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Racism In Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place

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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. She wants the reader to closely analyze the historical factors of racism to shape our lives no matter our race or religion. In A Small Place, Jamaica Kincaid states that racism shaped Antigua into what it is today. This is a social factor that I can relate to since I am an African American living in the South, and I have experienced racism both blatant and implicit throughout my life to allow me to reflect on the past and analyze more closely to make a better future similarly to Kincaid’s idea. In Kincaid’s A Small Place, she emphasizes how racism which was brought on by slavery, greatly impacted the lives of Antiguans. Since you are a tourist, a North American or European—to be frank, white—and not an Antiguan black returning to Antigua, […] you move through customs with ease (4). She states that Antiguan citizens are treated terribly in their own …show more content…

This has opened my eyes understand that racism has made me a stronger person and that my skin color does not define me but pushes me to exceed other

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