“And so everywhere they went, turned into England; and everybody they met they turned into English. But no place could ever really be England, and nobody who did not look exactly like them would ever be English, so you can imagine the destruction of people and land that came from that” (24).
This passage in Kincaid’s A Small Place shows the struggle that Antigua has experienced since the English departure from power in their land. They have felt the effects of the rule of England, and simply being ruled by others who don’t understand the culture and people in their homeland. While there, the English, as the passage states, tried to convert everywhere to England, taking their English ways and imposing them onto the rest of the world. This idea of the English imposing their ways and trends to another part of the world is a signifier of globalization, and can actually relate to a “flat” world as described by Friedman as well.
“When I set sail, so to speak, I too assumed that the world was round, but what I encountered in the real India profoundly shook my faith in that notion. Columbus accidentally ran into America but thought he had discovered part of India. I actually found India and thought many of the people in met there were Americans. Some had actually taken American names, and others were doing great imitations of American accents at call centers and American business techniques at software labs” (The World Is Flat, 5).
Friedman describes globalization in this passage when he discusses the similarities he found in India that relate to signifiers of America. Especially relevant are the common names he found, as well as the accents that many workers had adapted at call centers in India. Later in the work, Friedman mentions that the globalization is a good thing in the Indian culture. This globalization leveled the playing field for Indian workers, and allowed them to compete for global work positions. It allows for a more balanced world with greater opportunities worldwide for workers who formerly had no chance. The world being flat is a direct metaphor to this leveling of the global playing field, allowing for more interchangeability between workers from al over the world.
I did not notice the similarities between these two passages until you pointed them out. It seems like the main difference between the Antiguans and the Indians is that the Antiguans did not choose to take on the English culture, while the Indians purposely imitated American culture in order to compete for jobs.
ReplyDeleteYour post just further proves that globalization can be a positive or negative outlook. It also proves that some countries do not have a choice and that globalization just takes over. Other countries purposely choose to take on the role of the American culture to benefit themselves economically. I think that in some countries globalization has created a form of competition. People and companies are able to prosper because of the competition that creates more dedication and understanding of tasks.
ReplyDeleteWhen colonization happens I don't believe the colonizers genuinely think of those who are being colonized. Maybe they think they are doing good in colonizing them and forcing their ideologies upon them and forcing them to assimilate. Did they ever think that maybe they enjoyed their lives the way it was? Did thy ever put into consideration that the way they lived, their lifestyle was all they needed, not to be colonized by foreigners who they knew nothing about.
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