Week 11

The colonist is pure evil


The post colonial era is depicted as a somber and highly depressing atmosphere in the text. We get a sense of resentment toward the British and colonial powers in general as a result of not only the hardship that the Antiguans have experienced from them. Whilst it is true that the colonist is not liked ,the same can be said of other foreigners they are by no means spared the hatred and resentment Antiguans have .This xenophobia however harsh is very well endorsed by the narrator as we get sense of why it is that foreigners are not liked. To start there is the fact that tourists are able to get away from their routine and get away to a land such as Antigua. Antiguans as a result of the robbery that they were subjected to in the past have been left financially crippled and thus they ,but for a select few ,are unable to escape reality in the same way North Americans and Europeans do. The abuse is consistent with the narrator eluding forest to the treatment at the airport upon arrival, Europeans get the the express exit in foreign country, locals returning from their vacations are padded down and extorted as airport officials look to deplete them o much needed cheap goods from overseas. This already paints a clear picture as to why this so called resentment exists. The Europeans left Antigua battered and depleted to the point where simple things such as clothes and food supplies are grossly overpriced. So for an Antiguan to go back to the colonial power to try and make cheaper purchases, only to be subjected to an uphill battle when he returns to his country after attempting to salvage some pride by taking back what was once his is only going to amplify this resentment.” You disembark off your plane .You go through customs. Since you are a tourist ,a North American or a Europeans -to be quite frank ,white -and not Antiguan black returning to Antigua from Europe or North America with cardboard boxes of much needed cheap clothes and food for relatives you move through customs swiftly, you move through customs with ease.” By returning with these goods from oversees the Antiguan is seizing, or at leas attempting to reclaim pride by taking something from the colonist the same way that Europeans robbed them in the past. The sense of salvation is short-lived though as a result of the tribes and tribulations experienced at such an airport .An airport that is very much still run by the colonist as a result of the brainwashing and mis-education that customs officials have pounded into them. Customs are a product of the British government and through meticulous brainwashing are the British in disguise. They subject Antiguans ,who are supposed to be of the same nationality to hardship in the same manner the British did. Robbing them of necessities such as food and clothing ,taking resources without asking much n the same way the colonist does. To summarize the colonist is evil he has left his victim(Antigua) victimized and depleted and furthermore he has taken a small percentage of the population and corrupted it with the colonial ideologies of greed and snatching.