"A Small Place" Reflection

Jamaica Kincaid introduces various topics in her first two essays of "A Small Place". Racism and prejudice are two topics that she mentions in many parts of the essays. She basically explains all the things that you would see as a tourist in Antigua. She explains everything in a sort of sarcastic matter letting us know that all the "marvelous" things that the tourists observe in Antigua aren't as amazing as it seems. Kincaid explains how the tourist don't really know what exactly goes on in Antigua and all the hardship that this island goes through. For example there is no proper sewage-disposal system in Antigua. She also describes the tourist as an "ugly human being" who gazes here and there, tasting this and that. Kincaid explains that the tourist are not actually liked at the place that they visit, they are looked at as weird. On the other hand, natives cannot travel like the tourist do, because, according to Kincaid, they are too poor, and they are too poor to escape the reality of their lives. 

Later on in the second essay Jamaica Kincaid starts describing in much detail the Antigua that she knows as a native. Back then Antigua was an English colony. Many places and streets are named after the English. Racism is still a matter in Antigua. The best details are for the "royals", "important people" and for those that work for the government. For example, they paved the roads when the Queen would visit. Also, the doctor that fled Czechoslovakia during the Holocaust did not attend people that would look dirty or smell. He also hated the Antigua natives for the color of their skin. There was much subordination in Antigua. They mistreat those who are not, as I mentioned before, "important" o "royal". 
Puerto Rico can also relate to the details that Jamaica Kincaid introduces in her essays. We are a beautiful island with many problems. We have the best sceneries and beaches yet we are piled up in debt. There is no stable government and no stable way of living. Today we have one thing, tomorrow we may not. Going out is a hazard, we have to watch our back as we witness daily on the news assassinations and violence. Yet again, our island is full of adventure and culture. We do view the tourist in the way Kincaid describes it. We do mock and make fun of them when we see them in Old San Juan or Isla Verde. It's harsh but it's the truth. My suggestion would be that instead of making fun of the tourist when they come to visit Puerto Rico we should show them how beautiful our island is apart from the day to day struggles that we may have.