Analysis

The excerpt from A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid consists in the first pages from a longer book based on Kincaid’s experiences of growing up in Antigua. 

The text has a chronological structure, with occasional use of flashbacks to provide contextual information about Antigua’s history. 

The main character is a Western tourist, addressed throughout the text in the second person as “you”. The tourist is ignorant about Antigua’s problems, and is selfishly determined not to risk their holiday by worrying about issues of poverty and exploitation. 

The physical and social setting are very important to the text. A Small Place is set in Antigua, which is presented both through the eyes of white Western tourists and black Antiguan locals. 

The narrator is a persona of the author, Jamaica Kincaid, who draws on her own experiences of growing up in Antigua. The first-person narrator is a black Antiguan who addresses the reader directly in the second person.

The tone and language of the text is generally angry and sarcastic, using irony and humor to convey the key messages. The narrator also uses several symbols to demonstrate the corruption of the Antiguan government and the tourists’ problematic attitudes. 

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