Tourism is a method of escapism in which the tourist uses another’s culture and land for their own pleasure. In Jamaica Kinkaid’s A Small Place the tourist is a symbol of colonialism that is admonished and criticized for their “part” in perpetuating colonial institutions and for remaining purposefully ignorant in order to not “ruin [their] holiday.” Using euphemistic language, a narrowing scope, dichotomies between the real and unreal, and you-- the allegorical tourist, Jamaica Kinkaid creates a compelling narrative on neo-colonialism and its long-lasting effects and presses the reader--and tourist-- to reevaluate their purpose and privilege.
You-- the tourist-- have just landed in Antigua and the book begins, first, with a wider scope handling …show more content…
The narrator delves into the histories and politics behind certain places such as the library and prestigious homes of dignitaries and their mistresses. Narrowing with each page and recollection, until the narrator is applying their own first-hand experiences as seen with their recalling of the dentist they used to see as a young child. They provide commentary on the Europeans who existed in Antigua but did not truly live there. The Europeans made themselves distant through institutions such as the Mill Reef Club and actions-- “small-minded,” “un-Christian-like,” animalistic, ungraceful, and ill-mannered actions. Yet, that did not mean they were any less invasive. The dentist, a refugee, hated the very people that provided him asylum and means to live. He exerted superiority over his patients every time they tried to enter his presence, having his wife inspect them for imperfections first. The concept of a doctor turning away patients for something as trivial as dirt under the nails is a contradicting one. That the man was escaping from Hitler, a man who was known for discriminating based on race and religion, and then himself discriminating is hypocrisy in and of itself. Hypocrisy and contradiction are recurring motifs throughout the book.
Towards the beginning of the book, the narrator introduces the Island of Antigua and the mindset of the people there. Antiguans “have a great sense of things, the more meaningful the thing, the more meaningless [they] make it”. (MORE TO BE SAID
You-- the tourist-- have just landed in Antigua and the book begins, first, with a wider scope handling …show more content…
The narrator delves into the histories and politics behind certain places such as the library and prestigious homes of dignitaries and their mistresses. Narrowing with each page and recollection, until the narrator is applying their own first-hand experiences as seen with their recalling of the dentist they used to see as a young child. They provide commentary on the Europeans who existed in Antigua but did not truly live there. The Europeans made themselves distant through institutions such as the Mill Reef Club and actions-- “small-minded,” “un-Christian-like,” animalistic, ungraceful, and ill-mannered actions. Yet, that did not mean they were any less invasive. The dentist, a refugee, hated the very people that provided him asylum and means to live. He exerted superiority over his patients every time they tried to enter his presence, having his wife inspect them for imperfections first. The concept of a doctor turning away patients for something as trivial as dirt under the nails is a contradicting one. That the man was escaping from Hitler, a man who was known for discriminating based on race and religion, and then himself discriminating is hypocrisy in and of itself. Hypocrisy and contradiction are recurring motifs throughout the book.
Towards the beginning of the book, the narrator introduces the Island of Antigua and the mindset of the people there. Antiguans “have a great sense of things, the more meaningful the thing, the more meaningless [they] make it”. (MORE TO BE SAID