The Outsider
What is the name of the protagonist in The Outsider?
Meursault
What is the name of the male protagonist in Snow Country?
Shimamura
What is the name of the island where A Small Place is set?
Antigua
Which two protagonists struggle with emotional detachment?
Meursault (The Outsider) and Shimamura (Snow Country)
In The Outsider, what does the sun symbolize?
Discomfort, fate, and Meursault’s emotional detachment
What crime does Meursault commit?
Murder
Who is the geisha with whom Shimamura has an affair?
Komako
Who does Jamaica Kincaid directly address in the book?
The tourist (or reader)
How does A Small Place and The Outsider challenge societal norms?
By criticizing colonialism (A Small Place) and rejecting conventional morality (The Outsider)
In A Small Place, what does the decaying library represent?
The decline of Antigua’s culture and education due to colonial neglect
How does Meursault react to his mother’s death at the beginning of the novel
With indifference (or lack of emotional response)
What is the setting of Snow Country, and why is it significant?
A remote hot spring town in Japan, symbolizing isolation and emotional detachment
How does Kincaid describe the post-colonial government of Antigua?
Corrupt and incompetent
How do the settings in Snow Country and The Outsider reflect the protagonists' emotions?
The cold, isolated mountain region reflects Shimamura’s detachment, while the harsh sun represents Meursault’s indifference
In Snow Country, what does the snow symbolize?
Beauty, purity, and emotional coldness or detachment
Which philosophical concept is central to The Outsider and Camus’ works
Absurdism
What event at the end of Snow Country serves as a climactic moment and symbolic resolution?
The fire at the warehouse (where Shimamura sees a woman fall and realizes his own emotional detachment)
How does Kincaid connect the past British colonization of Antigua to its present struggles?
Through the lingering effects of exploitation, racism, and economic dependency
How do A Small Place and Snow Country explore the theme of escapism?
Through the tourists’ blind enjoyment in Antigua (A Small Place) and Shimamura’s romanticized view of geishas (Snow Country)
How do mirrors function symbolically in Snow Country?
They represent the theme of illusion vs. reality, reflecting characters’ self-deception
In the final moments of the novel, what does Meursault accept about life
The inevitability of death and the meaninglessness of life
What Western art form does Shimamura study and romanticize?
Western ballet
How does Kincaid use the second-person narrative style to emphasize her message?
By making the reader feel personally implicated in colonialism and its effects
How do The Outsider, A Small Place, and Snow Country all critique societal structures in different ways?
By exposing the absurdity of justice (The Outsider), colonial oppression (A Small Place), and emotional repression in traditional Japanese society (Snow Country)
What does the trial in The Outsider symbolize in terms of society’s judgment?
Society’s need to impose meaning on life and punish nonconformity