BMCC ENG 101 Final: Exploring Themes in Adichie and Smith's Texts

This assignment analyzes Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "The Danger of a Single Story" and Zadie Smith's "Speaking in Tongues," focusing on the interplay of cultural identity, language, and narrative. The analysis addresses key themes such as dominant culture, status quo, and identity (self, national, cultural, racial, class, and community). The texts are examined for their use of single versus multiple stories and narratives, exploring how these elements shape perceptions and social interactions. The student's responses delve into the authors' perspectives on stereotyping, voice adaptation, and the construction of identity within societal contexts. The analysis provides a comparative view of the authors' writing styles and their critical engagement with language as a social tool, examining the complexities of accent, dialect, and the loss of individual voice within group identities. The assignment demonstrates an understanding of the texts by highlighting contrasts and similarities, and the subplots that support the main storylines. The student addresses the recurring theme of identity, the impact of language in social interactions, and the importance of diverse narratives.

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Question 1
Both Adichie and Zadie deal with issues of cultural identity in their text. While Adichie
deals with matters of racism and social status, Zadie delves into the matters of language. In each
of the two short stories, two discourses are presented in contestation with one dominating the
other. In Adichie’s case, white supremacy is evidenced. For Zadie, language represents social
identity, and one has to acquire a new tongue to effectively fit in the desired class. Zadie herself
had to change her voice from the Willesden accent to adopt the Cambridge one. In this sense, the
American culture appears to dominate the British culture.
Question 2
The two texts present numerous contrasts aligned with the status quo. Different people in
the story come from different backgrounds. This explains why they are judged wrongly. For
Adichie, the status quo of the Africans robs them their dignity in the face of the other civilized
nations. Zadie implies that one has to adopt a certain voice to raise the ladder to the high class.
Question 3
The issue of identity appears to be recurring in the two texts. For both authors, identity is
a construct which for Adichie cannot be altered while for Zadie can be restructured. For Adichie,
identity is imposed on individuals based on a single story. She is treated like an African, and

when she goes to America, she serves as a perfect archetype for the African continent. Identity in
Zadie’s story reflects in her own life, George Shaw and Barack Obama. She contemplates on
how Obama will manage to keep his African identity without necessarily compromising
patriotism.
Question 4
Both stories are an amalgamation of various stories and narratives. The subplots in the
works act chiefly in supporting the storyline. They give more believable evidence since they are
drawn from everyday lives. They make the stories more realistic.
Question 5
Language appears to be a very powerful social tool in both stories. It is presented as a
way of forming an identity. Language is implied to be a representative of one’s status or race.
Adichie’s roommate is shocked when she learns that her African roommate can speak good
English. Zadie declares that language can either build or destroy nations. Inconsistency in the use
of language, for her, amounts to a betrayal of one’s country.
Question 6
The authors in the two stories hint that an individual’s voice can never be found as it is
always submerged in numerous voices. In this sense, people holding similar beliefs obviously
speak in the same voice. Varying individual voices are lost in this supposition. No one voice can
stand alone and hence the many generalizations evident in the essays.
Question 7

Adichie and Zadie propel the idea that however much we try to present ourselves
differently to the world, our personal identities will always be lost in group identities. Adichie
stresses the need to end stereotyping by considering many stories. Zadie does not offer any
solution to unnecessary voice adaptation which ultimately leads to the loss of individual identity.
Question 8
Accent and dialect are two different linguistic entities that are at times mistaken for
synonyms. Accent is linked to the manner of pronunciation or articulation while dialects refer to
different variants of the same language. In the texts accent and dialect are treated as avenues for
judging one’s identity.
Question 9
Critically, Zadie’s text is complex compared to Adichie’s. Despite this superficial
difference, the two texts are enjoyable to read. Zadie’s work incorporates numerous metaphors,
unlike Adichie’s work which is written predominantly in simple language. The two versions of
writing imply the nature of cultures as both simple and complex.
Question 10
Both Adichie and Zadie indicate the centrality of language and narrative in social
interactions. Adichie argues that one should listen to varied narratives before making judgments.
Zadie persuades the reader to believe that changing a voice to acquire a new one is not admirable
as she seems to be feeling sorry about it. Similarly, one should not be labeled a traitor or non-
patriotic for simply acquiring a new voice.