Examples Of Colonialism In A Small Place

Colonialism and tourism are two of the main points of Kincaid’s A Small Place. Colonialism is the policy of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, while occupying it and exploiting it economically. Tourism is the act of going on vacations and visits to places of interest. When we colonize, we are going into that country or territory and making it our own, disregarding the culture and people that were already there. We then take it further to go vacation in these areas and look at the beauty of what we have made, which might, in the natives eyes, be the destruction that we did to the place. Kincaid brings up both of these points to emphasize her bitter, mocking, and cynical tone, and she uses her tone to effectively

“If you go to Antigua as a tourist, this is what you will see… You might say, What a beautiful island Antigua is--more beautiful than any other islands you have seen, and they were very beautiful, in their way, but they were much too green, much too lush with vegetation, which indicated to you, the tourist, that they got quite a bit of rainfall, and rain is the very thing that you, just now, do not want” (919). When she starts with, “as a tourist”, she directly addresses her topic and what point of view she will start with. She despises the tourist because they are coming to this place that seems so simple and almost utopian compared to their home in North America or Europe, when in reality, they made this society the way it is, and they are overlooking the problems that actually occur there. She then moves on to say, “Since you are a tourist, a North American or European--to be frank, white--and not an Antiguan black” (919). Her syntax, using hyphens, in this sentence emphasizes how passionate she is towards the difference between natives and tourists. Her attitude, very frank, also emphasizes her contempt towards the tourists, for they are white and privileged, and the natives are black and

She writes, “You are looking out the window (because you want to get your money’s worth); you notice that all the cars you see are brand-new, or almost brand-new, and that they are all Japanese-made. There are no American cars in Antigua--no new ones, at any rate; none that were manufactured in the last ten years. You continue to look at these cars and you say to yourself, Why, they look brand-new, but they have an awful sound, like an old car--a very old dilapidated car” (920). The Japanese cars are an example of the observation a tourist would make without realizing the significance of the actual object. The tourist may assume that the Antiguan may prefer these cars, but the local would know that the government owns the two main car dealerships. The local would also know that they do not have the right gas available to properly care for these cars. The reason for having the cars they do has nothing to do with the common good or the consumer's preferences, it is a moneymaking scheme. The car symbolizes the significance of daily objects that is overlooked by the tourist. By using this symbol, Kincaid emphasizes her cynicism towards the ignorance of the tourists. Another symbol she uses is the closed library. She writes, “Antigua used to have a splendid library, but in The Earthquake (everyone talks about it that way--The Earthquake; we Antiguans, for I am one, have a great