Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Little Bee, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Refugee Experience
Cross-Cultural Relationships
Horror and Trauma
Moral Compromise and Self-Interest
Identity and Fear
Summary
Analysis
The policemen arrive five minutes later. Little Bee is nervous, because she knows deportation could mean death for her. The policeman who talks to her is neither cruel nor kind, but seems no more than a blank face. Little Bee realizes that he will not understand the gravity of arresting her and deporting her; it will only seem a simple action to him. When the policeman demands Little Bee tell him her name, she tries to run but he immediately catches her by the arm and puts her in the back of the police car. When he asks Little Bee her name again, she just tells him “Little Bee.” The policeman arrests her and they drive away.
The policeman’s blank persona suggests that often, the actors in an unjust immigration system are only regular people who do not understand the full implications of what they are doing. In the policeman’s mind, deporting an immigrant is simply protocol, not a decision that could potentially cost a human being their life. While this does not absolve such people of responsibility, it does lead the reader to have a more nuanced understanding of them.
Themes
Sarah and Lawrence visit Little Bee in a holding cell that evening. Lawrence tries to convince one of the policeman not to deport her and suggests he will make an appeal through the Home Office. The policeman suggests that Lawrence risks his position in the Home Office even by knowing about Little Bee’s immigration status, and Lawrence gives up. Sarah sits in the cell with Little Bee and cries and tells Bee that she’ll keep trying to save her. Little Bee suggests to Sarah that she is not worth helping and explains how she did not save Andrew. Although Sarah is surprised, she is not angry. As the guard leads Sarah out of the cell, she remarks that she did not save Andrew either.
Once again, Lawrence folds quickly to pressure once his career is threatened, suggesting that he is more interested in his own well-being than in Little Bee’s or even Sarah’s, since Little Bee obviously means a great deal to her. Sarah’s recognition that she did not do enough to save Andrew suggests that although she did not kill him, she bears her own guilt for watching him sink into depression without trying to help him.
Themes
At four in the morning, officers retrieve Little Bee from her cell and load her into a van. They put her in a different holding cell, and three days later drive Little Bee to Heathrow Airport and deposit her into a room with 20 other frightened refugees from various countries. The guard watching them is vicious and condescending towards the refugees. Little Bee waits for hours, faint from hunger and thirst. Occasionally one or two people’s names are called and they are removed from the room. Little Bee tries to maintain her good humor, but she cries with fear.
While the policeman that arrested Little Bee was not cruel, the guard standing over the refugees is, suggesting that although not every person involved in the immigration system is mean-spirited or wishes ill upon refugees, some of them don’t have the best of intentions, allowing their prejudice to influence their work.
Themes
Eventually, an officer calls Little Bee’s name and marches her, handcuffed, out of the room and straight to a waiting airplane, where she is seated in the back row next to a guard in plainclothes. The man unlocks her handcuffs and apologizes; he doesn’t like this process any more than Little Bee does. Little Bee asks him why he doesn’t change jobs, but the man believes it’s the only job he’s qualified for at this point of his life. He thinks Little Bee is probably more employable than he is, and thinks it a shame they’re sending her away. The guard also explains that he earns enough, but the private “Dutch firms” that run the detention centers and the deportation process make real money; it doesn’t matter to them whether a refugee is detained or deported—“It’s the global economy.”
Little Bee’s guard on the airplane is kind, again suggesting that not all people working within the immigration are mean-spirited. The guard’s admission that he needs the job and statement that private firms profit off of refugees suggests that the for-profit immigration system treats refugees like inventory to be stored or moved, rather than like human beings. When profit is involved, it seems unlikely that the immigration system could ever be just, since someone will always be looking to increase their bottom line.
Themes
Get the entire Little Bee LitChart as a printable PDF.
This is the first airplane Little Bee has been on, and the roar of the engines during take-off frightens her. However, once they’re in the air she hears a familiar voice and turns to see Charlie and Sarah standing in the aisle. The guard makes room for them, and Sarah holds Little Bee and explains that they just couldn’t leave her. The plane lands in Abuja and military police are waiting for Little Bee, but Sarah holds her hand and firmly states that she is a British journalist and will report anything that they do. The police are too afraid to take Little Bee, so they let them leave, though not without sending officers to follow them at a distance. Sarah promises Little Bee she’ll never leave her side, and Little Bee will be safe.
Sarah’s decision to follow Little Bee to Nigeria indicates that she quit her job and left Lawrence behind. This suggests that Sarah realizes she must sacrifice the things that make up her carefully crafted identity in order to selflessly love Little Bee. However, while they are in Nigeria, Sarah leverages her identity as a white journalist to protect Little Bee, which demonstrates that identity can be put to good uses as well, rather than purely self-interested ones.
Themes
Little Bee, Sarah, and Charlie stay in a hotel for two weeks. Every day, the military police wait in a car outside. Little Bee marvels at Abuja’s skyscrapers and modern buildings; she did not know that a city like this could exist in her own country. Sarah tells Little Bee that she wants to collect stories from other refugees like her. If only one person has a story, they’re easy to suppress, but many stories can become a weapon—Sarah can arrange with a lawyer so that if Little Bee ever disappears, the stories will be released to the media.
Sarah not only follows Little Bee back to Nigeria but determines how to put her professional skills to good use, which signifies a major change in Sarah’s life: at the start of the story, Sarah was preoccupied with maintaining her lifestyle and curated identity as fashion editor and working mother; now, Sarah forgoes the comforts of home to try and help other people.
Themes
Little Bee hesitates at first, but agrees to help Sarah gather refugee stories. Sarah bribes the military police each day and they allow Little Bee, Sarah, and Charlie to leave the hotel, so long as they are back by nightfall. Sarah drives around Southeast Nigeria so that Little Bee can meet people and introduce them to Sarah, vouching for her good character so they will share their stories with her. The work goes well. However, one night Little Bee dreams of Nkiruka rising out of the ocean, speaking Little Bee’s name and listening for a reply. In the morning, Little Bee tells Sarah that she wants to go back to the beach where Nkiruka died, to say goodbye.
Little Bee and Sarah’s collaboration on gathering refugee stories models the mutual benefit a cross-cultural relationship can provide. As a Nigerian, Little Bee is able to grant Sarah access to people and villages she would otherwise not be able to reach. As a British woman and journalist with important connections, Sarah can distribute these people’s stories to the world, raise awareness, and fight for their protection and restoration.
Themes
The next morning, Sarah gives the military police an extra-large bribe so that they will allow them to leave for a few days. Sarah, Charlie, and Little Bee drive further south for two days until they reach the coastline, dotted with fishing villages. Little Bee and Sarah stand on the beach and look out over the sea while Charlie in his Batman costume plays with Nigerian children in the sand. Sarah asks Little Bee how she would describe this moment to “the girls back home,” but Little Bee says she is giving up that life; there is no more of it to return to. Sarah and Charlie are her life now. Little Bee thanks Sarah for saving her life, and they cry together.
Little Bee’s decision to give up her past life suggests that she intends to commit fully to her new life with Sarah and Charlie. While this is seems better than being forever caught between two worlds, Little Bee maintains her name as Little Bee, which hides her past. This suggests that although it may seem a positive step, Little Bee will not have peace until she is able to live by her real name and true identity.
Themes
In the hot afternoon sun, they sit together and Little Bee drifts off to sleep. She dreams that Sarah and Charlie stay with her and make Nigeria their new home, and that she herself becomes a journalist. However, Sarah shakes Little Bee awake and tells her that she needs to leave. Soldiers with rifles are coming down the beach, obviously searching. The policemen in Abuja must’ve sold them out. Sarah knows they will be looking for the girl traveling with the white woman, so she tells Little Bee to wander down the beach and disappear amongst the other Nigerian faces. Charlie wants to go with Little Bee, but Sarah explains to him that Little Bee must hide so she can be “happy and safe.”
Little Bee’s dream is the first time she recounts having a vision for her future, since thus far all of her energy has been dedicated to simply surviving the present. Little Bee’s dream of making a home in Nigeria with Charlie and Sarah and becoming a journalist suggests that she is beginning to recover from some of her trauma, which a major character development for someone whose life is defined by trauma and horror.
Themes
Little Bee walks a few minutes up the beach and seats herself next to a group of women. From a distance, she sees the soldiers notice Sarah’s white skin and approach her. Sarah holds Charlie behind her while the soldier’s shout and point rifles at her. Suddenly, Charlie breaks away and starts running toward where Little Bee is hidden. Sarah screams. One of the soldiers aims his rifle and shoots at Charlie, striking the sand behind him. As the soldier takes aim again, Little Bee sprints towards them screaming that she is the person they are hunting. Little Bee runs, waiting for a bullet to strike her. Instead, the soldiers lower their rifles. Little Bee and Charlie meet each other and she scoops him up in her arms.
Little Bee’s choice to expose herself as a wanted woman to save Charlie’s life mirrors her decision to reveal herself to the police by calling them to help find Charlie. Although Little Bee claims to be selfish like Lawrence, in both instances Little Bee sacrifices her own safety and identity to protect Charlie, which suggests that she is not motivated by self-interest like Lawrence or Andrew, but primarily motivated by her love for Charlie.
Themes
Little Bee holds Charlie tight while he cries in terror. Sarah screams while one of the soldiers restrains her, though the leader only stands and gazes at Little Bee; Little Bee realizes he is giving her this last moment, “as one human being to another.” Little Bee pulls Charlie’s mask up so they can smile at each other. She realizes that even if she is not free, Charlie will be, and some part of herself will survive in him. Rather than feel sad, Little Bee feels light and joyful. Charlie sees the other children playing on the beach. He giggles and kicks and struggles to be put down.
Little Bee’s realization that Charlie can be free in her place suggests that she is willing to sacrifice her identity as Little Bee, which kept her alive for more than two years, in order to love Charlie and give him the chance to live. Little Bee’s sacrifice suggests that although an identity may help a person hide or survive, that self-protective impulse prevents them from selflessly love other people.
Themes
Little Bee holds Charlie tight and tells him that he’ll overheat in his Batman costume; he needs to take it off. Charlie refuses, but Little Bee asks if he remembers their bargain. He pauses, tilts his head to the side, and asks Little Bee what her real name is. She tells him her name is Udo, which means “peace.” Charlie doesn’t know what “peace” means, so Little Bee describes it as “a time when people can tell each other their real names.” Charlie smiles. Over his shoulder, Little Bee sees the soldiers walking slowly towards them.
Little Bee and Charlie’s letting go of their constructed identities parallels each other. Little Bee’s description of peace as the opportunity to share real names suggests that although a protective identity may be necessary in certain times, as it was for Little Bee, it is ultimately better to live as one’s own self, with the freedom to love selflessly and live honestly.
Themes
Charlie gazes at Little Bee and calls her Udo. He decides he will take off his Batman costume. As he pulls off the mask, showing his blonde hair, the local children run with excitement to see him, since no white child has ever visited before. Charlie peels off the rest of the costume and slips out of Little Bee’s grip. With the local children, he runs laughing down to the surf to play in the water, dressed only in his “skinny white body.” Little Bee feels a soldier’s hand on her arm, but Charlie and the other children are so “beautiful”—“and that is a word I would not need to explain […] because now we are all speaking the same language”—that Little Bee cries tears of joy and laughs and laughs.
Although the novel ends without stating Little Bee’s fate, her previous statements about the Nigerian government suggests that she will almost certainly be killed for the atrocities she’s witnessed. Little Bee’s laughter and joy suggests that in her mind, seeing Charlie freed from his dependence on the Batman costume and thus freed from the responsibility he feels to “save” his father from dying is worth being captured by the men. Little Bee’s final statement suggests that regardless of how different people are, the beauty and joy of seeing happy, healthy children transcends culture and race and nation, uniting all people together.
Themes
