A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid

Kincaid focuses on the ugliness of tourism, and how morally/spiritually wrong it is to exploit the land where one travels. When people travel to escape the boredom of their own mundane lives, they are exploiting the daily lives of the locals. This creates a space where the locals are now “Other” to the tourist in their own residence. Tourist travel to escape and view the beauty of other countries, be more simple and be closer to nature, while this romanticization exploits the humble and impoverished state of people.

The colonial education the Antiguans receive is under a British system, so they are learning not of their own history, but of one that has enslaved, and then colonized them. Due to this the Antiguans are passive objects of history, so they are always second, and the British system will always dictate events, history, and language. This makes the Antiguan people “Subaltern” according to Spivak. They are removed from all lines of social mobility, due to how they were enslaved and colonized by the British system, and how the tourists have exploited them. They have no control of what happens in the future, what they are educated on, or any say in the governmental affairs. Little to no change will ever happen if the Antiguan people do not revolt against this colonial oppression.

There is a connection between corruption and colonization, and this is why there is a continuation of oppression. Colonization creates class differences, and this leads to broken systems, that likely do not change. The British system claims to be helping the Antiguans by colonizing Antigua, but all the while the system is continually taking more and more from the people. The government ministers were running brothels, stealing the public’s funds, and arranging ill intended deals. There is no outrage from the people due to how they were shaped and molded into being passive objects of history. The class differences created by the corruption, and colonization lend to Othering and prejudice. Those well off in the government see no wrong as they continually benefit from the corruption socio-economically, and do not care of the Othering they create. The “Other” and “Subalterns” go together, as the Other is a subaltern. The system does not help those who have no voice or economic impact, and for this reason their voices continue to go unheard, circumstances never change, and oppression goes on unchecked.

Kicaid wants the readers to walk away with a new perspective; one that is to think twice before you travel to escape your mundane, and potentially exploit the lives of the locals. Tourist hurt the daily lives of the locals even more so, on top of the colonial oppression and corruption they experience. It’s made me think twice about where I travel, and what my intentions are when doing so. It’s made me question, “will there be a detrimental spill-over effect, from doing this”?

Othered Citizens

Kincaid portrayed an Antigua with corrupted government, culturally lost natives and prioritized white people through the eyes of an imaginary white tourist. She expressed her anger towards the English colonizers, and more than that, she uncovered the weakness in this small country and its people.

The major idea of this article is to reveal how Antiguan struggle in finding out their national identity after hundreds of years of being an English colony. The history of English governing washed away their notion of nationality, and maybe the ability of finding one. Antiguan are deprived of their own culture since they are taught in English and that they should believe in English god and love the queen of England. The repair of the national library was postponed; the government seems indifferent on cultivating culture independent of the English one. General citizens are not involved in controlling major economic activities in Antigua, foreigners do instead. Corruptions spread widely among Ministers, in which they monopolize profitable or even illegal businesses. Politically, Antigua people see themselves inferior to white westerners, even if they seem bad-mannered. They don’t feel centered in their home country but seconded or marginalized.

The article reminds me of the notion of other, which we came across many times in the readings throughout this course. This concept might help explain why Antiguans are lost in establishing a healthy self-centered identity. In the old colony times, the English governors and inhabitants did an excellent job in defining who are us and who are other, in their favor, of course. Hierarchies are formed based on the notion that colonizers are more intellectual and organized so that they stand in the center. That is why in Antigua, dark-skinned Syrians and Lebanese are regarded as foreigners, white people are not. The injustice maintained through post-colony times. The unfair institutions and hierarchies are internalized by Antiguans. They see corrupted government and rude westerners. But they don’t feel the urge to change all these. Because they do feel responsible for transforming the country, being part of other.

The take-home question from this article is what impact the history of colony might have on shaping national identities as well as citizenships. The work absolutely stimulates thoughts around identity forming and transforming by providing a representative post-colonial case of Antigua. Institutions of injustice are established by colonists to their benefit. It is going to be a long and suffering progress in transforming self-awareness from other to us.

 

Refenrence:

Kincaid, Jamaica. 1988. A Small Place. Farrar, Straus and Giroux

A Small Place Review

A Small Place Audiobook by Jamaica Kincaid - 9781504743389 ...

A Small Place, written by Jamaica Kincaid is separated by four somewhat connected sections and tells of the beauty of Antigua. She first asks the reader to become a hypothetical tourist exploring this gorgeous country. She explains the natural beauty of Antigua seems almost unreal until the tourist looks closer at the poverty-stricken towns and corrupt mansions surrounding them. She places her emphasis on an old library that was destroyed by an earthquake ten years ago and still has not been repaired. She delves deeper into the “colonial possession” held by Great Britain and Antigua’s subject to casual racism by it. Kincaid talks about English rule over Antiguans and their thoughts toward this racism which she explains, they do not seem to recognize it. I believe the Antiguans’ identity was stripped away from them after the colonization of Great Britain. Every aspect of their lives and culture were drastically changed forever and subjected to only expressing themselves in the language of their colonizers. Furthermore, the power demonstrated over the Antiguans was not only corrupt but ill-mannered towards the people there. The injustice towards the Antiguans from the English colonizers is one of many instances around the world that native towns and cities are subjected to even in the present. The display of othering by Great Britain towards Antigua was evident by their neglect towards important structures, such as the library and education diminished after their independence. Kincaid witnessed their corrupt officials allowing many cases of abuse of their power such as drug smuggling and political violence. These extreme displays of othering, neglect, racial injustice, and abuse of power give us a depiction of the horrors people like Kincaid face every day. I believe Jamaica Kincaid wants us to realize the injustices that happen all around the world that are not covered by news or televised. She wants us to realize that corruption and othering aren’t always plain to see, and even the most beautiful places in the world can hide the most terrible injustices.