Themes highlighted in the first six chapters of Beka Lamb

From the very beginning in chapter one continuously until chapter six, Zee Edgell has put forth numerous themes and issues through various alliterations and a vast amount of settings and responses in nature. Some of the highlighted themes and issues were Racism, Poverty, Political Changes and to a certain extent Political Turmoil, Success and the issue of "the common reality" which being death.
In the very first chapter, racism and discrimination was brought forward when Beka was preparing for the essay writing contest and in the household was continuoulsy being cautioned that rewards only went to Bakras, Panias and Expatriates whom being of white and mixed ancestry and seen as the higher elements of society. In Beka's dream the line "Jump Nigger Gial Jump" is a reminder of Beka's race and ethnicity and Vellor "the half crazy coolie woman" also reinforces the point of racism.
Another predominant issue presented in the first six chapters was that of poverty. The various settings and behavioural patterns of nature clearly addressed the issue. The lines "the whining of mosquitoes" and " the grumbling of frogs" represents the discomfort and discontent of these "grass root" people. In chapter3, "the rusty zinc rooftops" are a description of how old the houses were and " the lamposts that almost seemed to lean" shows that things aren't too stable in the environment. Miss Eila whom being a distinct representative of the issue as she couldn't afford to keep a wake for Toycie.
Politics was another issue addressed by the author and took a forfront in the novel. It is evident that due to political changes Beka has moved from the washing bowl underneath the house to a classroom overlooking the caribbean sea. The changes contributed to the mass amount of educational opportunities being offered to Beka. Zee Edgell compares the political change to that of Beka's transformation, parallel to one another. There is also a political turmoil for Miss Ivy and Miss Eila being two active members of the political stance in Belize, converse of the devaluation of the dollar and its economical effects on poverty.
The last issue is "the common reality" as it is referred to in the text which being Death. Death is introduced on the first page where the vines of the stephanotis resembled that of Beka's Great
Gran's wreath at her funeral and " the nervous continuous shrilling of every cricket" signals that Death was goin to be a topic of discussion in the novel. Beka is in the recovery process of the death of her friend Toycie Qualo and this is generated in the last lines of chapter 3 " That is the only way , Toycie Gial I can continue my wake for you" and it is also presented in Beka's flashback of the time eg. the sunday evenings she and Toycie spent together.