Sarcasm is a literary style that employs sharp remarks to taunt certain states of events. The style works in nuances of irony and understatements in literary texts. A small place by Kincaid is a memoir that contains several elements of sarcasm. The publication is an explication of childhood frustrations and worries. The circumstances of Antiguan state in the tourism industry conflicts with the colonial legacy of the era. The concrete terrains of her state are under siege. The new structures lack proper propensity for reformations. The tone that Kincaid uses to portray this theme is sarcastic.
The first essence of this tone emerges in the disdainful expression of the British rule. She heaps blames on colonialism as the key sources of current crimes. She goes ahead to portray tourism as dirty and ugly. She feels that the activity is immoral because of their wrongful use of workers. She ironically presents the abuse that these workers face in the light of tourism. She is sarcastic when she says that the tourists close their eyes to the problems of Antigua and think that is beautiful. In the Japanese makes of cars, “she thinks that the banks give loans on cars but not on houses” (6). She sarcastically blames the white tourists for the downfall in the society. She feels that this is ignorant and unwanted. She terms the tourists using the following words, pastry like- fleshed. Notice her tone in the following excerpt; “ you disembark from your plane since you are a tourist to be frank white- and not an Antiguan black” (4). This sarcastic tone and comparison depicts the ugliness of the tourist when others are dying. The superior all knowing European appears to oppress the Antiguan worker. She says, “You may say, “hmmmm, do you have a formal sheet that lists official prices and destinations?” (5) This highlights the lack of choices that the Antiguan worker experiences. She also frequently uses the word “unreal” when she refers to sceneries. This sarcastic tone in “unreal” creates an ironical sense in Kincaid versus the tourists. One tourist would remark, “What a marvelous change from splendid highways in North America” (5). This is sarcastic since the roads are poor and that hinders development in the region.
In conclusion, the ironical stances and sarcastic remarks are crucial in communicating the angry nature of Kincaid at the tourists. The tone serves as a hit back mechanism to thwart the beautiful allures of the colonizers.
Reference
Kincaid, Jamaica. A Small Place. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000. Print.
