Jamaica Kincaid s Essay A Small Place
In Jamaica Kincaid s essay, A Small Place , she is acknowledges how the Antiguans
hurts themselves, as they fail to see the pathetic irony that exists within their
country. According to Kincaid, the Antiguans see slavery as a time in which a
bunch of ships dropped off slaves, the ancestors of the Antiguans, to work under
brutal conditions for many years. Then, as though it were magic, all of a sudden
the day of emancipation arrives, in the eyes of the ignorant Antiguans, and all the
slaves are freed. As Kincaid notes, the Antiguans speak of emancipation as if it were
yesterday and as if slavery was a recent occurrence to their peoples, when, in
actuality, the slaves were freed roughly one hundred fifty years ago. However, at the
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Within the passage in which Kincaid describes the lack of awareness Antiguans have
regarding their relationship with slavery, emancipation, and ignorance, Kincaid uses
parallel structure and repetition. In describing the misconception the current
Antiguans have about slavery, which something none of the current Antiguans have
experienced firsthand, Kincaid uses parallel structure in the form of a triad to show
the textbook view that the Antiguans have regarding slavery. Kincaid, as she states
how the Antiguans describe slaves, writes: they were beaten, they were murdered,
they were sold . (Kincaid 54) Because, within the descriptions, only standard words
are used to describe slavery in bland, three worded clauses, the existing lack of
connection the current Antiguans have towards slavery is shown, as all emotional
connection with slavery is removed. When describing how commonly Antiguans use
the words emancipation , even though they are detached, the word is used three times
during the course of three sentences, proving how the word has become trite amongst
Antiguans. Because of the clichГ©d words and phrases Kincaid uses, the ignorance
that Antiguans have towards their serious situation is