Wednesday, January 27, 2010

An overall summary of chapters 1-6

In Zee Edgell's novel, Beka Lamb,a lot of themes are shown; even on the very first page.The first theme shown is 'Death'.This theme is represented by the 'slapping of a mosquito' and the 'grumbling of frogs'.The passing of Beka's best friend, Toycie shows that Beka,at a very young age has to deal with the issue of death.The success of winning a contest gives her a space to breathe.Her success diminishes her grief.In Beka's eyes,winning this contest was a sign of hope because, at home she was told that these prizes were only won by bakras,panias and expatriates(high class Belizeans).
The 'whining mosquitoes' and the 'grumbling frogs' also gives us clear evidence that everything is not at all perfect.There is a mood of unhappiness and dissatisfaction.They are discontented.
Beka's dream symbolizes what is going on in Beka's mind/life. The bridge symbolizes some kind of transformation for Beka.She sees excitement and hope.The filth and excrement below the bridge represents failure.By the sailors shouting" Jump, nigger gial, jump! We'll ketch you!" shows the racial discrimination in Belize of flat rate Belzie creole people like Beka.
Beka eventually begins to learn that success is a process and that it is not gained and then is relaxed.This is shown by the symbols water,seaside and the landscape.When Beka reminised on the walks she and Toycie use to have every Sunday ,she began to remember "that street"."That street" was the street that she and Toycie use to avoid for that was the street that reminded them of their neighbourhood.Their walk on Sundays was their 'world of fantasy'.It was their method of escaping form their reality.They avoided the street to liven their spirits for their neighbourhood was much less pleasant,noisier and dirtier than these high class Belizeans.
Bill Lamb, Beka's dad, chooses to call her names instead of 'beating her'.The one word that Beka hated the most was "phoney".She had to learn to cease lying for it made the situation even worse.When she lied about passing her exam,her parents were extremely disappointed especially her father.He exclaimed that the amount of money that the entire family spent on both sides could have fed a family for one week.
As we follow this novel, we will see how Beka matures from a'flat rate Belize creole' into a person with 'high mind'.

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