Internal Conflict In Little Bee

Conflict results from the tensions between opposing forces in a literary work to generate interest in the plot and characters. In Chris Cleave’s novel, Little Bee, the author explores where individuality lies within a person, as the characters face internal conflict while struggling to define their own identities. Cleave introduces this personal conflict as Sarah describes their personal battles more in depth: “The summer my husband died—we all had identities we were loath to let go of. My son had his Batman costume, I still used my husband’s surname, and Little Bee…still clung to her name she had taken in a time of terror” (p. 22). Cleave demonstrates conflict as it arises from differences in culture and through the internal struggles that
Sarah confronts internal conflict over her affair with Lawrence, her role in her husband’s suicide, and her experience with Little Bee on the beach. Andrew hanged himself because he could not live with the guilt he felt after the episode on the beach where he was unable to cut his finger off in order to save the lives of Little Bee and her sister. Sarah realizes, however, that she and her husband would never have been in that position had she not had an affair with Lawrence and suggested that she and Andrew take a vacation to help their relationship recover. Sarah tells Little Bee, “I didn’t lose Andrew, Bee. I destroyed him. I cheated on him with another man” (139). Sarah feels that it was her selfishness that led to the incident on the beach and to Andrew’s ultimate demise. In addition to the affair, Sarah feels guilt about her role in Andrew’s suicide because of her self-centeredness. Sarah recounts the last morning that she saw her husband alive, when “[Andrew] opened his mouth to say something, but [Sarah] was running late and turned away” (30). Sarah also feels unease and guilt at the beginning of the novel because she does not know what happened to Little Bee and her sister after the killers took them away on the beach. As Sarah’s feelings begin to overwhelm her life, Cleave explains the way in which her composed exterior begins to collapse when Sarah tells herself, “the mask was finally cracking…because the biggest thing in your life, the thing that killed Andrew…is something that happened without you” (126). After Little Bee tells Sarah the remainder of what happened to the sisters on that day on the beach, Sarah insists that Little Bee stay with them in London. Even when Little Bee is being deported back to Africa, Sarah follows Little Bee in an attempt to protect her. As