures, religions and families can present their children with their own different and limited versions of their single stories, as all different family backgrounds come with their own perception of the world. As human beings are shaped by their experiences, those are passed from one generation to the next.

      If children grow up with just one version of a given reality, they might become ignorant. That is to say, they might believe they know all about themselves and the world, but that might result in a dangerous illusion, which is a much greater threat than ignorance itself. However, there might be some hope if the approach to teaching the younger generations takes a different turn. The current educational system in general does not seem to encourage an open minded analysis of different cultures or realities, and just single stories are embraced. Yet, as Adichie suggests, “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.” It becomes educators’ - parents, teachers and mentors, among others - task to provide children with enough tools for them to develop the capacity of realizing that there is always more than a single story. Among such tools, giving access to real information and fostering a sense of curiosity can become crucial when it comes to understanding the world. New generations should be trusted with the great challenge of breaking the wheel, of being able to see beyond and changing the paradigm. 

In conclusion, future generations will be the ones in charge of making deep social and cultural changes and, therefore, it is adults’ responsibility, nowadays, to give children the opportunity to understand that single stories are mere cultural fabrications, and that realities exist on the eye of the beholder. As children consume what they are sold, literature also has power over children’s conception of the world. Thus, literary works should depict accurate representations of diverse cultures and realities. It is then through education that generations to come will be able to develop a great capacity of comprehending that the world goes far beyond a limited mindset. 

References

Burr, B. (2014) I’m sorry you feel that way.

Ngozi Adichie, Chimamanda. (2009) The Danger of a Single Story.