The Effects of Colonialism in Post-Colonial Antigua

The Effects of Colonialism in Post-Colonial Antigua

  • Submitted By: xolauren0714
  • Date Submitted: 11/21/2013 2:06 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 2065
  • Page: 9
  • Views: 1

The idea of colonialism is for the people of a country to spread and share their philosophies and religions with other countries. However, the people of a country being colonized might not be so thrilled about the idea. As a result, a way natives lash out on the intruders of their country is by producing accusatory texts to the colonizers. Post-colonialism is the repercussion of colonialism, thus post-colonial literature is literature that relates to the writings produced in countries that are now controlled by European countries. The postcolonial narrative, A Small Place, by Antiguan-born American writer, Jamaica Kincaid, articulates the observations made by the author of her native island, Antigua, about the effects of the English colonization and how Antigua attempts to function as an independent country. Kincaid uses an accusatory tone in the narrative towards her island’s colonizers and tourists by articulating her frustration of Antigua’s society.
Kincaid accomplishes the use of an accusatory tone in A Small Place by writing four distinct untitled sections, or essays. Each of these four short essays serves a purpose to the overall meaning of Antigua’s post-colonial society. The first section concentrates on the ugliness of tourism and neocolonialism. The second essay addresses Antigua’s colonial past under the English rule along with the author’s childhood growing up. The third component addresses the political corruption of Antigua’s government post-independence. The final section of the narrative, which is the shortest, focuses on Antigua’s beauty and the Antiguans that inhabit the land as “just human beings” (Kincaid 81).
In her first essay, Kincaid addresses the idea that tourism is ugly. Kincaid’s infuriation and blame on the tourists sets the tone of this section of the narrative as one of harshness. Kincaid generalizes the use of “you” as both the tourist and the reader. By beginning the narrative in the second-person, Kincaid...

Similar Essays