Book Review of A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid

The world of literature is a predominant platform where authors express their different concerns for societal issues. The complexity of a society is developed from various elements of the community. The argument developed around the rationale is that many of the population in the world have faced challenges in the past and present time. Colonialism is such an aspect that describes the setting of a society. In A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid, the postcolonial period is of significant discussion to the author. The author presents her audience with the reality of the matter in the postcolonial Antiguan society.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

According to the author many elements of the society have been eroded despite the fact that her country was colonized by one of the most advanced colonial powers. Her resentment goes particularly to the quality of education offered in Antigua. She feels moved entirely by the nature and quality of education which young adults per take and the living conditions that they partake even after undergoing through the basic educational systems. Evidence used to support the impact on the postcolonial period is obtained on many instances where she compares her classic English education to the current educational systems offered to the youth. In her opinion, the current populace of young people adores the American ideology and way of life. During her time, they treasured the British American way of life and culture. Even though the two ideology are worth mentioning, she believes that the Antique people should not value the people that undermined their dignity during the rule in the country.

Next, she does not support the ideology that the Antigua society continues to worship the same people that colonized them. In her opinion, the people in Antigua should struggle to promote their own culture given the case that it defines identity and gives them the sense of belonging. Importantly, there should be a shift of focus from applauding the tourist that comes to the country for holidays. The case of argument is that they are the same people that enslaved the Antigua people then eventually colonized the same people. In light of such a realization, the Antigua people should think of waking up from the dream of adoring the west at the risk of their independence and economic growth. Evidence used to support these ideology are obtained from the opening paragraphs where she talks to the first time visitor in Antigua who wonders at the marvels of Mother Nature (the Island and the wonderful climate which is the sun shining above the sky).

The postcolonial period is constantly repeated in the novel by Jamaica Kincaid. For instance, she is quick to question whether the first time visitor remembered to carry their books given the case that there is no library in Antigua. According Kincaid, the library building was destroyed in the early years of 1947 due to an earth quake. The literary analysis of such a statement is that it was damaged after the colonial government. This signifies that there have been no renovation or plans to reconstruct the damaged building even after the imperialists had left the country. There is weight in the rationales presented by the author. For example, it means that many of the Antiguan people have forget the urgency to continue their development as a nation. One would also marvel at the creativity of the author in the sense that they use their words to create the effectiveness of time. For example, she comments about the sign hanged at the entrance of the library which would easily explain to the visitor of the colonial times for the Antigua. For instance, she says that the posts was hanged by the good faith of the British colonialists who wanted to repair the library. However, their exodus from Antigua marked the end of the good things that were promised to her people.

There is the deliberate will in the voice of the author in the sense that they have tried to let the reader think for themselves. Logically, a person understands that the colonial powers were of the economic construction plans. This means that they would want to develop the countries of occupation. Thus, when the earthquake destroyed the Antigua library, the wanted to rebuild the educational facility given its significance to the community. However, their exit marked the end of the developmental plans to the local community. Instead, there came the other class of people known as the smuggler form Arab countries. Clearly, the mention such a group of people gives the impression that Antigua has come a long way from the colonial period. Evidently, for one to build mansions and own large tracks of land in the country, they must have occupied the country for a long period. Conclusively, the author talks of roads were paved for the queens visit during the late years of the 19th century hinting their audience about the post-colonial period and how girlfriends to high end ministers have acquire properties ever since that time through fraudulent means.