A Small Place By Jamaica Kincaid

According to the United Nations, Antigua is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere, with a GDP per capita of $13,731 and a growth rate of -7.2%. Many books have been written to address this problem, and one of the most notable ones is A Small Place, written by Jamaica Kincaid. By examining the book through the new criticism, psychological, and marxist lens, readers are able to fully understand her fearless writing style that helps expose many of the problems that have arisen from white colonialism.
Analyzing Kincaid’s work through the new criticism lens can help readers understand how her unique writing style portrays the effects of colonialism, One of the first things that readers notice is how crude and offensive her writing
In the book, the climax and main point she is trying to make is that “In a small place, people cultivate small events. The small event is isolated, blown up, turned over and over, and then absorbed into the everyday, so that at any moment it can and will roll off the inhabitants of the small place’s tongues.”(Kincaid 52) hence, the title A Small Place. From this quote, readers can see that the main problem that the book is addressing is the passivity of the natives. The title “A Small Place” is referring to the fact that Antigua is such a small place, the people on the island experience the same events every day and many of the corrupt practices that happen are seen as normal because the natives don’t have the perspective to realize that the shady deals and corruption of the island is not normal. The other problem the author addresses is the carelessness and cluelessness of the tourists who have no idea of the problems on the island, and think of them as scenery to see, or problems that don’t relate to them. The tourists “marvel at the harmony and the union these other people have with nature.”(Kincaid 16) When these people go poop, the tourists marvel at the hole they made in the ground, and “Joyful thoughts will swell inside [them]”(Kincaid 17) since the natives’ “ancestors were not clever in the way yours were”(Kincaid 17) because if the tourists’ ancestors were not clever the tourists would have been the ones that would be in harmony with nature. The tourists also make use of many of the poorer people for their own pleasure without a second thought. When the tourists just arrived, they rode in Japanese cars, which are paid for by the government so they can have a nice ride, while half the country doesn’t even have decent housing. Another example is when the tourist was happy that it was a