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A Small Place By Jamaica Kincaid

978 Words4 Pages

When reading A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid many people are offended and wonder what her purpose for writing the essay exactly is. Analyzing this story from the Marxist, Post-Colonial and Psychological lenses helps one to understand and perceive the purpose of A Small Place. One can analyze A Small Place, by Jamaica Kincaid through many lenses such as the way people behave in a society, how colonialism shapes cultures and lastly how the author relates to the story. When looking at A Small Place through the Marxist lens there is a obvious unequal distribution of power in the Antiguan society. North Americans and Europeans obviously frustrate Kincaid with their habits of tourism and how they act in their society. “Wealth and power are in the hands of very few, all of whom, in Kincaids view are corrupt and indifferent to the welfare of the people”(Byerman 93), Kincaid shows how the Europeans how so much more power than Antiguans but instead of using that power and wealth to help the ones in need they use it to help themselves and behave however they like. The Marxist lens also analyzes how the government doesn 't care about the welfare of the people same as the Europeans. “If you were to ask why you would be told …show more content…

Kincaid has a strong belief about the english that they judge Antiguans has less human which causes her to talk poorly about them as seen in this quote, “We thought they were unchristian like; we thought they were like animals, a bit below human standards to be”( Kincaid 20). Antiguans and Kincaid herself both have a of slavery which causes her to feel strongly about Antigua which is why she dislikes tourist or Europeans there as she mentions many times in the essay. “Antigua is a very small place. Antigua is a very small place. In Antigua, not only is the event turned into everyday but the everyday is turned into a

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Jamaica Kincaid 's A Small Place examines the historical/social context of how Antiguans dealt racism through slavery after an oppressive European colonization. Kincaid reveals that European colonization resulted in Antigua dealing with injustice such as corruption and poverty. She argues Europeans and Americans traveling to Antigua are focused on the beautiful scenery, which is not a correct representation of the day to day lives of Antiguans. Although racism has many negative effects, Kincaid seemed to state the benefits of Europeans’ colonialism and how it contributed to her life such by introducing the English language and the library that helped her to become a writer. Kincaid states that we “cannot get over the past, cannot forgive and cannot forget” (26); therefore, Kincaid feels that the past influences the present.

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