Persuasive Analysis Of Jamaica Kincaid s A Small Place

Persuasive Methods in A Small Place Jamaica Kincaid’s influential work of nonfiction â€Å"A Small Place† (1988) tells how a once beautiful island in the Caribbean has been transformed into a disgusting holiday resort that is there to only accommodate American and European tourists. Kincaid seeks to inform the readers about the situation and the history of Antigua, and also to remind them of the role they played in the downfall of the small island. Although her tone is full of anger, she does not forget that her first responsibility is to educate. She educates the reader by making the issues personal to them by communicating clearly, and directly to the reader, without forgetting to make the reading enjoyable by making them smirk every once in†¦show more content†¦Almost the whole book is written in the second person, making everything that happens more personal. Using a second person grabs the reader’s attention much more effectively than using a third person would. I believe this is the only way Kincaid thought that the American and British readers would care about what she has to say; there already exist many books about Caribbean history during and after the colonization, but people are still ignorant. In the beginning of the first part of the book, Kincaid describes a tourist’s taxi ride from the V. C. Bird International Airport to their destination, the hotel. Every privileged American or European reader can imagine themselves in the place of the tourist: â€Å"you say, â€Å"Oh, what a marvellous change these bad roads are from the splendid highways I am used to in North America.† (Or, worse, Europe).† (Kincaid 5) By making the reader insert themselves into the story, all the accusations about colonialism and slavery are swallowed more easily. It is almost as if Kincaid’s hand emerged from the pages, grabbed the reader, and placed them in the backseat of the taxi. As Rhonda Frederick said in her e ssay: â€Å"it is significant to note that Kincaid’s writing prevents readers from distancing themselves from the text and her criticisms; on the contrary, it firmly places readers where Kincaid decides they should be.† (Frederick 5-6) Kincaid seeks to create a rift betweenShow MoreRelatedA Small Place Part 3 Rhetorical Analysis1373 Words   |  6 PagesA Small Place Part 3 Rhetorical Analysis A Small Place, a novel written by Jamaica Kincaid, is a story relating to the small country of Antigua and its dilemmas from Jamaica Kincaid’s point of view. In this novel Kincaid is trying to inform her audience that Antigua is in a poor state due to British imperial, government corruption, and tourism. Kincaid exposes her audience to the effect of these very problems in Antigua by using persuasive visual language. In the third part of Jamaica Kincaid’s A