Jamaica Kincaid “A Small Place” Part One Response

 Tyler Berg

3/23/2021

3:30PM-5:00PM

Jamaica Kincaid “A Small Place” Part One Response

“A Small Place” by Jamaica Kincaid was published in 1988 as a piece of creative nonfiction. Part one of this intriguing book is all about what a tourist would see if they visited the small island of Antigua. It provides meaningful insight on not just the tourist’s experience but about what local life and how they view tourists as well.

It explains what tourists see as they arrive in such great detail that it provides ethos. For example Kincaid talks about a tourist arriving at the airport. She explains how they move through customs so quickly because they are tourists. She tells of how none of the nice fancy cars that came from Japan run very well because they all use leaded gasoline and don’t even know what unleaded is. She explains all of the mansions the tourists would see on their way to the airport and who owns them in detail that only someone who lived there could have. All of these details show that Kincaid has personal experience with the place as a native.

I also like when she uses logic to deduct and prove that the normal residents of Antigua don’t really like the tourists. She talks about how Antigua is a very dry place and she explains that the tourists use lots of water and aren't careful to preserve it like the natives of the area are. This shows logos and pathos very well because she logically explains the reasons for the dislike, and shows how the people feel about it. She tells us that they feel jealous because they will never be able to go on vacation because they are too poor.

All of these techniques of description and narrative create a great part one of Kincaid's book and really make me want to continue reading. They also accurately portray how regionalism in this area is affected by the “urban nomad.” It leaves me excited to see what perspective Kincaid uses in the next section.