In 'Beka Lamb', the author, Zee Edgell portrays various themes from chapters one to six, themes such as, maturity/change,politics,race,education and death are evident. The theme maturity, is expressed at the very beginning of chapter one, when it is seen that Beka won an essay contest. Throughout these six chapters, it is understood that she would have never won the contest before as it seems that she was not concentrating on her work before, as she had failed first form. Maturity was also seen as she decides to make a change and stop her bad lying habit. In chapter two, Zee Edgell, uses a technique in the dream. The dream symbolizes the fear of failure. In the dream, there is a bridge which symbolizes the process of transformation. The purpose of a bridge is to move from point to another and in the dream it is seen that Beka is struggling to reach where she wants to go. The creek in the dream symbolizes failure during Beka's transformation. Beka's maturity is shown in the dream as she is trying to improve herself and reach where she wants to in life. In chapter five, her father Bill Lamb cuts down her bougainvillea tree. The cutting down of her tree symbolizes Beka's change and the erasing of her 'phoneyness' and 'act' that her father believes that she is displaying.
In chapter one it is shown that education gives you a higher status and this is seen when it is stated that ,' Beka changed from what her mother called a'flat-rate Belize creole' into a person of high mind.
In chapter three, the theme race is shown as it is seen that there is a club for the creoles (local blacks), bakras ( local white), panias (spanish speaking people) and the expatriates (foreigners) this shows that these groups did not mix socially. It was also seen in chapter one that Beka is reminded by her family that the reward for the essay contest would only go to the bakras, the panias and the expatriates.
Politics is seen throughout these chapters (chapters one to six). From the discussions that Miss Ivy (Beka's grandmother) and Eila (the neighbour) have in the first few chapters, to Beka's conversation with her father about the politics in Belize and political turmoil and Beka's great interest in politics.
The theme, death, begins in the first chapter. Many phrases depicted that there was a death (Toycie's death) and a few of these include, "slapping at a mosquito," "insistent grumblings of frogs" and "nervous continuous shrilling. Death is also seen in chapter three, as there is an incident about a polar bear that came with a circus but died because on the second day that it was there the ice factory broke down.
Throughout these chapters, Beka has flashbacks about her deceased friend, Toycie. These flashbacks show them going out together to get away from the poverty and 'dirtyness' in the area they lived in to an area where they felt was an escape.
These themes are introductions to Beka's life, family and what is happening in her country, Belize.
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I agree with you on all of the themes and the evidence, especially the one with Beka changing and what the cutting down of the bougainvillea tree symbolizes. However, i think that you should have said that the death of the Polar Bear also shows that nothing much can grow or prosper in Belize.
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