Jamaica Kincaid Imperialism

For Better or For Worst They Were Here to Stay
Throughout history colonization has impacted countries, homes, and cultures. Through blunt force and aggression colonizers have conquered and occupied many countries. These same oppressors take the lives of what many cherish and believe in to make it a value of sort, making the natives of these countries change the way they view their homes. A primal example would be Christopher Columbus; he “discovered” the new world and called it his own. Many other countries will continue to do so for many years after him. He did not take into consideration the homes, cultures, and lives that were already living there. He claimed it as his own and used the land, its people, and their culture to create his “new

She like many other authors uses literature to express and expose the results of colonization. Her tone and attacking narration set the mood throughout the text. Although her novel sets place in postcolonial times she reflects on both the present and the past. Jamaica Kincaid takes on a second person narration to attack the reader, whom is taking on the role as the colonizer, a narrative telling, and lastly a reflection to de-credit colonization and expose their corruption and greed. Kincaid “inverts the power if naming inherent in colonial discourse by saying in public what other Antiguans can say only in private” (Byerman). Antigua like man author played the role for her people, she was able to express exactly how everyone felt about

She does however talk of her country and how she and many others have to live in the shambles England left it in. By shambles its not to imply physical debris although that also played a role, but by means of a corrupted government, lingering English culture, and of course the tourist stigma. As Byerman states “independence produced no real changes in the dominant order. The silencing of the people has continued even though the leaders are now from among them. Wealth and power are in the hands of a very few” (Byerman). As Kincaid continues to explain through her text although these countries have left and Antigua has its Independence, it is still shackled to colonial times. In the journal “The Persistent Effect of Colonialism and Corruption” by Luis Angeles and Kyriakos Neanidis, they entertain the idea of how when a country is run by both a colonizer and the countries government officials; they are prone to high levels of corruption. In which case Antigua was both occupied by England and Antiguan government officials. Angeles and Neanidis imply that, the level of development is well recognized as the most powerful determinant of corruption. If European settlement leads to economic development… then it will also lead to higher level of corruption” (Angeles, Neanidis