Genre
Speech
Setting and Context
Set in 2009, at Ted Talk Conference in Vancouver
Narrator and Point of View
The narrator is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and she uses a first-person point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone is thoughtful, and the mood is calm.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and the antagonists are the people who believe in one single story.
Major Conflict
The conflict is between the narrator and her roommate in an American university who believes Africa is a dark continent without opportunities.
Climax
The climax comes when the narrator develops an authentic cultural voice to write based on factual findings.
Foreshadowing
American and European literature foreshadows the narrator's belief that Africa is inferior to Western culture.
Understatement
Africa's potential is understated. The West assumes Africa is primitive and has no opportunities.
Allusions
The narrative alludes to Colonialists’ view of Africa as a land of primitive people who do not know the significance of resources in their midst.
Imagery
The narrator’s description of the basket made by Fade’s brother depicts a sense of sight. The narrator says, “Then one Saturday, we went to his village to visit, and his mother showed us a beautifully patterned basket made of dyed raffia that his brother had made.” The imagery shows that Fade's family is talented, and they can succeed if they exploit their potential.
Paradox
The primary paradox is that Adichie’s roommate believes that an African cannot speak fluent English because she is Black.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Nkali is a metonymy for power structure in Igbo Nigeria.
Personification
N/A
