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A review by mnboyer
A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid
5.0
Understanding Tourism from the Colonized Perception
A Small Place is a travel narrative, as well as a memoir, that actually turns the genre of travel narratives on its head by rebuking the tourist and the tourism industry. Kincaid begins by writing that “A tourist is an ugly human being” (14). At first, this statement may take a reader aback because there is a possibility that the reader could be or has been a tourist. However, further complex statements about the tourist as a person are made when Kincaid states that tourists are “an ugly, empty thing, a stupid thing, a piece of rubbish pausing here and there to gaze at this and taste that” (17). In previous course discussions, we have mentioned that there are times where the audience is called into question. But Kincaid’s A Small Place is unique because it is not excluding the tourist from being part of the readership, but does exclude the tourist from being a valuable part of the tourism industry. The critique of tourism is rather unique because it calls into question post-colonial practices that further demean inhabitants of an area that were once colonized. Kincaid makes it no secret that Antigua was once a British colony, and furthermore that the slave trade was prominent in the country. She recalls a history in which the British give up slavery and abandon the colony, but this does not mean that the people of Antigua are now free –rather, they are now being colonized by the tourism industry itself.
Throughout the memoir there are examples of failures of the Antiguan government in repairing areas and buildings that were destroyed by an earthquake. Initially, one may think that perhaps there is just inadequate funding to fix such buildings, but then the author gives us examples of places where the money is going –there is a new, large mansion that has an official’s kept woman residing in it, but the library remains in disrepair. I think that it is symbolic that the library is the building that cannot be repaired. When you think of the end of colonial rule in most situations, one of the fundamental changes is that new populations are able to have access to education. Initially, this education may only be in the public sector (public schools, the public library, etc.) but education is fundamental. In Antigua, however, there seems to be enough funding for rebuilding the library, but there is no interested governmental party willing to undertake the task, because they are allocating funding to other personal endeavors (as reported to us by Kincaid, but I would say that her argument is compelling).
A tourist, or an individual like myself that has been a tourist, may suggest, “Why not use tourism funding to rebuild the library?” I admit, this is something that, initially, I was wondering about. But it becomes clear through Kincaid’s memoir that tourism actually does not help Antiguans. There is one example where Kincaid notes that a resort has purchased land for a big hotel, and even though the entire beach is supposed to be public, there are actually guards that keep Antiguans out. So Antiguans are being removed (again) from their lands so that white individuals can enjoy the splendor of a country that does not truly belong to them. Antiguans would have expected that self-governing and ending slavery in their country would give them more freedoms. Instead, these freedoms are being taken away by the tourism industry.
Thinking of tourism as a colonizing industry is notable because Kincaid presents facts that do seem to suggest that Antiguans are still demeaned regularly in their own country. One question that seems fundamental in Kincaid’s novel is as follows: “Is the Antigua I see before me, self-ruled, a worse place than what it was when it was dominated by the bad-minded English and all the bad-minded things they brought with them?” (42). I am torn, as a reader, because on one hand I am not an Antiguan and really have no right to determine this. But also, I do not think it is fair to take just Kincaid’s observations as complete truth –perhaps there are other opinions from other Antiguans that are somewhat different from Kincaid’s perspective. So while I do value her opinion, I would suggest that maybe it is not the only opinion. Therefore, maybe the reader should actually not make up their mind about the aforementioned question.
But lastly, I wanted to possibly discuss some of the semantic decisions used by Kincaid. I really did appreciate her discussion of how the tourist is actually perceived negatively in the Antiguan culture because if further seems to colonize them. In fact, her impassioned loathing was actually a section that I found quite admirable because the author is willing to say things that others are not. However, I think what made this area strong was that it was directed at “the tourist” and not any specific person or entity. However, there are areas where Kincaid uses an accusatory “you” (see page 35, for example) that seems to be a bit off-putting as a reader. I do understand that I may have, at times as a tourist, been offensive just because of my presence. I know, for example, that I definitely take part in tribal tourism by visiting casinos and tribally owned resorts/hotels. But that does not mean that while reading I want the accusatory “you” to be overbearing. At times, it was overbearing, and I thought that method of delivery was less effective compared to areas where she just talked about “the tourist.”
A Small Place is a travel narrative, as well as a memoir, that actually turns the genre of travel narratives on its head by rebuking the tourist and the tourism industry. Kincaid begins by writing that “A tourist is an ugly human being” (14). At first, this statement may take a reader aback because there is a possibility that the reader could be or has been a tourist. However, further complex statements about the tourist as a person are made when Kincaid states that tourists are “an ugly, empty thing, a stupid thing, a piece of rubbish pausing here and there to gaze at this and taste that” (17). In previous course discussions, we have mentioned that there are times where the audience is called into question. But Kincaid’s A Small Place is unique because it is not excluding the tourist from being part of the readership, but does exclude the tourist from being a valuable part of the tourism industry. The critique of tourism is rather unique because it calls into question post-colonial practices that further demean inhabitants of an area that were once colonized. Kincaid makes it no secret that Antigua was once a British colony, and furthermore that the slave trade was prominent in the country. She recalls a history in which the British give up slavery and abandon the colony, but this does not mean that the people of Antigua are now free –rather, they are now being colonized by the tourism industry itself.
Throughout the memoir there are examples of failures of the Antiguan government in repairing areas and buildings that were destroyed by an earthquake. Initially, one may think that perhaps there is just inadequate funding to fix such buildings, but then the author gives us examples of places where the money is going –there is a new, large mansion that has an official’s kept woman residing in it, but the library remains in disrepair. I think that it is symbolic that the library is the building that cannot be repaired. When you think of the end of colonial rule in most situations, one of the fundamental changes is that new populations are able to have access to education. Initially, this education may only be in the public sector (public schools, the public library, etc.) but education is fundamental. In Antigua, however, there seems to be enough funding for rebuilding the library, but there is no interested governmental party willing to undertake the task, because they are allocating funding to other personal endeavors (as reported to us by Kincaid, but I would say that her argument is compelling).
A tourist, or an individual like myself that has been a tourist, may suggest, “Why not use tourism funding to rebuild the library?” I admit, this is something that, initially, I was wondering about. But it becomes clear through Kincaid’s memoir that tourism actually does not help Antiguans. There is one example where Kincaid notes that a resort has purchased land for a big hotel, and even though the entire beach is supposed to be public, there are actually guards that keep Antiguans out. So Antiguans are being removed (again) from their lands so that white individuals can enjoy the splendor of a country that does not truly belong to them. Antiguans would have expected that self-governing and ending slavery in their country would give them more freedoms. Instead, these freedoms are being taken away by the tourism industry.
Thinking of tourism as a colonizing industry is notable because Kincaid presents facts that do seem to suggest that Antiguans are still demeaned regularly in their own country. One question that seems fundamental in Kincaid’s novel is as follows: “Is the Antigua I see before me, self-ruled, a worse place than what it was when it was dominated by the bad-minded English and all the bad-minded things they brought with them?” (42). I am torn, as a reader, because on one hand I am not an Antiguan and really have no right to determine this. But also, I do not think it is fair to take just Kincaid’s observations as complete truth –perhaps there are other opinions from other Antiguans that are somewhat different from Kincaid’s perspective. So while I do value her opinion, I would suggest that maybe it is not the only opinion. Therefore, maybe the reader should actually not make up their mind about the aforementioned question.
But lastly, I wanted to possibly discuss some of the semantic decisions used by Kincaid. I really did appreciate her discussion of how the tourist is actually perceived negatively in the Antiguan culture because if further seems to colonize them. In fact, her impassioned loathing was actually a section that I found quite admirable because the author is willing to say things that others are not. However, I think what made this area strong was that it was directed at “the tourist” and not any specific person or entity. However, there are areas where Kincaid uses an accusatory “you” (see page 35, for example) that seems to be a bit off-putting as a reader. I do understand that I may have, at times as a tourist, been offensive just because of my presence. I know, for example, that I definitely take part in tribal tourism by visiting casinos and tribally owned resorts/hotels. But that does not mean that while reading I want the accusatory “you” to be overbearing. At times, it was overbearing, and I thought that method of delivery was less effective compared to areas where she just talked about “the tourist.”