Counter-travel narrative of resistance: an analysis of Jamaica Kincaid’s a small place as a counter –travel narrative

Abstract

This paper analyses Jamaica Kincaid’s nonfiction travel work A Small Place from a postcolonial perspective in order to demonstrate it as a counter travel narrative against Western centric travelogues. A significant voice in Caribbean literature, Kincaid explores the tenuous relationship between mother and daughter as well as the themes of colonialism in her widely celebrated works of fiction and non-fiction. Her intensely personal, honest and provocative writings have earned her an appreciable place in the literary world. The publication of A Small Place in 1988 and Lucy in 1991 earned her bitter criticisms and reviewers were divided over the angry tone expressed in both works. In A Small Place, described as “an anti-travel narrative”, Kincaid returns to her homeland after 20 years. She writes about post-colonial Antigua discussing problems that took place on the island during the 1980s, particularly addressing the issue of tourism. The article looks into how Kincaid inverts the idea of tourism as a normal and innocent activity by attacking the neo colonisers and revealing the point of view of the natives of Antigua.