A_Small_Place

A Small Place Jamaica Kincaid’s novel A Small Place was a very fascinating read on the author’s journey through the post-colonial Antiguan society. Although I personally found that the book was quite a dry-read and not entirely appealing to me, the story that Kincaid tells has a true message that talks a lot about the role of tourism on her country, and on the corruption of big business that prevents "culture" from flourishing on its own. From my standpoint, I feel as if this book mostly discusses the awareness of the situation on Antigua rather then finding an actually solution to the problems. The island of Antigua may still seem trapped in a place of slavery for those who inhabit there but even though it may seem rough they still fight to maintain all they can and keep the island a place of beauty and enjoyment. Jamaica Kincaid takes two views on one subject and transforms them into one big perspective on problems occurring in this exquisite place. The way this book was written was pretty neat in the sense that it went from introducing this one big problem and finishing off with a happy sense of tranquility even though there were so many quandaries along the way. The book starts of with Kincaid going to the island and seeing all the beauties that every tourist just about sees. She says things how tourists only see the beauties of the island and the ugliness is sheltered off into other parts of it. Only someone who actually lived there would know what its like to live n a place that can have so much integrity yet is still very poorly run. The island is run down and slowly deteriorating due to not keeping up with the ways the island used to be run and now is just focused on making money keeping the tourists happy. She finishes the first part by describing why the tourists are considered to be “ugly” when she says, “A tourist is an ugly human being” (Kincaid 14). Morally, their just people who come to nice places to use the commodities that those places offer and once they feel that they no longer find interest in staying their, they leave. A Small Place is a very controversial book talking about the Antiguans hardships and memories of past times in history. The island is dying and many things that need to be amended are not being done. Kincaid notes that the island was better in the old-days. The history of the island too is entirely different then it was back when it was run by the English. Possessed by Great Britain, the once very racist island has transformed into something new yet still contains some of the old ways. Many of the industries on the island were once run by all-white owners that did things their own ways and only served those who they wished should be allowed. It’s a shame when a place can become so discriminatory that certain people are not even allowed to go somewhere just because one person in charge says otherwise. Compared to how the island used to be run as it is now, it is no longer racist and discriminatory yet it is deteriorating in quality and how everything looks. Yes, the island will always look beautiful but sometimes the questions comes up as to when was the island in better condition, in the old-days or in present day' The thing I do not understand is, if a place such as Antigua or any other island-type location where people go for vacations has so many problems, then why would they still allow tourists to go there' Wouldn’t it make more sense to work on getting the entire island back to order rather then have one good aspect of the island and have the rest of it be in bad shape' Especially for the people who live there even, if they focused more on making themselves happy rather then the tourists that came there, they could work to build the islands potential as a whole rather then just the spots where tourists come in. Kincaid talks down so many things about the island where she originated from but yet it is still considered a beautiful place to go on vacation. The natives of the islands are slaves to their own homeland and have to suffer a lifestyle that they probably do not want to live. As these natives are trapped on this tiny island, they provide the sources to make the tourists happy and they probably all wish they could live like we do. Unfortunately, they cannot flee from the reality that they live in now because they are too poor to as well as they are too poor to maintain the very place that they live in. People on this island envy tourist for one big reason. They envy those who have the ability to leave their own places of boredom and triviality and come to a place to make their times pleasurable for themselves. Kincaid puts the reader into the shoes of an Antiguan tourist in order to get out how she feels about the island. Through Jamaica Kincaid’s book, you can find a sense from her tone that she’s disappointed with the new Antigua because political corruption and tourism has destroyed it. I just find it funny how Kincaid talks so negatively about her once-lived homeland. She bashes at many of the aspects of the island that have deteriorated and doesn’t really add much insight as to how the island could be or should be a place of beauty to live in. From all the negativity she puts out on the island, deep inside she still knows that no matter what, Antigua will always be a place of beauty and serenity. Minus all the imperfections that the island has today, it still has potential in terms of what the island could be one day. Because of how people are so greedy and all they really care about is money; the things that need be fixed on the island are not being fixed until its probably too late. Sure the island has an interesting history of racism and Britain-ruled lifestyles, but the past history shouldn’t even be looked upon. If times were harsh back then, then why would they be brought up today' Through Kincaid’s discussion about how sad the island is as a whole and how its just going downhill, she should be talking mostly of the better qualities of it rather than shutting it down to make it look so sorrowful. If the island is fixed up and brought back to a tolerable way of life, prosperity can lift it back to where it should be. The parts of Antiguan life that the tourists do not see can be finally shown and people can be happy once again rather then depressed of the lives they are forced to live.