Little Bee: Chapter Eight Summary & Analysis

The morning after Lawrence stays over, Sarah sees Little Bee sadly staring at the TV. Sarah thinks she must be “homesick.” In the late morning she takes the commuter train into London and enters her magazine office for the first time since Andrew’s death. Her employees go silent when they see her enter, but Sarah tells them all to get back to work. Clarissa meets her and they enter Sarah’s office. Clarissa has set up her computer from Sarah’s desk and plugged her phone into Sarah’s charger, but Sarah decides not to press the issue. However, as Clarissa explains to Sarah the stories that they’re running and Sarah listens to the hum of the office, she’s bothered by the feeling that it’s all so “unreal.”

Sarah tells Clarissa that she wants to run a feature piece on refugees. Clarissa resists—she thinks it’s not relatable—but eventually gives in to Sarah’s request. However, Clarissa tells Sarah that she’s still “bereaved” and not ready to be back at work yet. Sarah accuses her of only wanting her job, but quickly apologizes. She recalls their early, idealistic days when they were trying to lure their readers with sex and then inform them about real-world issues. It all seems long gone now. Clarissa suggests that perhaps Sarah should think about quitting and leaving her position to one of the younger girls. At the least, Clarissa asks Sarah to take one more day to think about the refugee piece—“no one dies when we write about fashion.” Sarah agrees and takes the train home.

Sarah finds Lawrence in her kitchen and tells him she’s thinking about quitting her job. She misses the days when she felt like she could make a difference. Sarah asks Lawrence if he can remember the day he lost that feeling himself, though Lawrence isn’t sure he ever had it. Every time Sarah tries to do something meaningful with the magazine, their circulation drops. Sarah wonders if she should take Andrew’s advice and “get a grown-up’s job.” Every time she sees Little Bee now, Sarah’s life feels “shallow” to her. However, Lawrence thinks she’s being “naïve.”

Lawrence claims Sarah has already done more than enough for the world by cutting off her finger to save Little Bee. Sarah replies that it was only one finger out of ten, just ten percent of a sacrifice. She asks if Lawrence still wants her to get rid of Little Bee and he strongly denies this, though he doesn’t think she should quit her job either. Sarah remarks that she misses Andrew and his blunt surety. He could be mean, but he always knew what to do. Lawrence is offended that Sarah mentioned Andrew, but she hugs him and reassures him it doesn’t mean anything. Lawrence tells Sarah that her job is meaningful, but Sarah begins to tear up and mourns how growing up causes one to compromise their morals.