Part One: In this section, Kincaid speaks directly to the reader. She refers to the reader as "you" and describes the experiences of a tourist of Antigua. She begins with landing in the airport and follows the tourist through their stay in Antigua. In this section, Kincaid emphasizes the idea that "A tourist is an ugly human being" (14). Kincaid emphasizes how the tourism industry perpetuates systems of inequality in Antigua and forces Antiguans to act as servants to white tourists. She also notes how tourists just observe things at face value and do not gain a real understanding of Antigua. Kincaid suggests that tourists are oblivious to reality and use vacations as a way to escape the boredom of their own lives, which is something natives cannot do because they are too poor. "When the natives see you, the tourist, they envy you, they envy your ability to leave your own banality and boredom, they envy your ability to turn their own banality and boredom into a source of pleasure for yourself" (19).
Part Two: In the second section, Kincaid reflects on the Antigua she grew up in. She starts the section by saying, "The Antigua that I knew, the Antigua in which I grew up, is not the Antigua you, a tourist, would see now. That Antigua no longer exists" (23). Kincaid is referring to colonial Antigua, which was part of the British Empire until 1981.[4] Kincaid reflects on how the British attempted to turn Antigua into England by naming streets after Englishmen, setting up British institutions such as Barclays Bank, and forcing Antiguan children to learn about British history in school. Kincaid critiques Barclays for having ties to slavery. She also introduces the Mill Reef Club, a private club set up for tourists and white residents of Antigua that banned locals except for those who were employed as servants. She also reflects on when the Princess of England visited Antigua and the large spectacle that was made for her arrival. This section ends with a scathing critique of British actions in Antigua and explains how the imperial legacy is still affecting Antigua even after independence.
Part Three: In this section, Kincaid contemplates post-colonial Antigua. She discusses government corruption and focuses on the desire to repair the library. She also critiques the idea of a Minister of Culture. Kincaid also contends with slavery and its legacy in Antigua. She critiques the way people speak of and remember slavery and act as if emancipation undid all of the issues created by slavery.
This section also explains the significance of the title: A Small Place. Kincaid explains that Antigua is a small place not only physically but in the sense that it is interconnected within the community. Despite being a small place, Antigua is subject to a lot of foreign investment and intervention which Kincaid critiques and ties to much of the corruption in post-colonial Antigua. She discusses the drug industry, Swiss banking, French governmental aid, Japanese car dealerships, and Syrian and Lebanese investors.
Part Four: The fourth section is quite short. In this section, Kincaid discusses the almost unnatural beauty of Antigua. She emphasizes the idea that Antigua is "a small place" (80). She summarizes the history of Antigua saying how it was discovered by Columbus in 1493 leading to colonization and then eventually independence. She refers to the European people who settled in Antigua, specifically the British, as "human rubbish from Europe" (80). She also states how the real Antiguans are descendants of slaves.
