A Small Place Analysis

A Small Place Analysis
Jamaica Kincaid's novel A Small Place is a fictional novel about her life growing up on an island
that has been imperialised by the British. Jamaica Kincaid shows acrimony to the colonization of her
country, towards the corrupt government that has stunted the growth of her country, towards the
white people that took Antigua in their hands and molded it into something embryonic. The
dictionary defines third world as "the underdeveloped nations of the world, especially those with
widespread poverty," with this description, Antigua will be classified as a third world country after
achieving their independence from the British. A Small Place reveals that post–colonial Antigua is
still pinned by a form of slavery through the nation's poor economy, government corruption, and the
impoverished Antiguans. The poor economy and corrupt government are hand in hand to help create
the impoverished Antiguans.
The corrupt government of Antigua restricts their citizens ability to buy specific goods, like cars, in
order to benefit the people working in the government, "banks are encouraged by the government to
make loans available for cars, but loans for houses not so easily available; and if you ask again why,
you will be told that the two main car dealerships in Antigua are owned in part or outright by
ministers in government" (Kincaid 7). The government forces the banks to make it easier for the
purchase of cars that are partly owned by the ministers of the Antiguan government so they
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Jamaica Kincaid's Girl
In "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, we have a mother conveying important life advice to her daughter in
order for her to adapt to cultural customs and most important to learn the rules of social behavior.
Her mother's advice is not only intentionally told in order for her to become the proper antiguan
woman she believes in raising, but is also told to criticize her actions and everyday doings. Her
mother makes it very clear, in order to live a proper antiguan life, there are many rules that one must
follow. With deeper interpretation of Kincaid's work we come to the realization that her overall
message suggests the idea that women as a whole should be domestic and should behave a certain
way in our society in order to avoid being viewed as a promiscuous woman. ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
The power of domesticity determines how girls mother comes to the assumption that domestic
mastery will not only save her daughter from a life of licentiousness but will also serve as a way for
her to gain respect in the antiguan community. Girl's mother states the endless list of tasks she needs
to maintain throughout her home in order maintain the respectable image her mother seeks after. As
stated in the text "Wash the white clothes on monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color
cloths on tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry"(Kincaid 296). Her mother tells her
daughter the way things should be done in order to maintain her important role around her home.
Reading her mother's precise list of instructions we can infer the devotion her mother has in the
power of domesticity. In our society today and all throughout the world, the image of a woman is
sought to be of them staying home and completing numerous tasks around their

A Small Place By Jamaica Kincaid
A Small Place, by Jamaica Kincaid, tells the history of a small postcolonial island called Antigua,
which is located in the Caribbean. In this nonfictional text, published in 1988, Kincaid examines the
challenges that Antiguans were left to deal with after the English left and in her writing Kincaid
reveals how European colonization left Antigua with injustice, corruption, and poverty. The book is
sectioned off into four parts. The first part focuses on tourism, the second part studies the colonial
legacy of the island, part three talks about the political situation of the island, and part four
expresses some hope for the future. Throughout the book, Jamaica Kincaid makes it very clear that
she does not approve of tourists by saying things such as, "An ugly thing, that is what you are when
you become a tourist, an ugly, empty thing, a stupid thing, a piece of rubbish pausing here and there
to gaze at this and taste that..." ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Kincaid depicts the impact of imperialism and colonialism over a nation and the way it can ruin a
nation's future.
In "A Small Place," by Jamaica Kincaid colonialism is theme that is strongly depicted. England is
portrayed as a colonialist power. England is the source of all problems in the Caribbean although it
is also the place that provided education to Antiguans during colonialism. However, I found it
interesting the way Kincaid also incorporated the complicated role that the United States played by
portraying the U.S. both in a positive and negative light. Mostly in section one and three Kincaid
analyzes the influence America has on Antigua. Kincaid speaks about the social influence of North
America in Antigua in terms of the racial division they

Corruption In Jamacia Kincaid's A Small Place
Jamacia Kincaid's A Small Place is most certainly a postcolonial text she illustrates the problems
and consequences of the decolonization of Antigua, especially questions to the political and cultural
independence of formerly subjugated people. Kincaid positions the reader into a bevy of different
angles; in the first section Kincaid describes the natural beauty of the island as a hypothetical tourist.
As a reader we are being isolated from the harsher realities of the people that live there. The
information given is facts only a native would know, for example the reason why the majority of the
cars on the island are poorly run. In Kincaid's guided tour are her views about the mansions on the
island, which are gained through corruption. In ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
As an example, she takes the state of the library, awaiting repairs after all these years and forced to
reside in "temporary" quarters above a dry goods store. Kincaid has fond, if ambivalent, feelings
toward the old library, which was a haven of beauty and an escape into reading for her as a child.
She recalls the imperious ways of the head librarian (who suspected Kincaid, rightly, of stealing
books), who is now sadly reduced to campaigning, mostly unsuccessfully, for funds to build a new
library, while the collection decomposes in cardboard boxes. The rich members of the Mill Reef
Club have the funds to help, but will do so only if the old library is rebuilt–a demand that Kincaid
sees as having more to do with nostalgia for the colonial regime than with a true desire to help.
Kincaid mentions the ironies involved in Antigua having a Minister of Culture without having a
culture to administer. She also mentions her politically active mother's run–in with the current
Minister of Culture, who has allowed the library to languish. Education has clearly suffered on
Antigua in the years since independence, and Kincaid ruefully notes the poor speech habits of the
younger

Food And Clothing In Jamaica Kincaid's Girl
Jamaica Kincaid was born Elaine Cynthia Potter Richardson. Her family raised her to be methodist
with a splash of West Indian voodoo. She grew up poor on the island Antigua, which was controlled
by the British in her childhood. Kincaid often wrote about the immigrant experience. In her short
story "Girl," a mother is instructing her daughter on how to live a honest life. In the story, food and
clothes are motifs that reveal how to be a respectable woman in Antiguan society.
First of all, food is used to show how to be an upright Antiguan woman. Food is established as a
staple of an Antiguan woman's life. She is responsible for the preparation and production of meals.
The mother repeatedly stresses food throughout her sermon to support

Analysis Of A Small Place By Jamaica Kincaid
Antigua is a small island that was discovered in 1493, by Christopher Columbus. The natives that
lived there were made slaves by the British and the economy thrived on producing sugar. In 1834
the British abolished slavery giving Antigua its independence. The sugar industry was failing so the
economy relied on tourism. A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid is about Antigua. Kincaid narrates
her novel in second person, blaming the tourists for ruining the culture of Antigua. Kincaid explains
that the British were cruel to the Antiguan people but she forgives them for it. Kincaid also talked
about how the Government is currently corrupt and how beautiful Antigua's land is. Kincaids novel
is broken up into four parts that address all of these issues in Antigua.The way A Small Place by
Jamaica Kincaid was written is effective in the way that it tries to persuade and inform the readers.
In part one of A Small Place, Kincaid tries to persuade the readers, she does this by talking directly
to them. Kincaid says that the tourists ruin the culture and that they are not justified in coming to
Antigua for a vacation. Kincaid thinks that tourism is ugly, "an ugly thing, that is what you are when
you become a tourist"(Kincaid 17). Kincaid is trying to persuade the reader instead of informing
them with a fact or observation. This direct use of second person is successful to persuade the
reader. It is successful because the reader might feel guilty for traveling and might change his or her
perspective on traveling.
In part four of A Small Place, Kincaid tries to persuade the reader. Kincaid tries to make the reader
think that Antiguas beauty is unreal. Kincaid also instead of informing you with facts or
observations talks about how the British should be punished for enslaving Antiguans and says in her
opinion why they did it. Kincaid wants the reader to feel that Europeans are truly unhappy, "to
satisfy their desire for wealth and power, to feel better about their own miserable existence, so that
they could be less lonely and empty– a European disease"(Kincaid 80). This use of persuasion
successfully makes you think about human nature. It makes the reader think of why people would
enslave others for money and power.
In part

Opinions towards Imperialism in Antigua in the Novel, A...
In the novel, A Small Place, Jamaica Kincaid expresses her opinion towards imperialism in Antigua,
which has change the way how Antiguan people live. She then talks about issues of tourism and
corruption, and how everything to the readers is "your fault" as she described. Kincaid also reveals
the native's view on tourism. The book is written in second person, explaining her opinion, and the
reader is spoken to directly in the book. To make more sense of this, the reader is like a tourist
whose visiting Antigua. The book starts outs having the readers introduced to Antigua for its sight
and beauty, but as the book progresses, Kincaid shows the readers how Antigua really is. The whole
setting of Antigua seemed to have gone unrepaired, living conditions are very poor, and places such
as schools that are mentioned to be unrecognizable. Kincaid also creates feeling of shame and
misfortune for the Antiguan people and blames the tourists, yet the tourist doesn't really seem to care
for the moment. Native inhabitants have different opinions of tourist. Most see them as friendly
patrons, but others such as Jamaica Kincaid, may see them as ignorant or cold hearted people who
just don't understand. Her novel is considered to be anti–imperialist because the way she explains
the issues of tourism and corruption, two of the themes which became dominant after British
colonization.
In every country, tourism has always been a way to earn money. Tourist just cannot resist into
visiting these

Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place
Jamaica Kincaid's novel "A Small Place" is a novel made up of a series essays that dives into the
daily life of the island of Antigua. Antigua is a small beautiful, nine miles wide by 12 miles long,
island. Tourism is an industry that makes huge amounts of money. Hotels, beaches, and fun in the
sun all come at a price, but where is the money really going? Antigua with its many resort hotels and
tourist attractions, seems rich in wealth but what about the native descendants of the island. Are the
natives actually benefiting from tourism? Kincaid who grew up in the once colonized island
explains the islands' history during colonialism. She also, gives insight on the island after
colonialism. In "A Small Place" Jamaica Kincaid uses critics tourism ... Show more content on
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Kincaid gives an example of this in the novel," you make a leap from being that nice blob just
sitting like a boob in your amniotic sac of the modern experience to being a person visiting heaps of
death and ruin and feeling alive and inspired at the sight of it..." (Kincaid 16). The quote basically is
suggesting that when people become tourist they do not consider the poverty or infrastructure of the
place they are going to. Kincaid implies that when they tourist see the poverty, and the dilapidated
infrastructure they feel good about themselves. The tourist feels like they have it better than the
people living on the island of Antigua. This quote relates to tourism being a new form of colonialism
because it relates to how the colonizers felt that the natives were beneath them. During colonialism
and slavery, the natives lived in dilapidated housing, they had the minimum resources to survive.
Tourism also exploits the native culture in m any other ways

Highlighting the Issue of Neo-Colonialism through Media...
The Effects of Neo–Colonialism as presented in Motorcycle Diaries and A Small Place Neo–
Colonialism is a very powerful and controversial issue in the world today. Countries such as the
United States, Great Brittan and France still greatly profit over the countries they left as independent
years ago. This paradox is created by the mother country exerting economic and political influence
on the former colonies; allowing them to still profit from these third world countries without
actually occupying them. Neo–Colonialism produces a number of effects on the subject country, the
majority of these effects being negative. The novel A Small Place and the film Motorcycle Diaries
discuss the numerous effects of neo–colonialism to a great extent the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
After a long and arduous swim Ernesto finally safely makes it across. This scene represents Ernesto?
s belief in a United South America, the river symbolizing the outside powers attempt to keep the
South Americans countries separated.
The novel A Small Place is another piece that discusses the negative effects of neo–colonialism.
This small novel is written in the second person, with the author directly addressing the reader.
Through out the novel the author points out the sad rundown state of her homeland Antigua. This
state is firmly placed on the degenerative effects of neo–colonialism. The first effect of neo–
colonialism discussed in A Small Place is the Antiguan economy. ?You look closely at the car; you
see that it?s a model of a Japanese car that you might hesitate to buy; it?s a model that?s very
expensive; it?s a model that?s quite impractical?.You will be surprised, then, to see that most likely
the person driving this brand–new car filled with the wrong gas lives in a house that in comparison,
is far beneath the car; and if you were to ask why you would be told that the banks are Won 4
encouraged by the government to make loans available for cars, but loans for houses not so easily
available? you will be told that the two main car dealerships are owned in part or outright by the
ministers in the government? (Kincaid 7). This section discusses the control of Japanese car

Summary Of A Small Place By Jamaica Kincaid
Antigua is a possibly one of the most beautiful places to visit in the world, let alone the Caribbean.
In "A Small Place" by Jamaica Kincaid, she describes Antigua as a place of prioritizing the
foreigners and the "white" people. Regrettably, the country has been designed to become a tourist
attraction over the years, causing the author's sense of Antigua to dissipate over time (pp.23).
Kincaid's perception of Antigua can be summed up by the unrepaired library, the past social and
cultural interaction of the Antiguans (pp. 42 – 43). To the tourist, the ruin library is possibly just
another damage structure; however, to the locals and Kincaid, it has meaning, a place, a locale, and
more importantly, a sense of place. In the story, it references ... Show more content on
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In Africa, corruption is a major concern in hindering the country's development. As d'Agostino,
Dunne & Pieroni (2016) states that combating corruption can improve aggregate economic
performances and improve the "indirect effects that come through the interaction between
[government] corruption[s]" (pp.84). However, Mckoy (2012) argues the lack of information and
understanding in the Commonwealth Caribbean causes many management practitioners to use
information from other countries and regions, like the continent of Africa. As such, he defines
Caribbean analysis on corruption are based upon opinions, anecdote and cross–country correlations
(Mckoy, 2012, pp.10). In Antigua, the economy is dependent on the service sector with 77.5% of the
GDP (CIA, 2017) and the employment rate is 82% (CIA, 1982). Within the service sector, travel and
tourism accumulates 60.4% of the GDP and 54.3% of employment, with a forecast of growth of
over 10% in 2017 (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2016, pp.1&3). If a country's economy is so
heavily dependent on travel and tourism that continues to build more hotels and increase the cruise
industry, it is understandable that the government focuses heavily on it. According to figure 1, the
GDP continues to rise, with an exception in 2008 where the economic recession occurred. The
government of Antigua possibly solely focused on enhancing the economy via

Jamaica Kincaid A Small Place Essay
No one likes being blamed, so why would Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place blame the white race for
the Antiguans' misery? Her bold essay gives layers of hidden meanings and analyzing those layers
provide a deeper understanding of them. For instance, other readers' reactions towards her essay
adds a variety of insight one could never come up with on their own. Also, wondering if Kincaid's
anger solely lies on the white race or if it's part of something greater deepens our understanding of
the author. Another interpretation of her boldness recognize her as an empowering woman because
she defies the stereotypical passivity in women writing. Kincaid's essay offers multiple
interpretations but focusing on the Reader Response, Psychology, and Feminist ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
Professors Hirsh and Schweitzer explain "When Kincaid was about nine, her mother had three sons
in succession, pushing the family over the edge. The beautiful intelligent woman she had adored as
an only child became overwhelmed and withdrew from her. It was also at this time that the
contradictions of the British Colonial rule in Antigua became apparent to Kincaid" (475). The
adolescent years are notorious for losing innocence and Kincaid admits in an interview for New
York Times Magazine that she has never forgotten the betrayal she felt from her mother's emotional
remoteness in her childhood (Garis 70). One might say the misdirected anger towards the tourists is
in fact directed at her mother. She's like a little girl complaining about an issue in her diary but it's
just a cover up of why she truly feels angry. An example from Kincaid's essay is: "It so happens that
in Antigua my mother is fairly notorious for her political opinions. She is almost painfully frank,
quite unable to keep any thoughts she has about anything––and she has many thoughts on almost
everything–– to herself" (50). Kincaid still respects her mother but her use of negative words
exhibits her lingering bitterness. She says that her mother is "painfully frank" and growing up with a
mother who voiced her strong opinions can influence the child to do just the same. Kincaid's
emotionally difficult upbringing in Antigua reveals another way to perceive the depth of her anger
and adds dimension to what may only seem like a racial

American Imperialism In A Small Place
Title Throughout history, exploration of foreign lands has always been intensely appealing to the
average man. In the past, men such as Christopher Columbus traveled far and wide in the search of
new lands. When Columbus discovered those lands he was essentially a tourist to those lands even
though he had the intentions to colonize the new found land. At the time of colonization, Columbus
did his best to convince the reader that colonization was going to help the natives of the land. A
Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid points out how this colonization did had the complete adverse
effect on the native people. Throughout the story A Small Place Kincaid paints a picture of the
beautiful country that she grew up in called Antigua. Antigua is a country that was once colonized
by the Brittish. Because Brittain colonized Antigua the entire country's native language is English.
This also means that all education and literature that is provided to the Antigua people is in English.
Kincaid believes that throughout her lifetime the Antiguan people have become far less educated
and ignorant. The government within Antigua is also filled with politicians ... Show more content on
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Kincaid wants the reader to feel as if they are a direct contributer to the morally wrong concept of
being a tourist. The author wants you to feel awful for thinking about being a tourist in a poverty
stricken country such as Antigua. The tourists and natives of Antigua are similar in the sense that
they both want to escape the reality in which they are currently living in. For example, the Antiguan
people have very similar stuggles that the tourists do back home. Throughout the reading Kincaid is
also using a colossol amount of sarcasm. This is done to lead the reader into genuinely feeling bad
for ever wanting to be a tourist in a poverty stricken country. Kincaid is attempting to directly pick
at the readers

A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid
A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid presents the hypothetical story of a tourist visiting Antigua, the
author's hometown. Kincaid places the reader in the shoes of the tourist, and tells the tourist what
he/she would see through his/her travels on the island. She paints a picturesque scene of the tourist's
view of Antigua, but stains the image with details of issues that most tourists overlook: the bad
roads, the origin of the so–called native food, the inefficiency of the plumbing systems in resorts,
and the glitches in the health care system. Kincaid was an established writer for The New Yorker
when she wrote this book, and it can be safely assumed that majority of her readers had, at some
point in their lives, been tourists. I have been a ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Kincaid clearly attacks the tourists for not understanding the value of Antigua and its heritage; they
are "ugly human being(s)" (115) because of their ignorance. The vacant gazers are ugly because
when they have reached the zenith of banality in their own lives, they use the poverty of the natives
of a tourist destination like Antigua to feel better about themselves; the natives' lack of wealth,
opportunities and education all make that pasty–skinned tourist feel superior. The ugliness stems
from the tourist's use of the native's backwardness to propel themselves forward.
Kincaid describes the reactions of the native people as tourists walk by; being a native Antiguan
herself, her description of their behaviour is probably accurate. The justification she provides for
their behaviour is sound. Most areas like Antigua depend on the funds that tourism brings in. While
whatever luxury can be provided is given to the tourists, it is the native people who see the daily
trials and sufferings. Understandably, even though their income comes from the tourists they so
despise, the native population is trapped in the never–ending cycle of poverty. Unable to escape
their own situations, the natives find solace in mocking tourists for their cluelessness or
awkwardness. Kincaid shows this most effectively when she says, "we Antiguans, for I am one,
have a great sense of things, and the more meaningful the thing, the more meaningless we make it"
(113). She immediately

A Small Place By Jamaica Kincaid
A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid analyzes the ugliness of tourism through the effects of
colonialism. The book is a punch in the gut for every tourist, westerner, and individuals who are the
product of colonialism. Most western education does not teach the full context of colonialism. The
extension of students' knowledge is the Berlin conference of 1884, which divided African territory
between Europeans and US leaders without the inclusion of Africans. The education in the West
does not delve into the impact of the conference after colonialism. There is never a mention about
the lack of identity throughout the region, the lackluster of education, or the social and government
corruption. Textbooks tend to have a brief chapter titled ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Impoverished neighborhoods suffer from low access to electricity, water, and gas for multiple days
in a row. However from a naked tourist eyes, Egypt is the land of pharaohs with beautiful
landscapes and an exotic culture. I thought this book was interesting because it gave a bold and
honest view of tourism. As much as everyone has been guilty of being a 'tourist,' tourism has a
strong effect on culture. In A Small Place, Kincaid constantly refers to the broken library sign, which
reads ""THIS BUILDING WAS DAMAGED IN THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1974. REPAIRS ARE
PENDING." The library sign is a symbol of Antigua's damaged culture. The earthquake evoked the
move from colonial to self–rule, which disrupted the culture that the building was meant to serve.
The sign is used as a symbol of how Antiguans are trapped in their colonial past and are still
enduring the impacts of their colonizers. For example, hotel training school is offered to teach
Antiguans how to essentially be a good 'servant.' This idea relates back to tourism. As Kincaid
eludes most of the tourists who vacation in Antigua are white or from Western backgrounds. To
develop a hotel training school in a post–colonized country, it would assume that it is culturally
acceptable to serve white individuals as a 'job.' Sadly, that is the reality in many African countries
such as Uganda where tourism is developed to be an extra and a unique experience. I have attached
a photo of porters at Uganda's Bwindi

Literary Devices In A Small Place
Gentle waves, lush greenery, and sun–soaked beaches, Antigua embodies your ideal holiday
destination. But Jamaica Kincaid turns your paradise upside down in her new memoir A Small
Place. Using her pen as a sword, Kincaid slashes Antigua's façade of perfection into shreds and
presses the blade against the throats of tourism, colonialism and corruption. Many denounce
Kincaid's latest book as an over attack, her gaze too penetrating and intimidating. The tone of voice
continuously shifts throughout the memoir, starting from sardonic, manifesting into anger, to slowly
conclude in melancholy. Though particular accusations, such as when the narrator cruelly rejects
"you" as "an ugly thing", may upset the readers, Kincaid purposely provokes reactions of
defensiveness and guilt to challenge us ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The autobiographical–novel maintains its poetic form through repetition, alliteration, and rhythm.
As Kincaid writes, "...for no real sunset could look like that; no real seawater could strike that many
shades of blue at once; no real sky could be that shade of blue..." This charm lulls and immobilizes
the reader, such that Kincaid's narration graduates from the victim of such transformative power to a
practitioner in her own right. The mystical form powerfully mixes with historical content, opening
up new possibilities for discussions that extend the political argument beyond the metaphysical.
Indeed, the deceptive simplicity of diction and the finely controlled syntax examine Antigua's
clouded process of existence with incisive clarity. An emotionally truthful, intimate, and poignant
piece, A Small Place demonstrates the author's conflicting attitudes of love and disappointment
towards her birthplace. As Covi praises, "Reading A Small Place is like looking at the sea: the
message is carried by the tide, but it is impossible to say upon which particular

Things Fall Apart and a Small Place: Comparing the Theme...
The integrity of local cultures is compromised for that of the intruding colonizer. There is conflict
between the existing traditions and beliefs in an area and the new civilization's rules and ideas. Each
side believes that they are correct and the other is the amoral one. "We felt superior, for we were so
much better behaved and we were full of grace, and these people were so badly behaved and they
were so completely empty of grace. (Of course, I now see that good behaviour is the proper posture
of the weak, of children)" (Kincaid 30). In A Small Place, Jamaica Kincaid states that the Antiguans
believed that the English were terrible because of their manners and behavior. She follows that the
good behavior of the Antiguans is ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
To Okonkwo, masculinity is the most important value in life. He puts this value before any of the
other values the clan holds as important. This is evident by his violation of the week of peace by
beating his youngest wife. Okonkwo takes part in the killing of Ikemfuna when the oracle warned
him against it. "[Okonkwo] heard the blow. The pot fell and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna
cry `my father they have killed me!' as he ran toward him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his
machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being weak" (Achebe 61). Okonkwo risks upsetting
the gods by directly going against what the oracle said. His downfall begins when his gun explodes
and kills a boy. This is also a feminine crime because it is accidental. When Okonkwo is exiled he is
devastated. This setback ironically extends his life. If he were is Umofia when the missionaries
came he would have immediately tried to rebel against them and would have met his demise much
faster. Instead he has to witness his eldest son convert to Christianity and his society fall at the feet
of British colonizers.
The Christians challenge sacred ideas of the Ibo life by teaching equality and forgiveness.
Christianity answers many of the unanswered questions tribe's people had. Many people disliked the
tradition of leaving twins in the woods to die. The Christians not only don't believe in this practice
but they rescue twins from the woods. The

Enslavement Of The Slave Movement
Enslavement Resistance
Slave resistance began for many enslaved Africans before they reach the Americas. Karenga
explained the many arrangements in which Africans resisted to enslavement, while in Africa, during
the middle passage, and in the Americas. Employing the Karenga text one can evaluate the different
resistances that transpired in Antigua as Cultural, Resistance, Day–to–Day Resistance, Abolitionism,
Armed Resistance, Revolts, Ship Mutinies, and Afro–Native Alliance. One can conclude that
enslaved Africans had an unrelenting resistance to enslavement (Karenga).
There is evidence that confirms enslaved Africans were able to execute successful ship mutinies,
while at sea, and control their destiny by establishing maroon societies wherever they landed in the
Caribbean. These maroon societies would later act as sanctuaries for escaped slaves throughout the
Caribbean. In Antigua, one prominent maroon society was located around the summit of Antigua's
extinct volcano, Boggy Peak now known as Mount Obama (Dash). Maroon societies allowed groups
of escaped slaves and their descendants to maintain a free community in close proximity of society,
but independent of European influence. "Maroon communities developed their own distinctive
cultures. Since most maroon communities were founded by African–born people, they incorporated
and preserved many aspects of African culture, including language, religious practices, and craft
styles" (Jaede). All maroon communities lived in

A Small Place Part 3 Rhetorical Analysis
A Small Place Part 3 Rhetorical Analysis
A Small Place, a novel written by Jamaica Kincaid, is a story relating to the small country of
Antigua and its dilemmas from Jamaica Kincaid's point of view. In this novel Kincaid is trying to
inform her audience that Antigua is in a poor state due to British imperial, government corruption,
and tourism. Kincaid exposes her audience to the effect of these very problems in Antigua by using
persuasive visual language. In the third part of Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place, Kincaid does an
exceptional job in arguing that, her country Antigua has corrupt government officials due to British
influence by appealing effectively to pathos, logos, and ethos.
Antigua is a beautiful island in the Caribbean that got its name from Christopher Columbus in 1493
when he first visited the small 108 square mile island (Niddrie). Antigua was later colonized by
England in 1632, and won its independence in 1981 (Niddrie). Antigua was originally a country that
was planned as a slave–breeding colony, but never became one; the slaves who were imported came
to live self–reliantly in their own community (Niddrie). After, Antigua gained its independence; it
established a constitutional monarchy, where the British monarch is still head of state, represented
by a governor general (Niddrie). Sadly, Antigua is an impoverished country that has a history of
being a victim of British imperialism, government corruption, and tourism (Kincaid). Kincaid
informs her audience

A Small Place By Christopher Columbus
Colonization was used as early as the 18th century to expand a particular country's territory.
Essentially it supposed to be a positive thing, expanding the territory's resources such as medicine,
and education. Jamaica Kincaid, however, plead the opposite. In her book, A Small Place, she
expounded on the after effects of colonialism on her small island, Antigua. The Island, discovered
by Christopher Columbus, is only nine by twelve miles long, surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and
the Atlantic Ocean (Kincaid, 80), which has "swallowed up a number of black slaves" (Kincaid, 14).
Jamaica Kincaid, described the slave owner (Europeans) as "Human rubbish," who took "noble and
exalted human beings from Africa" to enslave them (80). She ... Show more content on
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Kincaid believes that the slave like structure of the government was led by colonialism. She
expressed her anger toward the colonists for colonizing the small island, turning it into England and
turning everyone they met into English (24). She writes, "Have you ever wonder to yourself why it
is that all people like me seem to have learned from you is how to imprison and murder each other,
how to govern badly...? Have you ever wondered why it is that all we seem to have learned from
you is how to corrupt our societies and how to be tyrants" (Kincaid, 34)? Kincaid wanted the
colonist to realize it is by their own faults and their imperfections that Antigua is in the state that is
in now. Kincaid also believed that colonialism caused the political corruption that has defrauded
Antigua of many rights, such as the right to knowledge. She believed that the Ministers of Antigua
gained knowledge to govern from the "Ill–mannered" British who paved the way for them (34).
Throughout her book she has made it very clear that the library is an important source of knowledge
for her as it should be for other Antiguan 's as well. She reminisced on her childhoods experiences at
the library as her own "sacred place, a cool retreat from the colonized world and an opening to the
greater world away from the island" (Byerman, 94). On page 48, we found out that St. John, the
largest city and capital in Antigua,

Jamaica Kincaid
"Girl" Analysis Albert Camus once said, "There is only one class of men, the privileged class". This
quote brings upon the idea of social class and inequality by bringing up the point that only the
privileged enjoy benefits, while the lower class is left to fend for himself. This idea of social class
and inequality is prevalent in prose poem "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid where a mother gives
commands to her daughter in order for her to become a proper woman that will allow her to climb in
social standing. Through the mother, Jessica Kincaid depicts the struggles of being a part of the
bottom of the hierarchical ladder through her sex and race, struggling to climb up. Although
women's social class definitely on the rise, their position in society ... Show more content on
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In this poem, the mother tells her daughter what she needs to know in order to please the men with
higher social class through a repetition of a "do this, do that" list of commands. The mother goes
through the duties of a woman in order to keep men comfortable such as cooking, cleaning, and a
personality that pleases men. However, the mother repeats one certain line to the daughter multiple
times, "this is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself
from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming" (Kincaid 200). This one line brings
a lot of significance with the repetition of "to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you
are so bent on becoming" through the different definitions of "slut" the mother uses each time she
repeats this. She ties the word "slut" to someone who does not walk properly, someone who does not
take care of clothes, someone who does not act properly in the presence of men, and someone who
the baker does not let near the bread. By culminating all these different definitions of the word "slut"
that the mother goes on about, it means someone who does not do what society perceives as proper
and key to do, therefore spurned by society. Hence the mother tries to prevent her daughter from
becoming someone who does not do the

Women Oppression In Literature
We're Not Going To Take It: Women Oppression in Literature
What is oppression? Oppression is defined as "prolonged cruel or unjust treatment" ("Oppression"
par. 1) Women have experienced maltreatment since the Fall of Mankind. The subjection of women
has decreased within the past two centuries, due to their natural rights being acknowledged. Over
the years, people have protested the treatment of women through literature. "Girl," "Married Life,"
"Punishment," and "The Declaration of Sentiments" shares the theme of women's oppression.
Despite having the same themes, the authors use distinct social context and develop their arguments
differently.
Jamaica Kincaid, author of "Girl," displays the unfair treatment of young women in Antiguan
society. In the poem, a girl is receiving a lecture on how to be a woman. She is not encouraged to be
herself or to gain an education. In fact, the mother continuously refers to her as a slut, "the slut I
know you are so bent on becoming" (Kincaid 1146) The role of the Antiguan woman is that of
homemaker. Berleant–Schiller suggests, "the domestic domain of women is sometimes implicitly
regarded as inferior" (Berleant–Schiller 254). Women in Antiguan society are taught extensively
how to prepare meals and set tables. Where and how an Antiguan family eat indicates their social
standing (Berleant–Schiller 259). Kincaid identifies the importance of the meal place through the
use of repetition.

Textual Analysis: A Small Place By Jamaica Kincaid
A Small Place Textual Analysis
In her memoir, A Small Place, Jamaica Kincaid explores Antigua's false beauty, corruption, and past
oppressions in which a tourist would not have seen. From polluted beaches to corrupt ministers and
loss of culture, Kincaid shows us the truth behind what we had thought to be paradise.
The natural state and beaches of Antigua would seem as if it is perfect. The descriptions of its clear
blue waters and the bright sun beaming down on the warm sands make it sound like a heaven. The
people, the food, everything seems picturesque in the eye of the tourist.. However, it is not what it
makes out to be. It is revealed to us that "...in Antigua, there is no proper sewage–disposal system"
(14). Meaning the very water we swim and wade in ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Corruption, however is very alive and everyone knows of it. Japanese cars being one case. All car
are japanese and brand new with "...the two main car dealer–ships in Antigua are owned in part or
outright by ministers in government" (7). All part of a moneymaking plan. Not only that, but
ministers host prostitution, steal from funds, run drug trades, and it doesn't even end there. Kincaid
points it all back to the British who were the first to exploit the Antiguans. When the British left and
Antigua came back into power, the natives followed their ways. They passed down knowledge of
wrongdoings and the Antiguans acted on it. They claimed it was for the good of the people but they
were just backing themselves up. Sort of like insurance. As a woman once told Kincaid "The
government is for sale; anybody from anywhere can come to Antigua and for a sum of money can
get what he wants"(47).But Kincaid doesn't think that all British are bad, and that "There must have
been some good people among you, but they stayed home. And that is the point. That is why they
are good. They stayed

Persuasive Analysis Of Jamaica Kincaid 's A Small Place
Persuasive Methods in A Small Place Jamaica Kincaid's influential work of nonfiction "A Small
Place" (1988) tells how a once beautiful island in the Caribbean has been transformed into a
disgusting holiday resort that is there to only accommodate American and European tourists.
Kincaid seeks to inform the readers about the situation and the history of Antigua, and also to
remind them of the role they played in the downfall of the small island. Although her tone is full of
anger, she does not forget that her first responsibility is to educate. She educates the reader by
making the issues personal to them by communicating clearly, and directly to the reader, without
forgetting to make the reading enjoyable by making them smirk every once in ... Show more content
Almost the whole book is written in the second person, making everything that happens more
personal. Using a second person grabs the reader's attention much more effectively than using a
third person would. I believe this is the only way Kincaid thought that the American and British
readers would care about what she has to say; there already exist many books about Caribbean
history during and after the colonization, but people are still ignorant. In the beginning of the first
part of the book, Kincaid describes a tourist's taxi ride from the V. C. Bird International Airport to
their destination, the hotel. Every privileged American or European reader can imagine themselves
in the place of the tourist: "you say, "Oh, what a marvellous change these bad roads are from the
splendid highways I am used to in North America." (Or, worse, Europe)." (Kincaid 5) By making
the reader insert themselves into the story, all the accusations about colonialism and slavery are
swallowed more easily. It is almost as if Kincaid's hand emerged from the pages, grabbed the reader,
and placed them in the backseat of the taxi. As Rhonda Frederick said in her essay: "it is significant
to note that Kincaid's writing prevents readers from distancing themselves from the text and her
criticisms; on the contrary, it firmly places readers where Kincaid decides they should be."
(Frederick 5–6)
Kincaid seeks to create a rift between

Essay on The History of the Antiguan Girls High School
The history of the AGHS began in 1886, when an English couple– a Mr. and Mrs. Williams, came to
Antigua, because of Mr. William's failing health. Mrs. Williams became the school's first
headmistress. After her husband died, she sent for her sister and together they shared the
responsibility of running the school. At this time the school had boarding facilities for local students,
as well as students from neighbouring Caribbean islands such as St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat,
Dominica and Grenada. In 1902 Mrs. Williams and Ms. Easie resigned and were succeeded by Ms.
Simpson, who served for two years. From 1905 to 1944 Misses Millicent and May Branch served as
joint headmistresses. Because of steadily increasing numbers, the school ... Show more content on
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It was during this time that the Primary School section was phased out. In 1976 the school again
became an all girl institution. From 1973–1978, there was some instability in staffing, especially
with headmistresses. The school had a parade of them. During this five year period it had no less
than eight headmistresses and interestingly one headmaster all be it briefly. Actually from 1886 to
present this school has had 16 headmistresses, 5 acting headmistresses and one acting headmaster.
Over the years, students of the A.G.H.S have excelled academically in external exams. With CXC
they have obtained many top awards. Some have been Island Scholars. We even had a Rhodes
Scholar by way of Karen Mae Hill and last year for the first time, the Karen–Mae Hill Award was
bestowed upon two deserving young ladies, Sherriann Rodney and Nicole Roberts. In 2003 we
proudly added Ebonee Williams King to our list of students who have done A.G.H.S proud. She was
Antigua's most outstanding CXC student. In 2004 we added Nicole Roberts. She too was Antigua's
most outstanding student. In 2005 our own Marissa Crump was Antigua's most outstanding female
CXC student. In the area of creative writing AGHS continues to excel and in August 2004, Aleka
Hewlett was the proud recipient of the Antigua prize for the 2004 Commonwealth Essay
Competition. AGHS also placed first in the World Environment Day short story competition. In Art,
Jamie Gardner, a promising Art student, was

Jamaica Kincaid A Small Place
A Small Place Analytical Essay
Jamaica Kincaid's text A Small Place, is structured in four untitled sections. In the first section, we
hear Kincaid's narration of how the reader would feel going to Antigua, as a hypothetical tourist.
She tells us what we she, how we witness the beautiful natural island. She then; proceeds through
the text to give us some 'inside' information, like how the majority of the cars are imported from
Japan, and are expensive and poorly running. She also tells or gives us brief views, of the mansions
located on the island, which was made through criminality or corruption. She mentions a library,
which took damage from an earthquake many years ago, and that it is awaiting to be repaired. Our
'tour' ends at the hotel, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
These questions are about if she thinks, that the island actually was better in the old days as a
colonial. She starts talking about the old damaged library again, and how it has been forced to be
moved on top of a store. Kincaid then, starts missing the old library as it was, and recalled her sitting
and reading in the beautiful library as a child. Also, she remembers that the librarian suspected her
stealing, but that he's now trying to collect funds to rebuild the old library. She then, tells that the
wealthy members of the Mill Reef club, have more than enough money to help rebuild it, but won't
do so. Kincaid then, briefly talks about some of the politics of Antigua, as an example, how ironic it
is that there's a minister of culture in Antigua, while she doesn't think there's an original culture left.
After this, she shortly talks about the education level of Antigua, and that it has been worsened over
the years, so much that the youth don't really know how to speak proper.
Kincaid examines the way Antiguans encounter the progression of time, and associates this to their
strangely withdrew perspective of the defilement of their

Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place
Jamaica Kincaid published the nonfiction book, A Small Place, in 1988. A Small Place presents the
theoretical story of a traveler going to Antigua, which is Kincaid's residence. Kincaid places the
audience in the shoes of the tourists and tells the tourists what they would see through their
movements on the island. In this book, Kincaid uses identity factors to represent the tourists. She
uses socioeconomic background, which is a coalition of one's income and social background. She
also uses culture. Culture is how someone was raised. It represents their attitudes, language, and
belief that has been brought from one generation to the next. In A Small Place, Jamaica Kincaid
demonstrates that Antigua's natives take on different meanings for different ... Show more content
In A Small Place, Antigua has negatives and positives. It is viewed as a negative place to the natives
because they see the island as sad and oppressive due to the slaves it held at one time. However, the
tourists do not view the island as oppressive because they look at the island's beauty and not the
history. In the United States, it is opposite. The South has a positive side for freedom of space,
hunting wildlife, and farming. However, the North would view the South as backwards, inferior, old,
and racists. When comparing the US to Jamaica Kincaid's ideas in A Small Place, the tourism's view
is opposite. Antigua's tourists view the island as a beautiful place. The South's tourists do not view
the South as a beautiful place. The socioeconomic background affects the way the natives and the
tourists view Antigua. The Natives are aware of the brutal history of owning slaves. Therefore, they
view Antigua as a terrible place. Antigua's tourists are unaware of the island's past and only look at
the present. They view Antigua as a beautiful place. Antigua's tourist also view Antigua as beautiful
because they have money and therefore do not have the same financial

Examples Of Colonialism In A Small Place
Why does an author write about his/her feelings? Or maybe even why do they express their ideas?
Jamaica Kincaid, the author of A Small Place talks about the struggles she experienced through her
life. The key concept of her essay was various dealings she had during the British ruling in Antigua.
Understanding her point of view may be difficult, but one may get an idea of her thoughts by
looking through a Marxist, Postcolonial, and a Psychological lens. Throughout the essay Jamaica
Kincaid expresses her idea of the severe power imbalances that existed in Antigua. This is viewed
through a Marxist lens, which enables to analyze how the power is distributed and imposed. Kincaid
evidently reveals that the government is fully in control and ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
She feels that the Britishers showed their power everywhere and did not do anything that benefitted
the Antiguans. For example, a library which was very near and dear to the author was not well–
maintained by colonialists. She mentions in her book that there is a sign that says, "REPAIRS ARE
PENDING" (Kincaid 9), and how there has been nothing done to repair the building. As the
government was very corrupt, they were caring for themselves. Kincaid also mentions that due to
racial segregation, she was very stressed and mentally weak. She describes how the natives should
be treated equally without any racial discrimination and desires to be a tourist. She mentions, "Every
native would like to find a way out... every native would like a tour"(Kincaid 18). This quote
explains on how the natives will never get the feeling of being free, how they will never sense the
feeling of luxury, and how they will always be in poverty. Jamaica Kincaid reveals that she lacks an
actual culture to live up to. She always says that the English ruined it for her. As Hirsh and
Schweitzer wrote, "Kincaid lacks a real homeland". Kincaid also writes about the reason she
changed her name, was wanting to express her cultural identity. In an interview with Hirsh and
Schweitzer, she said that she renamed herself "Jamaica Kincaid", because it suggested her West
Indian

Antigua Colonization : Sugar Is Sweeter With Slavery Essay
Antigua Colonization: Sugar is Sweeter with Slavery
Antigua is an island in the region of the Caribbean in the West Indies. It is also known as Waladii by
the natives. Antigua is part of the country of Antigua & Barbuda. Barbuda, about sixty eight square
miles, is a flat coral island about thirty miles north of Antigua. Antigua is in the midst of the
Leeward Islands in the Eastern region of the Caribbean. Antigua is the largest of the English
speaking Leeward Islands. Antigua is one hundred and eight miles long. The average temperature is
about seventy five degrees year round which makes for low humidity. Between Antigua and
Barbuda the larger of the two islands is Antigua. The island country has vast natural resources and a
tropical climate. For example sugar cane was a cash crop for the country. Therefore the island easily
became a hub for new countries to invade who wanted said resources. Correspondingly many
countries attempted to stake their claim however, only one was successful. Although Britain brought
about changes in culture and creed in Antigua they also brought about enslavement and disease so
therefore British control has hurt Antigua rather than helped.
Before Britain arrived the island of Antigua was filled with natives. For example,"Later, A.D. 1200–
1300, two Amerindian societies with opposing lifestyles coexisted; the peaceful and pottery–making
Arawaks, and the fierce and warlike Caribs. Arawaks came here for clay, a resource in short supply
elsewhere

Imperialism: Public And Private Life
"It's bad enough . . . when a country gets colonized, but when the people do as well! That's the end,
really, that's the end." This Tsistsi Dangarembgba quote highlights the omnipotence of colonization
as well as many other public life issues. When it gets to the "end", the omnipresence is felt and its
effect on the public life or private life cannot be easily isolated. The private experience your family
goes through and the public experiences of imperialism your country goes through become inter–
connected. Therefore, one of the most important ways of exploring the effects of imperialism on
people involves the consideration of narratives that spread through the public and private life. This
exploration is a common theme we find present in Cliff's ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
From the "flying back stories" which originated in slavery to the "Back to Africa" movements of
Garvey and those before him, to the Pan–Africanist activity of the people like Du Bois and C.L.R.
James, this need to reconnect and re–member, as Morrison would term it, has been a central impulse
to the structuring of Black thought (17).
Davies here highlights the issue of identity which has been central to the colonized who have
suffered the effects of colonization. The loss of cultural identity as a result of colonization has made
remembering and recovering of lost–sometimes stolen– culture one of the central issues of Africana
academia. This issue is brought to light in Kincaid's

A Tourist Only Sees That Which The Tourist Chooses To See.
A tourist only sees that which the tourist chooses to see. The place the traveler is visiting, such as
Antigua in A Small Place, is simply a commodity; something that is purchased to enjoy for a short
time. Yet, there are others there who see the same things, the same beauty, in a drastically different
light than those who are there visiting by choice. These natives know that the outsiders see them as
part of the package of Antigua, simply "locals", when in truth they are prisoners of the island they
inhabit (Thaden). Even though both the American visitors to this tropical nation and the natives of
the island of Antigua are descendants of those who were at one time under British rule, the
difference in both the timing and consequences of ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
When the tourist arrives at the Antiguan airport, they notice the beauty of the island, the lush
vegetation, the bright sunshine and the lack of rain. They arrive in what they see as an earthly
paradise, move quickly through customs, and into a taxi. It is in that taxi that the traveler may
realize their driver is perhaps a bit reckless, and the road they are traveling on is rather dilapidated.
However, thinking below the surface level about why there would be a driver who can not drive, or
terrible roads, or a school that looks more like a rest stop would cause the tourist to ruin their lovely,
worry–free vacation (Luburić–Cvijanović). When the Antiguan arrives back to their home country,
they are usually not returning home from a vacation of their own, but because there was a need for
cheap clothing and food for their relatives which could not be found in their own country. This
Antiguan must have their bags searched before walking back onto their drought–laden soil (Kincaid
4,5). What the Antiguan citizen realizes that the American tourist does not is that the Antiguan
government considers the nation of Antigua, the land, and the natural beauty of the country to be a
commodity, or a product. The government sells large pieces of land to investors who in turn build
enormous condominiums for the vacationers. The food that the tourist thinks is local, is in fact a
product like all others, caught locally, shipped to Miami to be processed and then back to Antigua at
a

Jamaica Kincaid Essay
Jamaica Kincaid tells a powerful story in A Small Place about her birthplace, the island of Antigua.
She elaborates about the island's past and how its implications on modern day Antigua. Kincaid is
very passionate about how the British rule of Antigua ruins their culture. She is upset by the British
not helping the Antiguans govern themselves. They do not know how to run a government and so
when the British allow the Antiguans to rule themselves the country is made worse. Here she blames
the British for giving the Antiguans, a bad setup of a government. "Have you ever wondered why it
is that all we seemed to have learned from you is how to corrupt our societies and how to be tyrants?
You will have to accept that this is mostly your fault" (Kincaid 34–35). She still does not let the
Antiguan government off the hook. She is especially furious with the government's delay of
repairing the library that was damaged after ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
She understands the world that books open to the common person. J. Brooks Bouson in her book
Jamaica Kincaid: Writing Memory, Writing Back to Mother says "If, in describing the poor public
services in Antigua, Kincaid is leveling an attack against the corrupt current government" (Bouson
96). This attack is because the library sits empty due to the government's lack of ambition to repair it
after a earthquake. This is because the government did not want to lose their power to the common
people. The basic formula for corrupt governments is to maintain one party or totalitarian control
while making sure the masses are uneducated. This is because if the people do not understand any
other ways of life they will accept the life of repression because they feel like it is the status quo.
This is why Jamaica Kincaid consistently refers back to the library on a regular basis in A Small
Place. She is aware of the power of the library and books that are offered to

Chronicle Of A Death Foretold
The negative consequences of colonialism continue to be evident in the works of various authors
who address the issues that continue to plague the "post"–colonial world. While the consequences of
colonialism vary throughout geographical regions and colonizers' value systems, the social
constructs that were imposed upon the native people are quite similar. In particular, the effects of
racial classification continue to have internal and external consequences in a "post"–colonial world.
In A Small Place, by Jamaica Kincaid and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel García
Márquez, the authors describes the adverse effects that stem from the social construct of race
imposed upon the natives by colonizers as a classificatory tool, which ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Gabriel García Márquez presents the "foretold" murder of Santiago Nasar, a Colombian of Arab
descent, who is accused of taking a woman's virginity (20). The narrator, who is a friend to Nasar's
murderers, attempts to point out all of Nasar's differences to the Colombian people. Santiago Nasar
has a Colombian mother and Arabic father with whom he feels a stronger connection because they
speak Arabic, but never around Nasar's mother (Márquez 3). The fact that he must contain his own
identity because of his Colombian mother portrays the discomfort held by Colombians towards the
foreigners. His foreignness contributes to the accusation made towards him which eventually led to
his murder. The author hints that Angela Vicario is lying when she is interrogated by her brothers for
the name of the one who took her virginity, because she "looked for it in the shadows" and found it
"at first sight among the many, many easily confused names from this world and the other" (25). She
looks for a name from the dead and the living because she knows the grave fate that would follow
her decision. Angela seemed to feel compelled to choose his name because she either believes that
he did not deserve life or that his life would not be considered valuable. Only his other Colombian
friends of Arab descent actually warn him of the murder threat and none of the other citizens of the
town are able to reach out to him before it is too late. The racial divisions and sense of foreignness
held between the people of Nasar's town and Nasar contributed to his death and the factors that
stopped other people from attempting to warn him of his

Jamaica Kincaid's Essay 'A Small Place'
In Jamaica Kincaid's essay, "A Small Place", she is acknowledges how the Antiguans hurts
themselves, as they fail to see the pathetic irony that exists within their country. According to
Kincaid, the Antiguans see slavery as a time in which a bunch of ships dropped off slaves, the
ancestors of the Antiguans, to work under brutal conditions for many years. Then, as though it were
magic, all of a sudden the day of "emancipation" arrives, in the eyes of the ignorant Antiguans, and
all the slaves are freed. As Kincaid notes, the Antiguans speak of emancipation "as if it were
yesterday" and as if slavery was a recent occurrence to their peoples, when, in actuality, the slaves
were freed roughly one hundred fifty years ago. However, at the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Within the passage in which Kincaid describes the lack of awareness Antiguans have regarding their
relationship with slavery, emancipation, and ignorance, Kincaid uses parallel structure and
repetition. In describing the misconception the current Antiguans have about slavery, which
something none of the current Antiguans have experienced firsthand, Kincaid uses parallel structure
in the form of a triad to show the textbook view that the Antiguans have regarding slavery. Kincaid,
as she states how the Antiguans describe slaves, writes: "they were beaten, they were murdered, they
were sold". (Kincaid 54) Because, within the descriptions, only standard words are used to describe
slavery in bland, three–worded clauses, the existing lack of connection the current Antiguans have
towards slavery is shown, as all emotional connection with slavery is removed. When describing
how commonly Antiguans use the words "emancipation", even though they are detached, the word
is used three times during the course of three sentences, proving how the word has become trite
amongst Antiguans. Because of the clichéd words and phrases Kincaid uses, the ignorance that
Antiguans have towards their serious situation is

Banal Racism in Antigua: An Examination of A Small Place...
Jane King stated in her essay entitled "A Small Place Writes Back" that "A Small Place begins with
Jamaica Kincaid placing herself in a unique position able to understand the tourist and the Antiguan
and despise both while identifying with neither" (895). Another critic, Suzanne Gauch, adds to this
claim by asserting that "A Small Place disappoints...readers when it undermines the authority of its
own narrator by suggesting that she is hardly representative of average Antiguans" (912). In her
narrative A Small Place, Kincaid often attacks and criticizes the average tourist with what appears to
be evidence of racism towards white Europeans and Americans, but perhaps even more strongly she
demeans her Antiguan homeland; however, contrary to ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
King asserts that while anger at such unfairness is justified, it is unclear what Kincaid's point of
view is–Antiguan or tourist–and thus unclear whether her anger is justified.
The essay continues on to explain that while Kincaid comments quite frequently on both the race
and attitude of the tourist, she also criticizes her home country in doing so. In one example, King
attempts to summarize Kincaid's opinion on tourists concisely when she states that "the tourist only
goes to a place like Antigua "to have a rubbish–like experience" (Kincaid 67) and besides, is white"
(King 894) It seems harsh to describe the Antiguan experience as rubbish, which King notes and
explains by further quoting Kincaid:
Antigua was originally settled by "human rubbish from Europe, who used enslaved but noble and
exalted human beings from Africa" although [Kincaid] softens the blow to those of her publishers'
complexion by continuing that once the masters ceased to be masters they ceased to be rubbish and
once the slaves ceased to be slaves they ceased to be noble and exalted, each left being "just a
human being". (895)
Is it correct to assume that Kincaid believed that the Antiguan people as being "noble and exalted
human beings" reduced to "just human beings"? According to King, it would only appear as though
Kincaid believed that "Antiguans–at least the black ones–were good, these descendants of the noble
and exalted slaves,

Analysis Of The Reader ' A Small Place '
Maddie Wiersma
Dr. Nicole Sheets
EL–347: Creative Nonfiction
11 November 2015
The Reader as "You"
Jamaica Kincaid immerses the reader into her essay "A Small Place" through the use of second–
person point of view, continually referring to the reader as "you." She characterizes the reader as a
tourist from a privileged Western nation and narrates the experiences and thoughts of the reader
while visiting Antigua for the first time. By portraying the reader as the tourist through second–
person narrative, Kincaid criticizes the ignorance of Eurocentric assumptions, as well as the total
superficiality of Western tourism. Ultimately, this technique allows her to capture her disdain for
Eurocentrism, alienating the reader from Antiguan culture.
In the first sentence of the essay, Kincaid promptly employs second–person narrative by addressing
the reader, "If you go to Antigua as a tourist, this is what you will see" (257). Immediately, Kincaid
invites the reader into the essay, provoking the audience to imagine themselves as tourists. The
reader can relate to the tourist and can identify with the excitement of traveling to a place where "the
sun always shines and the climate is deliciously hot and dry for the four to ten days you are going to
be staying there..." (257). However, Kincaid then confronts the reader with the problems inherent in
this egocentric way of thinking. She proceeds to call out the reader's ignorance about the climate:
"since you are a tourist, the thought of what

Imperialism In A Small Place
The initial injustices inflicted upon the people of the Caribbean during the time of colonization did
not end with independence or emancipation, but still remain a prevalent part of Caribbean society.
The absolute political and economic control exercised by the colonizers created an inherently
negative platform on which the modern political and economic systems of the Caribbean now stand.
The corruption of the Antiguan government is introduced by Jamaica Kincaid in her novel, A Small
Place. Throughout the novel, Kincaid takes issue with the numerous instances in which Antiguans
are still treated as second–rate citizens within their own land due to political and economic
corruption. It is clear that the skeletons of these organizations remain from the time of British
colonization. From perceptions of beauty to the structure of the government, British influences are
seen all throughout Antigua. Kincaid describes the beautiful yellow of the buildings that she enjoys
so much in comparison to the starch white of the Government Housing (10). ... Show more content
Similarly, corruption is rampant in Caribbean politics. Politicians have stakes in certain industries,
like Kincaid's example of Japanese car companies, therefore these are the companies used by the
government. These vehicles and other products are imported by the Antiguan government simply
because government ministers have a vested interest in them (Kincaid 58). The luxurious cars of
these officials, paid for by the government, are symbols of the corruption. While libraries sit in
shambles, these ministers ride in luxury getting paid by their government salaries and getting a
return from the government buying these

How Does Xuela Lose Identity In The Autobiography Of My...
Proclaiming Freedom from a Conquered Identity in The Autobiography of My Mother In Jamaica
Kincaid's novel The Autobiography of My Mother, the protagonist examines the effects of European
colonization on Antiguan inhabitants. Characters exhibit traits of a defeated population; they attempt
to overcome their position of vanquish by obtaining power over the minimal recourses available.
The protagonist, Xuela, differs from the rest of the Antiguans through her ability to rely on
individuality as a resource of security. Xuela proclaims freedom from the inheritance of a conquered
identity by resisting the influences of European colonization, practicing self–care, and relying on
self–possession as a mechanism of control. Xuela evaluates the impacts ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
The inhabitants claim ownership over external beings and entities to gain a sense of stability. Xuela
recognizes the primitive drive that "the impulse to possess is alive in every heart" (Kincaid 174),
however a disorderly environment heightens the desire to assert ownership. While other characters
possess occupations, husbands, children, and objects, Xuela chooses to possess herself (Kincaid
175). This choice is an act of defiance towards European ideology; the basis of western superiority
relies on the possession of properties and civilizations. Xuela satisfies her human drive of
possession through a mechanism of self–reliance without adopting the Eurocentric concept that she
has a right to own and control external entities. Other characters who choose external possessions
acquire a position of weakness; they have to attend to the possession and hope that it remains
satisfied with its submissive position. Xuela escapes from the burden of vulnerability by creating a
life that revolves around herself. She obtains a sense of strength that other inhabitants are unable to
experience because she relies on the ownership of her identity as a mechanism of

A Small Place
New Perspectives to Kincaid's A Small Place
If one wants an interesting but controversial read that is intellectually stimulating, A Small Place is
perfect. Critics both praise and condemn her text. To better understand Kincaid and her essay, one
should analyze the massive effects of British rule on Antigua, her intended audience, and the
childhood she experienced; specifically, the Postcolonial, Reader Response, and Biographical
lenses.
The Post–Colonial lens analyzes the effects of colonialism, so readers can better understand the
challenges Antiguans face as a consequence of colonial times. Antigua is full of the ancestors of
slaves, so the people living in Antigua post–emancipation did not receive the opportunity to develop
their own ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
She has experienced racism firsthand, and has seen a government go from colonized to free to
immediately corrupt. Unlike native–born European and Americans, She has attachments towards a
foreign island, and these attachments contribute to her anger and strong opinion on the subjects she
writes about in ASP. Kincaid seems to have always disliked her british connections, despite her
childhood revolving "... almost completely around England..." (Kincaid 33.) As a child, all she ever
knew was Western culture, English culture specifically. She grew up being taught to celebrate
English holidays and to recite "Rule Brittania." However, even at a young age, she recognized that
she is not a Briton, and she recalled in an interview, "...I used to say that we weren't Britons, we
were slaves," (475.) Her recognition of the clear social distinctions that still existed then is smart
and demonstrates her early grasp of the concept of social equality.At this early age she knows but
does not fully understand the inequality between her and the English. The social inequality she
experienced was racism, though she and other Antiguans simply thought the racism they
experienced was bad manners. In an interview, Kincaid recalled a memory about a racist teacher,
"...she told these girls over and over again to stop behaving as if they were monkeys just out of trees.
No one ever dreamed that the word for any of this was

A Small Place Analysis

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A Small Place Analysis