Experiencing a book starts with the moment you grab it for the first time. As I held the book to start my reading, I found it to be really short. This surprised me since I thought that a story about a journey, tourists and experiences should have great loads of details in it. I wouldn't have imagined that such a concise book had so many vivid details and emotions. As the reader starts the novel, he or she are set in a plane watching the island of Antigua from great heights. "As your plane descends to land, you might say, What a beautiful island Antigua is-- more beautiful than any of the other islands you have seen..."
The author harshly criticizes the tourists' ignorance towards the reality of the island. She states problems far beyond the beautiful beaches, dirt roads and sunny days. She talks about colonialism, poverty, government corruption, drought and racism. She talks about how people drive expensive cars, yet the gas they have available is the wrong kind. She states that this happens because banks are encouraged by the government to make loans available for cars due to the fact the two main car dealerships are owned by ministers in the government. So she gives us a clear examples where corruption and poverty are clearly seen.
She also talks about how when she was growing up Antigua was rule over by England and that racism was everywhere from school to public places. At the time she just thought that the English were simply rude people, her innocent mind couldn't grasp the idea of people being racists. As she says this I start to agree with her that tourists forget to question the story behind the place they are visiting; that I myself have acted as an ignorant towards other countries. I feel she is talking to me personally when she says: "Oh, but you are on holiday and the sight of these brand-new cars driven by people who may or may not have really passed their driving test would not really stir up these thoughts in you." This book is a revelation to our way of thinking and acting once we leave the comfort of our homes. We must never forget that the place we are visiting is someone else's home and country. That the complexity of the problems these people live everyday shouldn't be ignored just because we want to have a nice relaxing week. In order to enjoy the good, we must also understand the bad.
She also talks about how when she was growing up Antigua was rule over by England and that racism was everywhere from school to public places. At the time she just thought that the English were simply rude people, her innocent mind couldn't grasp the idea of people being racists. As she says this I start to agree with her that tourists forget to question the story behind the place they are visiting; that I myself have acted as an ignorant towards other countries. I feel she is talking to me personally when she says: "Oh, but you are on holiday and the sight of these brand-new cars driven by people who may or may not have really passed their driving test would not really stir up these thoughts in you." This book is a revelation to our way of thinking and acting once we leave the comfort of our homes. We must never forget that the place we are visiting is someone else's home and country. That the complexity of the problems these people live everyday shouldn't be ignored just because we want to have a nice relaxing week. In order to enjoy the good, we must also understand the bad.
I think the same way you did about the shortness of the book, but I was surprised by most of the lines through the first two sections we have to read. I totally agree with you when you says that we must never forget that the place we are visit is someone's else home and country. I think we must search information about the country we are going to visit and became an outsider insider this way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say, "The author harshly criticizes the tourists' ignorance towards the reality of the island". This is true, but I also think the author may have a point too.
ReplyDelete