Little Bee: Chapter Ten Summary & Analysis

Sarah asks Little Bee to go wait with Charlie and Lawrence while she makes a phone call. She calls her employer and tells him that she’s quitting the magazine. He seems unbothered, which surprises Sarah. When Sarah hangs up, she feels light and free. She begins planning how to continue Andrew’s research, and realizes that she feels closer to him now than she did for the last two years.

However, Clarissa calls Sarah and argues quitting might be a mistake. By the time Sarah hangs up on her, she doubts herself again. When Sarah goes down to the river and sees Little Bee and Lawrence standing stiffly, hardly talking, she realizes that “this is never going to work” and feels like she should’ve just stayed in her place as a sensible working mother. She starts to speak to them, then realizes that Charlie is missing.

Sarah runs frantically up and down the beach, asking strangers if they’ve seen a small boy in a Batman costume. When she can’t find Charlie on the beach or the landing, she thinks he must be somewhere in the muddy river. Sarah splashes in up to her waist and loses her phone but cannot find him. She thinks about how beautiful her son is and mourns the fact that, since Nigeria, she’s kept herself so busy between men and work that she’s never truly invested herself into him.

Lawrence gives Little Bee his phone and tells her to call the police; they’re good at searching. Little Bee initially looks terrified about calling the police, but a resolute look forms on her face. Lawrence suddenly realizes the implication of what he asked Little Bee to do, but it seems necessary. He runs away to keep searching. Sarah screams Charlie’s name. Before long, Lawrence returns with Charlie in tow. He’d only been hiding in a drainage pipe, which he calls his “bat cave.” Sarah holds him tight and promises that she’ll never be so “silly and selfish” again.