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English
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Single Story Essay
In the book, Things Fall Apart, and the New York Times article, “Only Children:
Selfish and Lonely,” the authors, Chinua Achebe and Lauren Sandler, paint a
more complete story of their communities of Africa and only children. Achebe
dispels untrue parts of Africans such as being civilized and unable to
communicate well similarly to how Sandler destroys the idea of only children
always being lonely and selfish. Achebe flaws her character to show some of the
single story to be true of how they are barbaric and violent in the same way as
Sandler points out how some only children do get lonely at a certain time in
their life. Although Achebe and Sandler write about completely different
topics, they both complete their single stories by pointing out noble features
of their communities such as faith, spirituality, and high intelligence and
self-esteem. Through dispelling untrue myths, showing some of the single story
flaws to be true, and demonstrating positive attributes of Nigeria and only
children, Achebe and Sandler attempt to complete the single stories of Africa
and only children.
Achebe and Sandler destroy the
single stories by making arguments against untrue myths. Achebe denies the
single story that Africa is uncivilized when he explains that “among these
people a man was judged according to hid worth and not that of his father.
Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things” (7) . The ibo people have a
social hierarchy and social mobility. Achebe uses Okonkwo’s ability to stray
away from his father and his class to show that the Ibo people were civilized. Sandler points out that "in hundreds of
studies during the past decades exploring 16 character traits — including
leadership, maturity, extroversion, social participation, popularity,
generosity, cooperativeness, flexibility, emotional stability, contentment —
only children scored just as well as children with siblings" (Sandler,
pars. 4). Achebe disproves that
Africans are uncivilized in the same way that Sandler proves that only children
have similar characteristics as any other kid.
Achebe
and Sandler disprove the pieces of the single story that they do not believe
are true. Sandler
states that “findings suggest that solitude is not synonymous with loneliness and
often strengthens character" (Sandler, pars. 5). Sandler uses findings to
dispel the common idea that living as an only child causes loneliness. Sandler explains
that being alone does not cause us to be lonely, as opposed to the assumption
of many. Sandler then comments that "it turns out brutal sibling rivalry
isn’t necessary to beat the ego out of us; peers and classmates do the job"
(Sandler, pars. 4) in a similar way to how Achebe explains that "Among the
Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the
palm-oil with which words are eaten. Okoye was a great talker and he spoke for
a long time, skirting around the subject and hitting it finally" (7).
Sandler explains how siblings aren’t needed to stop an ego because kids at
school will have the same effect. In this way, Sandler helps to prove that only
children are not always selfish similarly to how Achebe proves that not all
Africans do not know how to communicate well. The Ibo people look at communication as a
highly important art. They have people in their clan who speak extremely well,
who disprove the single story that all Africans struggle to communicate.
Achebe and Sandler complete the
single stories of their communities by revealing the flaws of the single story
that are true. During the Week of Peace, Okonkwo’s wife leaves without telling
him "And when she return[s] he beat[s] her very heavily" (29). Achebe chooses to show how parts of the
single story are true such as the Africans being barbaric and violent. In the
Ibo tribe, it was not unnatural for a man to beat his wife. Even though these
people were civilized, they were still barbaric and violent at times. In her
article, Sandler talks about how “still there is something existentially
troubling about the idea of facing one’s parents’ mortality alone"
(Sandler, pars. 12). She explains how an only child could be lonely and feel
alone when they face their parent’s death without anyone to go through it with.
Achebe and Sandler both disclose weaknesses in the single story of their
respective communities in an effort to create a complete story of Africa and
only children, not one with only positives.
Achebe and Sandler complete the single
stories by showing the positive aspects of their communities that people do not
usually associate with Africa and only children. When the white men come to
Nigeria for imperialist reasons, Uchendu bursts out saying, "never kill a
man who says nothing. Those men of Abame were fools. What did they know about
the man?" (140). Achebe points out how the Ibo people had ethics and
morals. They did not want to kill a man just because he was not of their kind.
In a similar way to show positive characteristics, Sandler explains how it was
"found that only children had demonstrably higher intelligence and
achievement; only children have also been found to have more self-esteem"
(Sandler, Pars. 7). Sandler explains how studies have shown that only children
have tested with a higher intelligence and more self-esteem than children with
siblings. Achebe and Sandler both try to surface positive characteristics for
Africa and only children that usually do not come up in their single stories.
Achebe brings up that Africans do have faith and spirituality when he explains
how “a man could not rise above the destiny of his chi. The saying of the
elders was not true - that if a man said yea his chi was also affirmed. Here
was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation" (114). Achebe
tries to show how the Africans did believe in spirituality despite their single
story. In the novel, Okonkwo “worship[s] them with sacrifices of kola nut, food and palm-wine,
and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself, his three wives and eight
children" (14). The Ibo people sacrifice and pray to the gods. Achebe
demonstrates that they had a faith, completing the single story even more.
In their texts,
Achebe and Sandler attempt to give a more complete single story of Africa and
only children. The single story of Africa is that Africans are uncivilized,
barbaric, unable to communicate, and that they need help. Achebe dispels the
untrue parts of the single story in the same way that Sandler destroys the
single story of only children being lonely and selfish. They both attempt to
complete the unfinished half of the single story, known as the “lions”
perspective because they never tell the story because they lost and have no
say. There is always more to a single story because most single stories only
show one perspective, the “hunters” perspective.
Bibliography
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart.
New York: Anchor, 1994. Print.
Sandler, Lauren. "Only Children:
Lonely and Selfish?" Nytimes.com. New York Times, 08 June 2013.
Web. 6 Feb. 2014.
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