Week 14: A Small Place

A small place is a novel that describes the changes of a tourist destination by comparing the colonial past and present. The past and the present of colonization are never clear, because the explanation of now has to go back to the past, and to go back to the past has to tell the history of colonization. Jamaica Kincaid shows us how to attack Britain and its colonial rule. The content of the novel is closely linked, revealing the corruption of the government and the bad situation of the tourist destination step by step. The novel reveals the corruption of Antigua’s government, which ignores the country and the people, through two facts that Antigua’s ministers all hold green cards and that although Antigua’s medical and economic conditions are poor, the ministers will hire the best doctors and nurses. At the same time, these corrupt governments lead to the bad environment of Antigua, which also nourishes the corrupt government. Moreover, because Antigua’s ministers all have green cards, they will not pity people who are discriminated against by colonialism. These Antigua ministers can sell their country for their own benefit and then flee to the United States. As a tourist destination, the government discriminates against its own people and does not allow Antigua people to use the best beaches. You feel Jamaica Kincaid’ anger, you think she should be, but you only read her casual satire.

 

I also read another novel of this week, regarding the pain of others. There is a passage in the book that resonates me with  Jamaica Kincaid’ Antigua. As long as we feel compassionate, we feel that we are not complicit in the inflictors of pain. Our compassion declares our innocence and our incompetence. At the same time, regarding the pain of others made me think. Can we really feel the pain? I don’t think you can experience the sufferings of the indigenous people of Antigua when you haven’t experienced this kind of corrupt government and bad environment. I think the pain recorded by novels is not in line with reality, because even if novels are not written for art, novels themselves are artistic. In order to shock readers, the description of the environment itself may not really show the suffering of the real world. In addition, when you travel, you may only notice the blue sky, the waves under the sun, and the luxury hotel facilities. However, you can’t believe that the indigenous people of Antigua who were once under British colonial rule were still discriminated against in their own country. When you’re swimming in Antigua’s pool, you don’t know Antigua doesn’t have its own sewage treatment system. When you’re eating delicious lobsters, you don’t know that Antigua’s people are still hungry. I think if colonial rule brought advanced science rather than terrible oppress and exploit. If they take the rule of civilization rather than brutality. Will Antigua become beautiful and prosperous

 

Work Cites:

Zhiru, et al. “Regarding the Pain of Others.” Douban, https://www.douban.com/group/topic/1299996/

21 thoughts on “Week 14: A Small Place

  1. Hello! Thank you for this context presentation. I think you connected multiple pieces of material really well. I thought a lot about your point that humans often feel that when we feel compassion we are innocent. This is very true in today’s society and I think we are all guilty of not wanting to take accountability for complying to a system that blatantly hurts others.

    • Emma Bubolz I definitely agree with your comment on how we humans feel guilt when not wanting to take the blame or accountability when it comes to others pain or hurt, I agree. This happens a lot though and I believe especially with our generation, overall a great comment and post!

    • I agree that this post was able to highlight the similarities between different pieces and connect them well. I also agree that there is not enough accountability taken for actions that negatively impact others.

  2. I think that reading a small place gives us a different way to look at things, especially in relation to can the subaltern speak and single stories like we have talked about in the beginning of the semester. We read this novel about the lives of those living in Antigua and just try to understand their lives from this source when in reality we are only getting one piece of their world from an outside viewpoint. Great post!

  3. I really enjoyed reading this presentation. I really liked reading your point’s about what the people don’t think about when in Antigua because I wrote something very similar to this for one of my discussion posts. It is so true that when we travel to such a beautiful destination we do not think about all the struggles that this country or nation may be dealing with because all we are thinking about is the beautiful scenery and the visual the the resort is providing us rather than the realistic struggles.

    • Yes, I totally agree with you Janie! I think this is something that is really great to point out and a thought we should all have when visiting different countries, especially when the cultures differ greatly from ours. A few years ago, I went to Peru to do some service work as well as just visit and I found it so easy to totally ignore the less glamorous aspects of the country because there are a lot of places (shops, restaurants, locales, etc.) designed to impress tourists, but that don’t represent the reality of that culture. I think it’s important that we lift our heads up and take the opportunity to really learn about the day-to-day realities of a culture when we are somewhere new.

  4. Hi I really liked your analyses of the two works in this presentation. It’s sad that Antigua’s present corruption harms so many and can be traced back to British colonialism. Sometimes anger works best in satire form when expressed, rather than saying or showing upfront the hurt the past has caused. I also agree that we aren’t able to truly understand the people of Antigua until we have lived in their shoes and experienced what they have. Our privilege prevents us from recognizing the struggles and indignities colonialism has caused.

  5. Hello, this was a great presentation that connected multiple different materials together from areas of the course. I especially liked the analyses and emphasis on compassion in your post. I feel like that is something we lack in many areas in life especially when it comes to people who have different lifestyles from ones we are used to or living ourselves.

  6. Hi, I like what you mentioned that when you travel, you may only notice the beauty of that place and ignore what native people are suffering. Indeed, we can hardly understand what native people experienced. Foreign architectures in countries that used to be colonized are always attractions for the tourists but people hardly think of the tragedy behind colonization when they visit.

    • Thanks for the thread. More times than not, I think we as Americans often reap the benefits of colonialism while forgetting how we became the society that is now to be. Many trials and tribulations have been faced because of colonialism and therefore consequences have followed. We must recognize the lows as we do the highs when learning more about the development of western civilization, and understand the tragic conviction that countless tribes and communities have been pushed away that stood in the face of serious colonization.

    • Definitely. I had a former friend from high school tell me about their family trip to an island resort (I forget where exactly as it’s been many years), but they mentioned how they drove in these little cars along the beach which went right behind the houses of island locals. They said that young children would stand outside of their small hut-like homes along the fence and watch the tourists drive by on their little cars they rented to drive along the beach. It stuck out to me then and now about how distanced tourists can be from the realities of a place that many people call home. I just couldn’t fathom riding behind the homes of locals and disrupting their lives while I live mine in absolute privilege, but for many, I don’t think the disconnect is even something that is noticed or viewed as problematic.

  7. I really liked how you brought up the negatives of colonization and how we (the colonizers) are living the benefits of our ancestors, It is important to know that the luxuries we take for granted might not have been there if we didn’t conquer other countries, unfortunately, always remember the sacrifices made by the humans before you for the life we live now.

  8. For this week I feel the main focus of the module was the colonization of the colonies. This was covered in your presentation. It is important to cover the ideas that the colonization took away many of the originating cultures and ways of life for natives of the countries. Unfortunately many of these countries lose a lot of their native ways of life.

  9. Hello! I like your context presentation very much. We should all have experienced what you said, when we travel to a very beautiful place, we will completely ignore other things. We will not know what kind of suffering the people of this place are experiencing, we will only enjoy the beauty that this place presents to us.

  10. I really enjoy your post. I think your opinions about if we can feel the pain is very interesting. It is true that most of us have a hard time to empathy with others unless we have experienced their pain. Nobody wants to feel pain, people would only feel sympathy towards bad experiences.

  11. I can not agree with you more about the opinion of the difference between the things you see and the pain behind those things. Most people can not feel other’s pain and get to know the real ideology behind their culture. As a tourist, they always see the good side of the country but can not get to know how their real life is.

  12. I completely agree with your post. I agree and also believe that pain can be expressed and viewed in multiple ways. I also believe that people express empathy and pain in different ways. Being a tourist, we only focus on what we want to see and experience but we do not take the time to see what the people living in these countries are experiencing and living like.

  13. Your post definitely shined a light on what might be past the words on a page. I really liked that you included all of the examples that you did about Antigua and what it may have been like because you’re right, we have not experienced it or the pain that comes along with it. All we know is what the author dares to share with us about her experience. Even the way we interpret the words can vary from person to person, you really did a great job expressing this!

  14. Hello!
    I completely agree with your point that addressed how humans may feel compassionate but that does not mean they aren’t complicit in making others’ lives worse. I feel like I can resonate with this because I honestly did not think about this concept until I read your post. This is something I feel I need to think about more, because as tourists, sometimes we take things for granted and are ignorant to the struggles that locals endure while we enjoy the trip that is a luxury in and of itself.

  15. Great job on this assignment. I like your analysis of both the literary works for this week. I agree with your statement that we observe and enjoy the positive aspects of a place when we visit as tourist and ignore the sufferings and problems faced by the inhabitants. I also agree that we are many times ignorant to the daily lives of the locals since we are focused on ourselves and we try to have fun on the vacation, and enjoy its luxuries.

  16. Great work on this post. Your analysis is great.
    I completely agree with your point that addressed how humans may feel compassionate but that does not mean they aren’t complicit in making others’ lives worse. I feel like I can resonate with this because I honestly did not think about this concept until I saw your post. This is something I feel I need to ponder about more.

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