Analyzing jamaica kincaid

Wilda Irizarry Toro
INGL3112-Advanced English Class
May 18,2011

Jamaica Kincaid in her essay A small place writes about the Antiguan government tourist industry and the legacy left by the British in Antigua.On her other essay On seeing England fir the first time she writes about England with great hostility .In both essays the reader can feel the hatred and the anger the author feels towardEngland colonialism and it effects. Throughout the essay a small place, she points a picture of emotions she has about slave trading and the erasing of a culture that is native to Antigua.Kincaid also uses many literary devices like metaphor to strengthen her voice on a event that dominated a great part of her life. The statement mention earlier reflects on her essay On seeing England fir thefirst time because we can read through her essay how an invasion of one's homeland can create an atmosphere that can change a person's point of view of life forever. Jamaica Kincaid also uses literary devices in this essay such as diction and repetition in order to portray her distasteful attitude towards England domination of Antigu , whch is th recurring theme in both of her essays.In the begginingof the essay,Kincaid writes about England with rembrence of her childhod.Althought it sounds like adulation when she states that England is a "special jewel alright ,and only special people got to wear it"(),her sarcastic voice is evident here when she uses "special"and " alright".The use of those words highlith her true feelings of England.She does not feel that England is actually all thatspecial and precious like people tend to believe.Even though only a certain few enjoy England , it is apparent that this idea does not apply Kincaid.In a small place she writes "And so everyone they went they turn into England , and everybody they met turned into England(24).The reader can detect a disgusted and fierce hatred tone from the author because she is writing how her native home is beingstripped of its unique culture and how Britain repalce it with their own .Even Antiguan children were forced to study and memorize English history,literature,culture.Kincaid was deeply upset by England actions,this become obvious in her writing.Her anger seems endlees as she points an offending finger at England.
Going back to her childhood memory again ,in On seeing England...Kincaid remebers themap of England and how it could not really look like anything "so familiar as a leg of mutton because it was England"().This demostration of flawed circular ideas and reasoning represents the bigger picture .It reveals Kincaid's bitterness of this whole idea bare worshiping England rather than opposing and scorning it .After the teacher speaks of England with all seriousness and adoration,Kincaidstates how she is “meant” to understand that England is the source of “reality…what was meaningful…[and] what was meaningless”().The use of “meant”emphazises that she does not actually believe so.Althought her state ment seem imbed in such praise and honor being the founfation pf practically her whole life.The life of the Antiguans are only structured around the English way and not their originaland natural culture, but Kincaid id not like that at all.
It is importsnt to point out that on a small place she flashes back to when she was younger and she enjoyed reading, in fact she spent most of her childhood in the public library.She first learn to read in English and she beats herself up over it because it is the language of the white man. She feels alienated from both being not completelyAntiguan and not completely European because of the color of her skin, Kincaid became frustrated an d bitter because of this dilemma. The author wrote in this essay about the colonial history of her island Antigua, she suggests that tourism has a direct link in what is causing Antigua problems. She is conveying that tourism is a sort of neocolonialism because they are invading her island just...