This week we read A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid. This book is about Jamaica’s childhood in Antigua and her experiences growing up there. The story is derived in sections, broken down in a way that the reader reads about Antigua in the perspective of someone who is a tourist there, and as someone who grew up there. It becomes blatantly clear that visitors to Antigua are not getting the same taste of Antigua that Jamaica did, as she highlights differences between Antigua as a tourist attraction and as a place of living and growing up. In the story, she moves chronologically as she explains how Antigua has developed over time, for better or for worse. She gives very interesting insight about Antigua that one could only receive and understand by living their first hand. She ends her story by practically explaining that a tourist can never get a true feel for Antigua, and that they are only experiencing the basics of her childhood home.
Antigua has experienced governmental issues for centuries, as originally Antigua was a British colony until its citizens were imprisoned, sold as slaves, and slaughtered as a result of destructive colonialism. These political issues would lead to years upon years of citizens struggling to find work and put food on the table, and would lead to a very high poverty and unemployment rate among the nation. In fact, most jobs in Antigua are actually used to promote tourism, which is their biggest market and practically what keeps the economy afloat, as mentioned in the story. Through scandals and changes in power dynamics, Antigua really has never truly found itself in a world of continuously developing countries.
Jamaica has experienced these troubles first hand, and gives a brief yet detailed synopsis of her youth and how she dealt with all of this adversity. This story can be connected to several course themes, but one that immediately comes to mind is the danger of a single story TED talk. There is a correlation here as when people visit Antigua and see the amazing resorts, beaches, and activities, they are probably not considering the areas outside of the resorts and lodges, and how much people there may be struggling. They only know the perspective of a tourist, and not someone who lived there and faced the adversity that comes with living there.
Source:
Antiguan Shanty Dwellers Ask if Poverty Will Be the Death of Them
Great discussion post! I found this very helpful in clarifying some of the reading of this week and being able to see it on a much broader scale. I like how you were able to connect this reading for Jamaica’s to the Single Story which we learned about at the very beginning of the semester. Great connection and blog post!
I liked how you mentioned the connections between tourism and the destructive colonialism. This is something that not many tourists would think of. It is sad how these countries are suffering but at the same time finding ways to accommodate to tourists. Because of destructive colonialism this is the only way to stay afloat.
Hello!
Thank you for sharing this background information. Throughout this class we have seen many countries that were once colonized by Britain, it’s interesting to see how it affected each region differently.
Hello! I really enjoyed reading your presentation! I think you shared a lot of great background knowledge to give context into what we will be looking at this week! Great job.
The idea that one can only truly understand the reality of a situation by experiencing it themselves is very important. I am glad that you touched on this point, and I can see how this is true for this reading specifically. Thank you for sharing!
Hello! Great job on your presentation. I appreciated how you provided essential background information and also reminded us of a connection to earlier covered material like a Single Story.
hi. good job on your context presentation this week! I think you did a good job on connecting this to the concept of a single story that we learned about earlier this semester. Another thing I appreciated from what you said was that you said that you can´t really know how things really are until you experience it first hand. good job
Hi, nice job on the post! I think you hit the nail on the head when you talk about how tourists simply see Antigua for its attractions, but do not actually realize the hardships this country has endured after being a colony of the British.
Hello! Nice job on your context presentation! Thank you for providing important background information for this week’s material. After reading this post, I reflected on when I traveled to the Dominican Republic a few years ago. At the time, I thought the all inclusive resort was amazing, but now, I realize that I truly did not experience what the Dominican Republic is like as someone’s longterm home. Lastly, I liked how you tied Adichie’s single story concept into your post.
I enjoyed reading your presentation. I think you did a really good job of evaluating the history of Antigua and its relationship to the reading for this week. This aided me in comprehending this week’s material before reading the story. You did a good job providing background research on Antigua as well as addressing the local issues this country experiences as in contrast it is advertised as a high tourism country surrounded by beauty and amazing resorts. I liked how you established a connection between this reading to other concepts we learned in the past such as Adichie’s single-story and the harm it may cause from obtaining this single-story mindset.
I really enjoyed your post, and I found it very informative. I have never been to a country that is a tourist destination like Antigua, but my parents have. They went to Jamaica, and they experienced both sides of the country. Although they spent limited time there, so they definitely do not know what it’s like to live there, they still tell stories about the huge discrepancy they experienced between the tourist part and the other parts. I think it’s definitely a big moral issue to think about when deciding whether to travel to tourist countries.
Great context presentation! It helped provide extra background for this week’s reading. It will be interesting to read Antigua from the perspective of someone who is a tourist there. I like how you also connected this week’s reading to the danger of a single story. I will definitely keep this information in mind while reading the book.
This was a great presentation! I love how you explained the background of what we are reading, and how you connected it to things we have discussed in class. It was very clear and easy to read. Overall good job!
Hi! Very interesting context presentation! This story definitely ties in with the “Dangers of a Single Story” TED talk. When people visit Antigua, all they see and experience are the resorts and beautiful beaches, but they do not see anything beyond that. They do not see the locals who are struggling.
Hello,
Great presentation! I learned a lot from your post. Indeed, tourists tend to focus on the good side of a city or country, like beautiful beach, blue sea, but ignore the other side of a place. Just like you said, there are also many governmental issues in Antigua, but few tourists notice them. I think if I am a tourist in Antigua, I will also focus on the beautiful view of it and will not know the situation of the residents there. Many times, we will inevitably be biased.
Hi! Nice context presentation. I was not personally familiar with the history of Antigua, so it was interesting to get a glimpse of what governmental issues have occured in Antigua.