both girls do not want to end up like many other Creole women with no education, no husband and the only job available being “the washing bowl underneath the house bottom” or worse, prostitution. Despite Beka’s warnings to Toycie that she might “wind up with a baby if you’re not careful”, Toycie continually sneaks away to meet with Emilio, a higher class “Pania.” Granny Ivy tells Beka that Toycie is “trying to raise her color” by being with Emilio. Beka cautions Toycie that “Pania scarcely ever marry Creole like we,” and when Toycie does get pregnant, Emilio refuses to marry her like he promised.

Toycie has been abandoned by her parents and her boyfriend and because she is pregnant, she is expelled from St. Cecilia’s, thus being abandoned by the church—ironically, the Sisters of Charity. Beka’s father Bill begs Sister Virgil to show charity to Toycie, reminding her that in Belize “people without resources have no strings to pull when their children get in trouble.” He points out that Emilio has not been expelled from his Jesuit school, but Sister Virgil will not budge. Losing all hope for a bright future, Toycie refuses to eat, becomes severely depressed, and jumps from a bridge into the sea. She is rescued by soldiers, miscarries the baby and is committed to the Belize Mental Asylum. Mentally unstable, she “imagines she’s at school and keeps asking when the recess bell is going to ring.” Miss Eila insists on moving Toycie to her brother’s home in Sibun River, a Creole community. Wandering off during a hurricane, Toycie is killed when a mango tree falls on her head and breaks her skull. Eila buries her right away, forsaking the traditional nine-day wake because of the expense, and it is then that Beka decides to hold her own wake for Toycie in her heart.
Belize’s Story (politics and ethnicity)
Beka Lamb takes place in the 1950s when Belize was seeking its own national identity and often found itself “bruk down.” Would it continue to be a British colony, the only English-speaking country in Central America? Would it be taken over by neighboring Guatemala and reintroduce Spanish culture and language? Would it be possible for Belize’s mosaic culture to unite and become independent? There are seven groups identified in the novel from the Creole point of view: Expatriates, Bakras, Creoles, Panias, Maya, Coolie, and Carib. Not coincidentally, the whiter the skin, the higher the social order (Beck). The main cultural and political conflicts in Beka Lamb are between the Creoles (mixed whites and Africans) represented by Beka’s and Toycie’s families and the Panias (mixed Spanish and native Americans) represented by Emilio’s family.

Edgell skillfully weaves the history of Belize’s journey to independence into the stories of her characters. During the time frame of the novel, the Panias, who have traditionally favored Spanish control of Belize, have more economic and educational power than the Creoles. Granny Ivy is continually reminiscing about the “befo’time” when the situation was reversed. Bill Lamb has a rare white collar job, but his boss is Mr. Blanco, a Pania. The Lambs and the Blancos vacation together on St. George’s Caye every holiday, but the Lambs live below the main house and cook outdoors like servants. The Blanco and Lamb children do not play together and Mr. Blanco has a boat named “Nigger Gial.” Emilio’s parents both work for Mr. Blanco. Education in Belize is controlled by the holdover Spanish influence of the Catholic Church, so Emilio’s impregnation of Toycie represents the ultimate Spanish exploitation of Creoles. It robs Toycie of school and her only hope to escape poverty.

The Creoles have traditionally sided with the British for control of Belize. Bill and Lilla Lamb are not happy with British colonialism, but they have come to accept it. “The British brand of colonialism isn’t the worse we could have,” Bill tells Beka. Granny Ivy is an important leader in the People’s Independent Party (P.I.P.), an organization fighting for an independent Belize but espousing reconciliation with Guatemala. If the P.I.P. is successful, the Lambs fear that Creoles will have to forfeit some of the gains they have achieved by being the only English-speaking country in Central America. Lilla Lamb even tries to grow English roses in her garden and Bill insists that Granny Ivy replace the blue and white P.I.P. flags celebrating Independence Day with those of the Union Jack.

How can Belize reconcile these two cultures and politics? “There are so many races here I wonder what will keep us together once they [the British] leave,” Bills tells his mother Ivy. She replies that they “must unite to form a nation”—meaning establishing good relations with Guatemala. So Bill continues to import Guatemalan coffee for Mr. Blanco and Lilla and Ivy attempt to “master the cooking techniques of every ethnic group in the country from Maya to Carib,” even though the spiciness of the Spanish dishes burn Bill’s stomach. Beka and Toycie cross off the words “Hecho en Espana” from Toycie’s guitar and pencil in “Belize.” Beka’s winning essay is not only a turning point for Beka but also represents Edgell’s hope for a future where Creoles can reclaim their status in Belize, train for more professional occupations and retain their rich cultural heritage.