Themes of Beka Lamb from chapters 1-6

Many themes have been raised as early as chapter one such as death, education,politics and adoption of another culure.Maturity and racial prejudice have also been introduced later on in the book.
Death is a major theme in the book. In the first chapter, we see that Zee Edgell creates a mood of gloom and depression, thus giving the readers a 'dead' feeling. The swatting of the mosquitoes and the entwining stephanotis which remind Beka of the wreaths at her great grandmother's funeral elevate this feeling, as well as the "shrilling of every cricket" and the "grumblings of the frogs." This suggests discomfort and unhappiness, even nature is dissatisfied. We learn that Toycie, who was a close friend of Beka's, has past away, leaving reminiscent Beka with pain and grief. She tries to acheive relief of her grief through success shown by the lines spoken by Eila and Miss Ivy "I hear you pass first term Beka","She win that contest too,you know, Eila" and, "It was only today, with a small success of her own, and the panic and fright subsiding, that she dared pause for a breath." In chapter two and three, the death of Lilla's roses and the polar bear are symbolic. Lilla tries to gain status by planting roses similiar to the European magazines and their death probably symbolizes that her attempts are futile. The death of the polar bear shows us the despair and the "brain drain" in the town.
Education is a theme as well but is not prominent in the first six chapters. We see that education raises status displayed by the line"It seemed to her family that overnight Beka changed from what her mother called a 'flat-rate Belize creole into a person with 'high mind'''.We can infer that education provides opportunity shown by the words "your education will help you reach a clearing."Education is greatly needed in Beka's town (most of the people are poor),including the educated people who are leaving as "brain drain"is occurring. Beka is very fortunate to be attending school even her father told her,"we gave you a better start than anyone in the family".
Political issues are something Beka is interested in.This is displayed by the line"You're right, Beka,but why you always bring politics into everything?" In chapter two, she converses with her father about these issues.The fact that she wants to know what is going on in her country shows that she is in the verge of maturing. Belize is struggling for independence and this probably reflects how Beka is struggling for her independence. It is important to note that teenagers gain independence by getting mature. Beka wants to get mature but she is not there as yet( refer to first post by me).
We can tell that Belize copies the trends of America and England. This can be seen in the description of the way Vellor dressed in chapter one- "A purple velvet dress flopped around her ankles. She swung along on gold, high heeled sling backs, and the silver sequins on her bag winked on and off.Vellor clanked by in a stink of Kus Kus purfume. Her straight hair was swept to the side in a sweep,and the rhinestones of her comb glittered". Even Lilla tries to adopt the english ways by planting roses like the ones she saw in magazines instead of planting local flowers. Additionally,she commented on straightening Beka's hair as "the style" much to Bill's disapproval since he is proud of their heritage.
Lastly, The book also conveys the theme of racial prejudice. In chapter one, Lilla called Vellor a "half-cray coolie woman" and in chapter two, the sailors in Beka's dream called her a "nigger".The line"Still, in the town and in the country, as people will do everywhere, each race held varing degrees of prejudice concerning the others" confirms the theme.Y