Setting

Physical setting

The physical setting of Jamaica Kincaid’s A Small Place is the island of Antigua, which is part of the two-island country Antigua & Barbuda. The setting is described in detail from the perspectives of both the tourist and the Antiguan narrator. 

The tourist sees only the positive side of Antigua, for example focusing on the hot weather. The tourist sees Antigua as a place “where the sun always shines and where the climate is deliciously hot and dry for the four to ten days you are going to be staying there.” (p. 179, ll. 18-20). Similarly, the tourist is amazed by how beautiful the beaches are: 

Far out, to the horizon, the colour of the water is navy blue; nearer, the water is the colour of the North American sky. From there to the shore, ...