Growing up with Beka Lamb
Essays
The Following Are Interpretive Essays On Zee Edgell’s Work:
Growing up with Beka Lamb
By: Gayle Vanderhorst
Tweetie211@Hotmail.com
Developing and maturing is a hard process, especially for young girls. In the novel Beka Lamb by Zee Edgell, Beka Lamb and Toycie Qualo develop. Beka matures from a lying little girl to a responsible young lady, while Toycie deteriorates emotionally and eventually physically. Both girls symbolize two parts of Belize’s population; the main culture and those who are outside of that culture.
As the novel begins, Beka has just won an essay-writing contest at her school. That night, as she sits in her grandmother’s chair, she begins to reminisce about the long, uphill battle she fought to reach this point in her life. Seven months earlier, Beka was having trouble with telling the truth. She lied about small things, such as saying she swept the attic when she really did not. Her most recent lie, however, is the worst of all. She told her father that she passed first form when she really failed. Not only does Beka lie, but she neglects her schoolwork as well. When Toycie asks Beka why she failed first form she relies, “I fooled around instead of doing my work”(Edgell 35). Beka realizes that she does not focus on her schoolwork the way she should. When Beka does her chores, she skips parts of the floor while sweeping, she pushes old newspapers and dirty clothes under the beds while cleaning, and on her way to the market she lingers at Toycie’s house. However, once Beka tells her father the truth about failing first form, she realizes that she will have to act more responsibly in order to return to school. She begins by cleaning the attic: “Beka cleaned the attic with feverish energy; here was a way to start, a way to show her family that she could be different” (Edgell 26). Beka does not skip over parts of the floor and hide the trash like usual. She cleans with all the energy
The Following Are Interpretive Essays On Zee Edgell’s Work:
Growing up with Beka Lamb
By: Gayle Vanderhorst
Tweetie211@Hotmail.com
Developing and maturing is a hard process, especially for young girls. In the novel Beka Lamb by Zee Edgell, Beka Lamb and Toycie Qualo develop. Beka matures from a lying little girl to a responsible young lady, while Toycie deteriorates emotionally and eventually physically. Both girls symbolize two parts of Belize’s population; the main culture and those who are outside of that culture.
As the novel begins, Beka has just won an essay-writing contest at her school. That night, as she sits in her grandmother’s chair, she begins to reminisce about the long, uphill battle she fought to reach this point in her life. Seven months earlier, Beka was having trouble with telling the truth. She lied about small things, such as saying she swept the attic when she really did not. Her most recent lie, however, is the worst of all. She told her father that she passed first form when she really failed. Not only does Beka lie, but she neglects her schoolwork as well. When Toycie asks Beka why she failed first form she relies, “I fooled around instead of doing my work”(Edgell 35). Beka realizes that she does not focus on her schoolwork the way she should. When Beka does her chores, she skips parts of the floor while sweeping, she pushes old newspapers and dirty clothes under the beds while cleaning, and on her way to the market she lingers at Toycie’s house. However, once Beka tells her father the truth about failing first form, she realizes that she will have to act more responsibly in order to return to school. She begins by cleaning the attic: “Beka cleaned the attic with feverish energy; here was a way to start, a way to show her family that she could be different” (Edgell 26). Beka does not skip over parts of the floor and hide the trash like usual. She cleans with all the energy