Little Bee: Who Is the Human in Human Rights? Essay Example

Introduction

Little Bee — a novel originally published in 2008 in the UK as The Other Hand — by Chris Cleave, is a story alternating between the voices of a teenage Nigerian asylum-seeker and a British journalist in England. At the end of this saga of pain and survival, Little Bee returns to Nigeria and opts for incarceration (and possible death) to save a child, in the finest Christian tradition. As Little Bee feels the soldier’s hand on her shoulder, all she can do — somewhat improbably — is laugh with joy. At the end she also reveals her true name is Udo, meaning “peace:” and undoubtedly, salvation.

Discussion

The theme of the “human” in human rights is introduced with Little Bee wishing she were a British pound coin, moving across borders with total freedom, which is one of the most prized of human conditions. People, however, face ethical choices a coin never has to make. Later in the story, when she and three other girls are allowed to illegally leave an English detention center, due to the whim of an immigration officer who has raped one of them, Little Bee says of him: “I realized I knew nothing about men apart from the fear. A uniform that is too big for you, a desk that is too small for you, an eight-hour shift that is too long for you . . .” (Cleave 18). She mentally puts herself in his place and begins to understand the officer, including the unethical choices he has made, and that out of guilt and compassion he has released them (although the lack of necessary papers will prevent them from being truly free). From the start, the oppression of Little Bee’s rights evinces in her the very human need for freedom and compassion.

At first Sarah O’Rourke — the other principal character, who writes (like her husband) for British magazines — seems much more bland and unsympathetic, and thereby, less human. Then we find out that she has agonizingly sacrificed a finger to save Little Bee when they first met on the beach in Nigeria, and our respect for her grows. “Sarah must also pick up the pieces after Andrew’s descent from third-world cowardice into first-world madness” (Elkins). Even though her priorities change for the better throughout the story, she still remains a rather two-dimensional character.

Andrew, her husband, is even weaker. He has failed to make the sacrifice on the Nigerian beach (which forces Sarah to do it herself to save Little Bee); and in his conviction that his journalism will not make the world a better place, he hangs himself in front of Little Bee when she confronts him in his home in England. Sarah’s lover, Lawrence Osborn, who ironically works for the British Home Office, is even more despicable, continually trying to deport the girl. Rather improbably, the effort comes to nothing when Little Bee threatens to go to his wife about his affair with Sarah. Men are just shadowy figures in this book, not fully fleshed-out characters.

Charlie, Sarah’s and Andrew’s four-year-old son, continually wears a Batman costume and insists on being called Batman. This reference obliquely brings the themes of judgment and justice into the story, as well as the need for vulnerable people to feel powerful: for the human being needs to feel empowered, especially when their rights are challenged. For example, even though Little Bee has taken her fate into her own hands, she still envies the power and freedom of British coins. Improbably, when she temporarily loses track of Charlie while arguing with Lawrence and calls the police for help, she becomes powerless again, because the police become suspicious of her odd name and have her deported. Sarah and Charlie meet her at the plane and accompany her to Nigeria, foolishly believing that they can protect her with their white skin, English passports and Sarah’s journalism, bringing survivors’ stories to public’s awareness.

Globalization and colonialism are also themes in this book, as well as language. Neither of the first two is hammered home, however, being more subtly revealed in the perceptions of Little Bee, Sarah and the people surrounding them. Language is a more prominent issue, along with the freedom it brings — or fails to bring. In order to survive, Little Bee makes a real effort to learn the Queen’s English, while still bringing her Nigerian language and experience to shed light on this new dialect. The Jamaican girl, Yevette, with whom she escapes the detention center, has the most realistic accent of them all, and it’s a delight to hear her talk.

Death and mortality are also major themes. Nowhere else are Little Bee’s rights more under attack than at the beginning of the book, when Sarah is cowering under an overturned fishing boat while soldiers horrifically rape and dismember her sister. These same soldiers have promised Sarah and Andrew that, due to Sarah’s self-mutilation, they will let one of the girls go free, even though both girls have witnessed atrocities the soldiers performed in their home village. Later on at his home in England, Andrew hangs himself in front of Little Bee; and one of the three girls who escaped from the detention center (and apparently has no name) hangs herself, as well. In spite of her well-justified fears Little Bee survives, mainly by being true to herself — and her own humanity.

At the end, Little Bee defines for herself what it means for her to be human and what she must do to express this condition. It is to save Charlie from death that Little Bee gives herself up to the soldiers on that infamous beach in Nigeria, where she has gone with Sarah to say goodbye to her sister’s memory. The soldiers have found out that Little Bee is back (why should they care after all this time?) and they have come to arrest her (not kill her? Why?) When they point their guns at Charlie, Little Bee comes out of hiding to save him. Significantly, after Little Bee tells Charlie her real name is Udo  (“peace”) and that “peace is a time when people can tell each other their real names” (265), the little boy finally takes off his Batman costume and runs off to play.

Like Jesus, perhaps, she has sacrificed her life for Charlie’s and it is for this reason she laughs for joy when the soldier puts his hand on her shoulder to take her away. However, this time the soldier has first smiled compassionately at her. Then Little Bee says:

I smiled down at Charlie and I understood that he would be free now even if I would not. . . . It was not a sad feeling. I felt my heart take off lightly like a butterfly and I thought, yes, this is it, something has survived in me, something that does not need to run anymore, because it is worth more than all the money
in the world and its currency, its true home, is the living. I smiled back at Charlie and I knew that the hopes of this whole human world could fit inside one soul. This is a good trick. This is called, globalization (264).

Personally, I would prefer the word “compassion” to describe the moment when Little Bee discovers her true humanity, not “globalization”.

Conclusion

At its heart, the story has a lovable narrator with a lyrical voice, even if what she says and how she says it is not always plausible. As her human rights are continually violated, she becomes more and more human, in the best sense of the word. Apart from Sarah, who also develops a conscience and a purpose in life, the other characters are much weaker and are only there to serve the plot. As for the ending, it really makes little sense to me. However, it is a book with a serious purpose told in an engaging manner — “in restrained, diamond-hard prose” (Courteau) — and one worth reading, for all its flaws.

Works Cited

Cleave, Chris. Little Bee. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009. Print. 31 March 2014.

Elkins, Caroline. Exit Wounds. The New York Times Book Review, 15 May 2009. Web. 31 March 2014.

Courteau, Sarah L. Fiction, Book Review: “Little Bee” by Chris Cleave. The Washington Post, 25 February 2009. Web. 31 March 2014.