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Little Bee

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The realities of globalization
In today’s landscape, globalization is surely a highly-loaded term and one that cannot be denied. However, it cannot be accurately evaluated without taking into consideration the point of view of those who have be most heavily impacted, or “globalized” by its spread. Things do not appear as black and white as certain agents of globalization, such as governments or corporations may want to believe and even portray it as such. In both literature and reality, it can be seen that there are more than one side to every issue, and the concept cannot be considered ethically without spending time in consideration of those most significantly affected. Our initial vision of globalization is one that has been sugar coated …show more content…

However, in texts such as “Little Bee” by Chris Cleave, things take a much uglier and more violent turn. While this is a more violent and severe example than the pandering and marketing of material goods to consumers, they are in fact two sides of the same coin. As stated earlier, everything is not black and white, and in this sense, one must operate in shades of gray instead. Little Bee’s entire life is flipped upside down and destroyed in the name of globalization when oil fields are discovered under and around her village. The horrors that she witnesses and lives through are unimaginable to most readers- the idea of wholesale rape, murder and genocidal destruction is a wild, mad max- esq nightmare that one can feel fairly confident in feeling safe from. Little Bee appears to be the only one who made it out of her village. When taking a moment to think about that, it is important to equivalent that to someone loosing essentially everyone who they knew and who were in their lives. The ugly truth comes out that globalization is essentially fueled by capital, and by …show more content…

Once introduced, local lives, culture and economies often suffer the worst of it. People’s way of living is often irrevocably altered, devastating to some as seen in Little Bee. Western media has also often filtered images and the intent of corporations in a way that sheds every situation into a civilized vs savage scenario, leaving people who simply have not been exposed to other information in the dark. The idea of a humanitarian backing has become a marketing ploy for some, using promises of charity to sell more inventory in the west, while also using these countries they have spread to as a cheap labor pool or a natural resource pool in a way that will cause unquestionable lasting damage in its wake. Not only is this damaging to the area, but also wreaks havoc on the individuals even more so. If not murdered or forced out of their homeland, they are often met with changes to their identities and cultures. Globalization cannot be considered without the implication that it is primarily rooted in monetary gain by the companies and governments implementing and proposing

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