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Sasha Otanez

ENGL 2630

Andrea Malouf

Literary Analysis

Jamaica Kincaids A Small Place illustrates the ways colonialism negatively impacts a

country even in post-colonial times. In this four-part story, Kincaid shows how British

colonialism paved the way to the current corrupt post-colonial state Antigua is in. By exploring

the history during and after colonialism, Kincaid demonstrates how colonialism and its ideals can

keep a place enslaved, stuck, and in control both physically and mentally long after their

departure.

In the first section Kincaid addresses the reader as if they are a tourist in Antigua,

narrating a hypothetical experience. This second person point of view makes the reader feel as if

they are in Antigua and Kincaid is their angry tour guide, delivering the harsh realities of the

island. Kincaid quickly sets the tone for the rest of the book as she lets the readers know that a

tourist is an ugly human being. An ugly human being who is feeling alive and inspired as they

visit heaps of ruin and death (Kincaid 16), all the while never considering what the daily life of

a local Antiguan is like. Kincaid draws a parallel between the ugly tourist and a Princess from

England who came to Antigua because her life was not working out the way she had hoped

(33). Both the colonizers and the tourists see Antigua as a place to escape to and as a result

refuse to see Antigua as a final destination; an actual home. The readers perspective of tourism

starts to shift when Kincaid states that the native hates the tourist not only because the tourist is
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able to leave their boring life, but also because the tourist finds pleasure in the boring life the

natives do not have the fortune or resources to leave.

The second section goes into the Antigua that existed during British rule. Through

Kincaids personal experience she delivers a spiteful description of the colonizers, turning

everything you thought you knew on its head and introducing colonialism in a new light,

different than the one in history books. This personal account points out how destructive

colonialism is; a reign of terror over the natives (Garcia). Kincaid comes up with a simplified

motive for colonialism when she describes England as a place they had to leave but could never

forget (24). The British colonizers loved England so much that everywhere they went they tried

to re-create England but because this is not possible, Kincaid mentions the destruction of people

and land (24) that resulted. Both Antigua and the British Empire couldnt forget England; the

difference is the British were able to return home, and the Antiguans are left to clean up the mess

and reshape their lives, surely unable to ever forget the cause of such destruction. As the

colonizers left Antigua they also left behind their acknowledgement of their wrongdoing. The

British did not pay for their bad deed, leaving Antigua to hold [their] retribution (Kincaid 27).

Additionally, the bad deed is almost impossible to explain because the language of the criminal

can contain only the goodness of the criminals deed (Kincaid 32).

Leading up to the third section Kincaid connects how colonization is to blame for the

current corrupt government. She states the only thing people learned from the colonists were

how to corrupt our societies and how to be tyrants (34). The colonists now back at home, with

the thought that you had always felt people like me cannot run things (Kincaid 35), refuse to

see the obvious influence. When Antigua became independent and self-governed, those in power
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did not have the skills or knowledge to set up an economic system. It makes sense that they

learned from the British colonists and acted in the same way.

The British used the Caribbeans to help their economy with sugar plantations and slave

labor. The Antiguan government relies on tourism and money loaned to them. Both parties rely

on the exploitation of the natives. To them the natives are seen as less than, and the only people

worth helping are the ones they benefit from. Antiguas government isnt active in Antigua, they

all have green cards so they can leave when they want and they get medical treatment elsewhere.

The airport is named after the Prime Minister. Kincaid hints that there are no schools, hospitals,

or public monuments named after the Prime Minister (Kincaid 3). The airport is something great

to be named after because it is what the government puts its money into since it brings in

tourists. While the natives are no longer under colonized rule, they are still trapped and

controlled.

The Japanese cars that come from a dealership owned by a prime minister use the wrong

type of gas. The banks encourage the government to give loans on cars but not on houses. This

leaves Antiguans able to have a luxurious car they cant properly take care of, living in a small

house that is nowhere near the status of the car. The cars will eventually break down and the new

condos that the government does make are rented out for tourists and foreigners. Van Noy brings

up the point that the cars will most likely break down before the loan is paid off and without a

method of transportation, they will not be able to get to work, resulting in not having a source of

income (Van Noy). In this way, the government sets up Antiguans for failure, always keeping

them barely with their head above water.

The library is old and due for repairs and instead of tearing down the library and

attempting to build a new one, the government leaves a promising sign with no intent of
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following through. This can be seen as a daily reminder that the government doesnt care about

its people and that they can stay corrupt if the people remain uneducated (Van Noy). The books

that are accessible are old and leftover from the British so even if they were read, they wouldnt

be very educational.

Kincaid mentions how slavery in the past still affects the people of Antigua whether they

recognize it or not. The Hotel Training School is often celebrated in Antigua where people learn

how to be servants; how to be a good nobody (Kincaid 55). While Antiguans are aware of the

past and talk often about emancipation, they dont see the relationship it has to their corrupt

government. The government gives away its country, and in turn its people, to other countries

and this is a form of slavery. Kincaid brings up the fact that no slave ever mentions who captured

and brought them to their European master and she compares this to Antiguans who when

speaking of the corrupt government, never mentions they have placed them in power (Kincaid

56). When the slave masters left eventually the slaves were set free in a kind of way (Kincaid

80), and the salves are no longer noble they are just human beings. The Antiguans are not

completely free, as Galan mentions, they are living in the shadow serving white people. She

argues that slaves had to suffer based on the excuse that the British were superior (Galan). This

excuse can compare to the current state of Antigua, as the government acts superior and so the

people of Antigua must suffer. They are treated as slaves but without the nobility; they are

simply human beings ruled by a more powerful corrupt group of human beings.

The people of Antigua do not have the resources to leave Antigua and are forced to

participate in a corrupt country in order to survive. The government of Antigua relies on this

helplessness and can continue to be corrupt. This is similar to how the colonizers were able to

colonize Antigua. Both groups of power do not care about its people and they benefit from
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keeping their people poor and unable to move. Van Noy speaks of the notion that corruption is a

learned behavior, and this is proven true as the Antiguan government repeats the bad deeds of the

British Empire.
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Works Cited

Galan, Joslyn. Interpretation Project: A Small Place. 2017 Essay.

Garcia, Lizeth. 2017.

Kincaid, Jamaica. A Small Place. 1998.

Van Noy, Alix. Literary Analysis: A Small Place. 2017 Essay.