Moral Responsibility
What moral choice does Kincaid imply tourists make when they ignore the suffering of locals?
Choosing comfort over conscience.
What does “epistemic injustice” mean in the context of Kincaid’s book?
The unfair dismissal or silencing of certain people’s knowledge and experience.
What does “willful ignorance” mean?
Choosing not to know or acknowledge uncomfortable truths.
How is tourism a continuation of colonialism in Antigua?
It keeps economic and cultural power in foreign hands.
What is the effect of Kincaid’s second-person “you”?
It directly implicates the reader.
How does Kincaid connect the tourist’s pleasure to the Antiguan’s pain?
She suggests that tourism depends on inequality and historical exploitation.
How does Kincaid show that outsiders misunderstand Antigua?
Through the tourist’s inability to see past surface beauty to real history.
How does Kincaid describe tourists’ awareness of local suffering?
They see it but choose not to feel responsible.
What colonial imagery does Kincaid evoke to describe the tourist’s gaze?
The island as an object to be consumed or possessed.
How does Kincaid’s tone differ from traditional travel writing?
It’s accusatory and moral rather than romantic or descriptive.
What responsibility does Kincaid think former colonizers have toward the nations they once ruled?
To acknowledge ongoing harm and take accountability rather than feign innocence.
What power dynamic shapes whose story gets told about Antigua?
The colonial legacy that privileges Western voices over Antiguans’.
Why is ignorance “willful” rather than accidental in tourism?
Because tourists actively avoid confronting injustice to protect their comfort.
How does the infrastructure of Antigua reveal colonial legacies?
Through decaying public services and foreign-owned resorts.
How does her narrative style reflect decolonization?
It reclaims voice and authority from colonial narratives.
What moment in the text highlights the tourist’s blindness as a moral failing?
When Kincaid describes tourists marveling at beauty while passing a run-down hospital.
How does Kincaid reclaim authority over Antigua’s narrative?
By using direct, confrontational second-person narration.
How does Kincaid’s tone force readers to confront their own willful ignorance?
By breaking politeness and making readers feel accused.
How does Kincaid describe the relationship between Antigua’s beauty and its exploitation?
The beauty hides a history of oppression and economic dependence.
Why does Kincaid blur the line between “you” as tourist and “you” as reader?
To show that complicity isn’t limited to literal travelers.
How does Kincaid’s accusatory “you” function as a call to moral responsibility?
It forces readers to see themselves implicated in unjust global systems.
What is the role of education and history in perpetuating epistemic injustice?
Colonial education distorts the past and shapes how locals and tourists perceive reality.
How does willful ignorance connect to colonial mindsets?
It mirrors colonizers’ denial of harm and justification of exploitation.
How does tourism commodify Antiguan identity?
It turns culture into a product for outsiders’ enjoyment.
How does her style challenge epistemic injustice?
It centers a colonized voice and refuses to cater to Western comfort.