"A Small Place" - Innocence of Tourists.

    Jamaica Kincaid's "A Small Place" tends to explain the situation of post-colonial Antigua, her homeland. Between political, cultural and social changes, Antigua has evolved to an island in which not many are aware of its current situation.  "A Small Place" intends to deliver a glimpse of what is Antigua.  It exposes how the tourist is viewed by the locals, also themes and arguments that are of significant to the residents and play part of the history of the island.  In this post I will write about the innocence of the tourist versus the perspective of the local, based on the novel and also from my personal experience.

   Is the tourist being just innocent or ignorant?  Innocence is defined as the lack of knowledge.  But it seems as Kincaid makes it sound like is ignorance, which is another form of lack of knowledge.  The tourists visit Antigua with the expectation of paradise.  They do not know the actual status of the island.  For example, they are not fully aware of the currency. The tourist may be  familiar with the exchange rate, but the locals are the ones responsible for the services.  The tourist may be innocent in the way that they are not familiar with the currency.  Tourist may not be aware that fluctuation on currency can be based on the needs of the local providing the service.  For example, taxi rates can change from one taxi to another.  They come to visit and escape their world and they are willing to pay these differences. 

   In many tropical islands that depend on tourism as Kincaid may state: " A tourist is an ugly human being".  They are a sort of invaders, nevertheless they are part of their economy.  They are ugly because they are ignorant, they do not have knowledge of their culture.  As for example the water quality in the island.  Antigua does not have a fresh water resources, but they distill saltwater so it is of a different quality and besides have a lower water pressure.  They constantly complain about how does the water taste and its pressure, and they do not understand the situation that is going in the island.  This is something they encounter when they arrive at the island and can be considered as ignorance.

   As a local in a Island (Puerto Rico), I can say that I have encountered both innocent and ignorant tourists.  I work daily with tourist from around the world serving them coffee.  My perspective as a local is that a tourist is getting away from their daily routine.  We, the locals that deal directly with the tourist have a privilege position as we are responsible for educating them and teaching them about our lifestyle and culture.  I feel that my job provides me with a satisfaction of informing the common tourist, thus having the opportunity to have an enriched cultural exchange.