Marxist Lens Essay On A Small Place

Lenses Clouded by History

Will small places make big impacts, do they really matter, and what defines a small place? These ideas all relate to an island, Antigua, a physically small place, but psychologically the citizens living there have to overcome many difficulties and complications that make life in Antigua especially onerous for native citizens. Jamaica Kincaid’s A Small Place when viewed through Feminist, Marxist, and Postcolonial lenses demonstrates the challenges small countries, like Antigua, face and how this greatly impacts its citizens.

Through the Feminist lens, A Small Place portrays women in a degrading and inaccurate way. Kincaid corroborates through a previous book of hers, Girl, that “women are extremely pressured to act

The world has always been problematic. The notions found in A Small Place are not just troubles originating in Antigua they are ubiquitous throughout the world. The Marxist lens is visible in many different times and places across history. ¨No Industrial Revolution, no revolution of any kind, no Age of Anything, no world wars, no decades of turbulence balanced by decades of calm,¨ (Kincaid 79). If there was eternal peace in the world, it would truly be a stronger and more resilient place. This view is what the socialist party had and it relates back to the Marxist lens in that way. ¨You see that it’s a model of a Japanese car you might hesitate to buy, it’s a model that’s very expensive,¨ (Kincaid 7). The Antiguan government gives its citizens unique, fancy cars to cover up the misfortune and poverty that is seen in Antigua. The Japanese cars are a make-believe luxury symbolizing the past of the island. Antigua has been influenced by many different countries such as the fact that ¨Eleven million dollars that the French government gave to the Antiguan government for developmental aid has vanished,¨ (Kincaid 66). Subsequently, the British have a hold on Antigua politically and economically in the major decisions made. The English say they will help Antigua, but they put non-native officials in charge and do not provide educational resources for Antiguans to be responsible with their

¨Antiguan citizens experienced the rest of the world through England. The English hold control of the citizens's growth,¨ (Hirsch/Schweitzer 482). Restrictions that are set on children impacts how they view the world, themselves, and the fulfillment of their lives. ¨I believe they gave money to children’s charities, these things made them seem to themselves very big and good, but to us they were, pigs living in that sty,¨ (Kincaid 28). The “they” refers to European colonizers transforming the newly found country, of Antigua, to their own desires, communicating to other colonial powers that their imperialist ways are good for Antigua. The English colonizers are not concerned that the country lives in poverty, they want the resources and advantages that Antigua offers. ¨That monument to rottenness, as if they were tour guides,¨ (Kincaid 69). Everyone is a tourist or tour guide somewhere. A Small Place describes a small place where all the people living there know each other, and European colonizers are the tourists who observe the experiment of Antigua as their own preplanned destination. ¨So who decides to print stamps celebrating The Queen of England´s birthday? Who decides to celebrate Mickey Mouse´s birthday?¨ (Kincaid 52). The Antiguan government did not make the decision to celebrate the birthday of their conquerors and commanders. When society is not aware or part of crucial choices made