Tourism as a neo-colonial structure
In the first section of A Small Place, Kincaid employs the perspective of the tourist in order to demonstrate the inherent escapism in creating a distance from the realities of a visited place. Nadine Dolby dissects the theme of tourism in A Small Place and places Kincaid's depiction of tourism in a globalized context that justifies Kincaid's strong feelings toward it.[4] Dolby corroborates Kincaid's depiction of the tourist creating separation by "othering" the locale and the individuals that inhabit it. Furthermore, the tourist industry is linked to a global economic system that ultimately does not translate into benefits for the very Antiguans who enable it.
The tourist may experience the beauty on the surface of Antigua while being wholly ignorant of the actual political and social conditions that the Antiguan tourism industry epitomizes and reinforces.[5] Corinna McLeod points out the disenfranchising nature of the tourism industry in its reinforcement of an exploitative power structure. In effect, the industry recolonizes Antigua by placing locals at a disenfranchised and subservient position in a global economic system that ultimately does not serve them.[6]
Racism and legacies of colonialism
While Kincaid expresses anger towards slavery, colonialism and the broken Antiguan identity that it has left in its wake, she avoids retreating to simple racialization in order to explain the past and present, for doing so would further "other" an already marginalized group of people.[5] Kincaid sheds light on the oppressive hierarchical structures of colonialism, which is still evident in the learned power structures of present-day, post-colonial Antigua.
Poverty and Corruption
One of the biggest critiques Kincaid makes about Antigua as an independent state is the corruption of the Antiguan Government. The withdrawal of European colonization left Antigua in a state of poverty and corruption.[7] Kincaid’s frustration with the Antiguan government was made clear throughout the novel, specifically when she referenced a library as a symbol of her perpetual resentment towards colonization and decolonization. Although destroyed by an earthquake in 1974, the library lacked reconstruction over a decade later. In addition to this, Kincaid makes references towards illegal activities that the Antiguan Government was involved in such as drug smuggling, prostitution, and offshore bank accounts in Switzerland. In Kincaid’s novel, poverty and corruption are seen as products of Europe’s colonization and decolonization of Antigua.
According to academic Suzanne Gauch, while Kincaid acknowledges the racial justifications used by white colonists to institute oppressive policies during Antigua's colonial era, she also attempts to transcend the notions of an inescapable racialized past for Antigua. In doing so she attempts to shape readers’ view of Antigua by creating a sense of agency.[5]
