Reflection: Two Small Places, Different Identities

In " A Small Place " we see the point of view of the author whose feelings are a bit rebellious about the vision that tourists have on her native island, Antigua. Jamaica Kincaid shows us through her book, the differences between the vision we have of a place from a tourist’s point of view and that of a native. As Puerto Ricans we might feel identified with her, because we also live on an island and also share the same experience: colonization. Although Antigua was decolonized, culture and identity of its inhabitants suffered the effects of contact with a colonizing nation, like the effects it has had the culture and identity of Puerto Ricans. Precisely identity is what Peter Roberts speaks about in "The Roots of Caribbean Identity”. I consider that Antigua as well as Puerto Rico, suffered largely on one aspect of the identity that is known as political identity. I think this because, as Roberts tells us, it has much to do with the instinct of territoriality that we human beings feel. We make a connection with the place where we live, and considering that our territories have been invaded at some point, the colonizing nations have influenced our relationship with our territories. England 's influence on inhabitants of Antigua, has made the relationship of the author with his island a one full of reproaches. This is because the author blames the English colonization for the problems of Antigua.Through the comparison between a tourist and a native, Kincaid says that tourists do not see the reality of the ones that live there. People that just go to visit, only see the good things about Antigua and she refers to them repeatedly with the phrase "you are on your holiday, you are a tourist," meaning that they appreciate just the good things that Antigua can provides them and they does not think how hard it can be for those who live there. That resentment felt by the author to the difficulty of life for people living in Antigua, represents his anger toward colonization. This compares with the rage and helplessness felt by many Puerto Ricans to the United States. Many people feel that their identity has been hit by the nations that have colonized our islands, Antigua and Puerto Rico, and have stolen part of the essence of what it means to be a native of these islands. Honestly I think it all depends on each person, because as Peter Roberts says in his book, identity can be identified using many different universal criteria, so many factors can determine the identity of a person. We can find people who believe that if any of these factors has been affected, their identity has been changed, while others may simply think that their identity still the same.