This writing starts off as the narrator is step by step going over what happens when a tourists goes to visit Antigua. Kincaid talks of how people venturing to her home country are naïve to see the sights in one way when really there is another point of view that they should be seeing the sights in. For example, a tourist will take a cab in expensive Japanese car and wonder if the cab driver also owns an expensive house. When in reality, the government will fund loans for cars easily, but not so easily for houses and so the natives of Antigua don’t have houses in the best shape. Kincaid then reminisces of when England had control of their country and her dislike for Queen Victoria. Tourists will worship Queen Victoria and believe she did good in the world, but to the Antigua natives May 24th-Queen Victoria’s birthday-is a reminder that she has passed.
I enjoyed reading this writing by Jamaica Kincaid. It was set up in a way that I don’t believe I have ever read before. The way she would say the word “you” in a way that you could tell she has a let of resentment for the tourists really caught my attention. There was a lot of emotion and fact that was hard to miss. She would say that the doctor wasn’t racist, the school headmistress wasn’t racist, the English were racist, but you could tell by how she was saying these that she felt and knew they were racist.
You look lost. You looked confused. And you should. This is dangerous territory. Anyone can get angry at the smallest glance. If you count wrong, you don’t answer the phone fast enough. Don’t even think about wasting a few precious moments to run to the bathroom. No, you don’t get that luxury. So, don’t look at me confused. Get out there and fill those prescriptions. Speak to those insurance companies about the rejected claims. You will have to toughen up. You might think this is easy, but it’s not. Some of these drugs people depend their lives on. If you don’t have it in stock, you’re screwed and they’re screwed. Those drug addicts you might have noticed from high school or at parties that twitch and jitter around uncontrollably, they’ll be there. They will want the drugs and they will expect you to provide them those drugs. What’s worse is, you will have to deny them of those drugs and get the repercussions. You might not belong here. You will get tired, frustrated, angry, but you won’t be able to do anything about it. It’s get tough or move on. Pharmacy is risky business.