A Small Place By Jamaica Kincaid Essay

In Jamaica Kincaid’s essay A Small Place, the dominating concern with foreign control in the developing nation of Antigua is exposed through Kincaid's own personal experiences and observations as a native of the country. Above all, the vision of Antigua articulated by Kincaid presents itself as a standard for similar developing countries in regard to the encompassing effects installed by foreign involvement. In her essay, Kincaid draws a connection between two versions of Antigua, calling attention to the synonymously of the country’s past and present while alluding to the detrimental effects of external involvement present throughout. Although global ties within developing nations can be beneficial, Jamaica Kincaid highlights the drawbacks …show more content…
According to Kincaid in a direct address to foreigners, “You took things that were not yours […] You murdered people. You imprisoned people. You robbed people. You opened your own banks and you put our money in them.”1 Kincaid exemplifies the adverse impacts of colonialism as tenacious powers like the English often do not have the best interests of the country’s people at heart. This idea is furthered as Kincaid “Thought they were un-Christian- like; we thought they were small-minded; we thought they were like animals, a bit below human standards as we understood those standards to be.”2 It seems that Kincaid flips conventional prejudice to inflict the concept of savagery upon the nature of the colonists. I feel that this calls into question the morality of foreigners within newly developing nations as through the experience of Kincaid foreign involvement has not irrefutably had a positive experience. With the external ties present in the foundation of Antigua, linked with the impacts of slavery and corruption, the drawbacks of outside involvement in a country’s development are