Differences and similarities
Beryl Clarke, Contributor

Did you enjoy reading Beka Lamb? It is an appealing story that focuses on youth, the major characters, being Beka and her friend, Toycie.

I believe that you must have recognised some similarities between their lives and the lives of some persons whom you know.

The two girls live in the same community and attend the same school, Toycie being the older and more successful academically.

In this work of fiction, the character whose life is more difficult is the one who is excelling in school. She lives under extremely difficult social circumstances, as you know, and this drives her determination to lift herself out of poverty and destitution and, just as importantly for her, to make a better life for her aunt.

Unhappy development

But then something goes wrong! Toycie is involved in a physical relationship with Emilio and becomes pregnant.

The result is devastating, but the writer prepares us for an unhappy development in their friendship. How this is done is something that I would like you to consider.

Ask yourself: why is it that they meet in a cemetery and what does such a meeting place signify?

Think, too, of their social and economic differences and the attitude of Emilio's mother to Toycie.

Do you agree with the stance the principal took on the matter? Write down your reasons for your answer.

This story was set in the period when many of the schools were founded and run by the church, this particular one being operated by the Roman Catholics.

We are told that the principles by which it was governed were extremely high, hard and demanding. Many of the girls found them very difficult, not only to achieve, but also to maintain. In fact, they had one type of conduct on the school compound and an entirely different one outside of it.

Before we go any further, let me draw your attention to another story whose major character is a boy in his last term of school. This is of course, A Kestrel for a Knave, written by Barry Hines.

Different relationship

The setting, though partially in a school (as is Beka Lamb), is very different from that of Beka Lamb, for while the latter is set in Belize, the former is set in a coal-mining district in the north of England.

This is a strange title for a novel! Your very first reading, however, should have made clear the writer's reason for choosing this name.

The main character, Billy Casper, is a knave. We know he takes things that do not belong to him, and his main concern is his pet - a kestrel, or as we would call it, a hawk.

Here, the relationship between a wild, young man and a creature of the wild is explored.

It should not have escaped your attention that while Toycie has been deserted by her parents and lives with an aunt, Billy lives with an aggressive and hateful brother and a mother who has given up her maternal responsibilities.

She (the mother) is selfish and their relationship is anything but normal or acceptable. Imagine a mother asking her school-age son for a cigarette!

One could say that although both Toycie and Billy are from the lower socio-economic class, Toycie has a better life, because her aunt and Beka love her while no one seems to really care about Billy.

What evidence can you find to support this position or the opposing one, that is, if you think Billy has a better emotional support structure than Toycie?

Toycie and her aunt live in a 'dawg siddung' - a small, poorly built structure. Their living condition is not only primitive, but inconvenient as well.

However, while Emilio's mother considers them socially inferior, they are not seen as outcasts, but part of a community. Do you remember the relationship they share with Beka's family?

Surely, you cannot have forgotten that it is Mr Lamb who goes to see the principal of the school when Toycie falls 'ill' at school?

Social environment

As you examine both books, think about the social organisation that exists in each society. For Billy, too, does not live under ideal circumstances. Food always seems to be in short supply in his house (he steals food), he shares a bed with his brother and knows that his mother is a prostitute.

In both stories we see something of the educational system. Please write down the differences between them, as well as the ways in which they are similar.

When you have done this, try to decide how each student (character) is affected. Include Beka in your deliberations.

Make sure that you are sticking to your study time table and putting in all the work that you can now. Good luck and God bless!

Nicola Grant (right), business development officer at Jamaica International Insurance Company (JIIC), watches while St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) team captain Paul Palmer and his teammates celebrate with the 2009 Grace Kennedy Headley Cup trophy. STETHS won the competition after having Port Antonio High on the ropes at 89-4 in the second innings before the match was called on April 16. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer