Why do you think CeCe was so reluctant to give in to her love for Ellis? What held her back?

Why do you think CeCe was so reluctant to give in to her love for Ellis? What held her back?

CeCe couldn't see herself living in Diggs. She wanted a better life - much better. She came to realize the folly of that desire.

CeCe didn't see herself as a person who lived in a small, backward (to her), Southern town. In her mind she was meant for bigger and better things. Ellis stayed because he felt it was his home. She didn't want to be tied down and, even though she loved Ellis, he planned on staying in Diggs.

I think that part of it was her reluctance to give up her life plan. But I think that another part of it was that she did not feel worthy of his love.

CeCe felt that the small town was beneath her. She had big ambitions that didn't include spending her life in Diggs. I think she always loved Ellis, but denied his love because her ambitions meant more. It took time to realize that money and expensive clothes, etc, were meaningless when you had to sell yourself and your morals to try to hang on to them and cover your misdeeds.

It's too bad we don't learn more about these characters' childhoods. I suspect that CeCe developed her attitude about leaving because she was so burdened by her life at home. She may have on some level thought the town was "beneath" her, but I feel like the underlying reason was that she felt she needed to escape. And, of course, Ellis was the one thing keeping her there, so she tried her hardest to deny her feelings for him.

Some people seem to have the feeling of entitlement from an early age. CeCe, for all the reasons given by others' comments, seemed to be one of these people. She wanted money and to be important. Her values on life changed when she realized what is really important. Happiness and love. I think she loved Ellis but herself more at the beginning. When she looked back on her life "in the big city" she might have thought she wasn't worry of his love. He was a good man and I hope she didn't disappoint him again.

I think CeCe was afraid if she gave into her love for Ellis she would be back living in Diggs. Her life dream was to leave her family town behind and find something better. Her values were in conflict throughout the book

"She had a goddamn plan!"

CeCe was the character who had to get away. Growing up she was probably always the kid who was a little smarter, a little more determined, and a little more restless than her peers. Due to her ambition she had to leave her family and small town behind. While searching for happiness she fell victim to the pitfalls of greed. Coming home let her see what was really important to her. I don't think she and Ellis would have made it together if they had stayed together right out of high school.

CeCe was anxious to escape the small town of Diggs. Her perception of success was money and material things in the “big city.” She wanted others to see her as the one who made something of herself. She believed that the external trappings of wealth would make her happy. Admitting that she loved Ellis would have meant giving up the dream and returning to the people and places she was trying to escape.

She wanted more out of life than the small town of Diggs. I think she also wanted to be in control.

I think she knew that even though she and Ellis talked about leaving, he was too tied to her family to really do that. If she gave in to her love for him, she would be stuck there and she couldn't accept what that life would look like. She had such ambition for a different life but not the support in how to create it in that setting.

I thought CeCe had a weak character. she left for money and returned for money. I was not convinced she really loved Ellis. She did not return for him, but for money to get her out of a bind. I think she liked the sex. without his insistence, she would not have gone to jail for her crime, in fact , she looked for ways out until the last moment.

Cece initially view being with Ellis as holding herself back. She had a vision of getting out of town as a measure of success and would feel like a failure if she stuck around.

Cece had started down the slippery slope of taking what was not hers and justifying her actions to deal with the consequences.
At first she just scorned Ellis because she didn’t want to settle, afterwards it was difficult for her to feel that she was worthy of love.

Cece was afraid of living a life that would envelop her in what she grew up in. That became her impetus for leaving no matter what or who or why should stand in her way.
Now what should she do? Return home to lie, hide, get $$ to fix her problem. More at stake for CeCe than she can deal with

She was afraid to give up her independence, would have to open up her past and all the lies and stealing that she had done to keep up the lifestyle she thought she wanted and move back to a town/place she hated.

Cece lived by a strict set of self imposed rules and standards and displayed a rigidity of thought that did not allow her the freedom to reconsider how she was living her life. This included her feelings for Ellis and her conflict about living back in her hometown.

My heart went out to CeCe. She wanted a bigger and different life than she thought she could have had in Diggs. This meant in her mind, she could not keep any connection to Diggs. But bigger is not always better!

Next, after she made her initial first bad decision at her job, she lost her self worth.
She did not feel she had a way out and just continued to make these bad decisions. This meant, in her mind, she did not deserve Ellis.

CeCe wanted more than small town life. When she left, I don't think she understood how much The Kingdom was ingrained into her being. But when she moved to New York and had a career as a lawyer, that still wasn't enough for her. In their younger days, Ellis had issues of his own. So maybe they both just had some growing up to do before she could admit her feelings for him.

I felt so sad for Cece’s need to get away. She clearly felt she could do more with her life and wanted the attention that money, clothes, “a fancy life” could bring her. So much stemmed from the lack of importance she felt in her family and the belief that having more makes you feel better. When she crossed into stealing she had fear and shame but still couldn’t see where she needed to go or do to save herself and just made things worse.