Regret In Little Bee

"Forget regret, or life is yours to miss." ~Jonathan Larson. Famous composer, John Larson explains that if you get lost in regret, you will suffer the rest of your life reminiscing on a past action that you will never be able to undo. On the other hand, if you do not become lost in regret, you have the opportunity to do something positive in your life. Similarly, in Chris Cleaves novel, Little Bee, several characters had wished they hadn't done things that they did in the past. Triumphantly, some of these characters overlook their past negative actions and rise up to become better people. Regret motivates people to become better versions of themselves.

Repentance over past occurrences cause characters to think less of themselves, spurring empathy towards others. Cleave utilizes Andrew as an example to begin his theme of regret motivating people to do better. During a trip to Nigeria that “he [Andrew] had no choice if he wanted to keep me [Sarah].”, Andrew

Triumphantly, Sarah’s regret lead her to “quit the job” she currently worked for and start to “write the book that Andrew had been researching.”.(252) Moreover, regret caused by a past action or decision allows the mind to rebuild itself to the point where it has the capability to positively benefit something.

In Chris Cleave’s novel, Little Bee, characters are constantly making incoherent decisions. By adding regret over some of the bad decisions, Cleave utilizes some of the characters mistaken decisions to allow them to build off their mistakes, resulting in something beneficial to others. Andrew, Little Bee, Lawrence and Sarah all experience forms of repentance and learn what it really means to rebound off a low point in your life back into normality and more positive situation. Despite being faced with different decisions and outlooks on life, regret gives these characters a gateway to success in their