When we think about tone in Jamaica Kincaid's work, A Small Place, our thoughts do not immediately occupy a space of warmth and comfort. Consider the opening sentence, "If you go to Antigua as a tourist this is what you will see."

The tone seems to be more commanding than inviting. There does not seem to be room for our own observations, instead we are told what we will see.

The next lines of the text do not describe the beautiful imagery or the notable sites of this exotic Caribbean Island, but instead directs our attention to the naming of an airport. 

So then, tone in literary works sets a mood and helps us know how to interpret the writing and also how to relate to it. Are we drawn in as a reader, or are we distanced by the overall tone of the work? Do we feel welcome in this narrative or do we feel distanced, possibly like a guilty intruder?

Remember that any emotion humans experience can be an example of tone in literature. Let's think of a list of emotions...humorous, sad, solemn, intimate, distant, arrogant, sentimental, blaming, serious....

The author creates tone by using other literary devices to help us feel humorous, sad, sentimental, intimate, serious, etc. Diction (word choice) can be a powerful literary device that determines tone. Imagery is another.

Jamaica's first sentence could have read like this, "When you come to visit Antigua, you will enter our small airport and feel a comforting warm breeze." This version still uses the pronoun "You," but softens it and makes it more inviting by adding the descriptor of "a comforting warm breeze." 

When you observe any passage in A Small Place, consider how the author uses literary devices together to create the tone (or feeling) you are experiencing.

In contrast to Two Old Women, Jamaica Kincaid's narrative does not have tangible, distinctly present characters or a story-line. How did this change make you feel? What kind of emotion are you experiencing as the narrative goes forward?