Which of the following describes the common single story for Africa?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: Which of the following describes the common single story for Africa?

Option 1: The inhabitants of Africa live exciting and luxurious lives. This statement presents a stark positive stereotype that erases vast inequalities and the diverse realities across the continent. It overgeneralizes and ignores contexts like poverty, conflict, health, and access to resources, giving an inaccurate, rosy image instead of acknowledging complexity.

Option 2: The inhabitants of Africa want to come to the United States. This asserts a specific migratory motivation as a universal truth, which is an overreach. People’s reasons for migration are varied and shaped by many factors beyond a simple desire to relocate, including economic opportunities, safety, education, and family ties. Treating it as a universal motive misrepresents individual circumstances.

Option 3: The inhabitants of Africa live diverse and full lives. While this is an accurate and nuanced description, it represents a more balanced view rather than the problematic “single story.” It acknowledges diversity and richness of experiences, but it’s not the stereotype being contrasted in discussions about the single story framework.

Option 4: The inhabitants of Africa are all disadvantaged in some way. This choice captures the essence of the problematic single-story narrative that reduces an entire continent to a single aspect—poverty or disadvantage—ignoring variation, agency, and resilience. It’s a sweeping generalization that reinforces stereotypes and ignores the vast diversity of cultures, economies, environments, and life experiences across Africa.

Why some options are misleading:
- Option 1 propagates a uniform luxury narrative, which erases systemic issues and regional differences, leading to a distorted understanding.
- Option 2 presumes a universal immigration motive, oversimplifying complex individual decisions and failing to recognize local contexts and opportunities.
- Option 3, although accurate in essence, does not reflect the historical or critical prompt about the common single story; it’s more a corrective description than a stereotype, and thus not the stereotype being described.
- Option 4 highlights the core problem of a single-story approach: reducing a diverse continent to a single, negative trait. This is the stereotype most often called out in discussions about the dangers of the single story.

Overall, the analysis shows why the single-story perspective is considered misleading: it flattens rich diversity into one narrative and ignores variation across nations, cultures, and individual lives within Africa.

TLIELP 1120 AU2025 (12158) Single Story and Culture Reading Quiz

Which of the following describes the common single story for Africa?

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

Which one of the below best describes the meaning of ‘stereotypes’? Select one:

Which of the following best distinguishes a sociological generalization from a stereotype?

All doctors are good with their money and are able to pay off med school debt easily

____________ have been stereotyped as the model minority.

In a consumer society, many adults channel creativity into buying things

Economic stress and unpredictable times have resulted in a booming industry for self-help products

People born without creativity never can develop it

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler