Prisoner's Dilemma, a common tactic utilized by police officers, is a situation where the police separate two suspects with the choice to confess to the crime and implicate the other, thus improving their sentence, or to remain silent and steadfast. Unsure of their future and whether to be a loyal partner or improve their own situation, the suspects incriminate each other as a way of self preservation. Similarly, in Chris Cleave’s novel, Little Bee, when individuals, exposed to an unknown environment, begin to question their individuality, they perform actions that perform actions which benefit themselves. Confusion over one’s identity prompts the disorientation of their moral compass.
When forcefully immersed into the unknown, individuals …show more content…
For example, Little Bee, thrown into the unknown British culture and society as an illegal immigrant, fears that any confrontation with the police will lead to her deportation or worse. Therefore, while Andrew, “His eyes...bulging...his face… purple”(193), slowly hangs himself, Little Bee struggles over whether to call the police and “save him, whatever it costs [her], because he is a human being”(194), or to “save [herself], because [she is] a human being too”(194). Because of the worry that she will be deported back to Nigeria, where imprisonment awaits her, she fails to perform the morally right task of calling for help to save Andrew and, instead, chooses her own survival. Little Bee, confused about her situation, refuses to provide aid to Andrew because of her fear that she might suffer large repercussions of her actions. Furthermore, Andrew’s apathy towards their marriage prompts Sarah’s affair with Lawrence. Her affair allows her to “escape from Andrew, to really become [herself]”(161), and to “[feel] wonderful”(162). This relationship provides the emotional support that her marriage with Andrew did not satisfy, an action that depicts her choice of improving her own life over her ethical obligations. Since Sarah is lost between her identity as a loyal wife and a human with lusts, she elects to provide self preservation for herself than remain faithful. Moreover, Lawrence, yearning to help Sarah with whatever problems she may face, releases that he “‘work[s] for the Home Office... [and] could lose [his] job if [he] knew [Sarah was] harboring an illegal and [he] didn’t do anything about it’”(170). Lawrence, tossed into an unknown environment of dealing with illegal immigrants, causes his confusion over whether to remain a loyal boyfriend or a loyal employee and prompts his reaction to urge Sarah “‘to call the police”(122).
When forcefully immersed into the unknown, individuals …show more content…
For example, Little Bee, thrown into the unknown British culture and society as an illegal immigrant, fears that any confrontation with the police will lead to her deportation or worse. Therefore, while Andrew, “His eyes...bulging...his face… purple”(193), slowly hangs himself, Little Bee struggles over whether to call the police and “save him, whatever it costs [her], because he is a human being”(194), or to “save [herself], because [she is] a human being too”(194). Because of the worry that she will be deported back to Nigeria, where imprisonment awaits her, she fails to perform the morally right task of calling for help to save Andrew and, instead, chooses her own survival. Little Bee, confused about her situation, refuses to provide aid to Andrew because of her fear that she might suffer large repercussions of her actions. Furthermore, Andrew’s apathy towards their marriage prompts Sarah’s affair with Lawrence. Her affair allows her to “escape from Andrew, to really become [herself]”(161), and to “[feel] wonderful”(162). This relationship provides the emotional support that her marriage with Andrew did not satisfy, an action that depicts her choice of improving her own life over her ethical obligations. Since Sarah is lost between her identity as a loyal wife and a human with lusts, she elects to provide self preservation for herself than remain faithful. Moreover, Lawrence, yearning to help Sarah with whatever problems she may face, releases that he “‘work[s] for the Home Office... [and] could lose [his] job if [he] knew [Sarah was] harboring an illegal and [he] didn’t do anything about it’”(170). Lawrence, tossed into an unknown environment of dealing with illegal immigrants, causes his confusion over whether to remain a loyal boyfriend or a loyal employee and prompts his reaction to urge Sarah “‘to call the police”(122).